ifitbeyourwill Podcast
“ifitbeyourwill" Podcasts is on a mission to talk to amazing indie artists from around the world! Join us for cozy, conversational episodes where you'll hear from talented and charismatic singer-songwriters, bands from all walks of life talk about their musical process & journey. Let's celebrate being music lovers!
Season 6 starts Fall 2025… Looking for indie musicians
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ifitbeyourwill Podcast
ifitbeyourwill S06 E17 • Mirrorball
Dream pop isn’t about turning everything down — it’s about tuning everything in. That’s the pulse of our talk with Mirrorball, the Los Angeles duo behind those lush, cinematic songs that somehow still feel like they’re whispering right to you. From the first late-night demo to a surprise label release, their story drifts through noisy beginnings, an obsession with sound, and the quiet confidence that comes with learning when not to play.
We get into how they write: Scott starts with grooves, guitars, and synths in Logic. Alex listens, and melodies spill out — sometimes all at once, sometimes over time. Some songs bloom in a day; others sit for months, waiting for the right mood to arrive. Recording, for them, is a kind of home — layering overdubs until the room disappears and only the song remains. Playing live, though, demands something different: less control, more trust. The goal isn’t to be louder, it’s to make people feel. Small choices, big emotion.
There’s honesty, too, about what it means to be an indie band now. Without a label, they’ve handled everything themselves — the videos, the press, the endless scroll — keeping things moving with a steady run of singles. Now they’re building toward a full LP, something that captures the whole arc of who they’ve become. With producer Chris Coady’s touch — tiny shifts in timing, arrangements that breathe — the songs pulse and shimmer instead of shout. At home, Alex tracks vocals dry, chasing raw takes; Scott trims the noise, staying closer to what feels real.
If you’re drawn to guitars that glow, vocals that drift just out of reach, and rhythms that dance a little behind the beat, this one’s for you. Press play, sink into Red Hot Dust, and stay awhile. If it hits, tell a friend — the dream gets brighter when more people are in it.
So welcome back, everyone, to another episode of fitbeyourwill Podcast. Searching the world for amazing indie artists, and I'm reaching across the continent. I'm in Montreal and I'm reaching over to LA to pull in Mirrorball. I have Alex and I have Scott from the band, and we've kind of had some tricky scheduling problems. I got a cold. Anyway, we finally figured it out, and here we are, and I am so excited to talk to you guys. Now, Mirrorball out of LA, they're dream poppy, but they have this, I don't know, I'd almost say a 70s aesthetic a little bit. Like it's just very spacious and warm and airy, just really, really good. They've got tremendous amount of singles out. They just had a single to dropped last week. And we're gonna talk about all of their music and kind of how they got to the state in their lives. So, Alex and Scott, thank you so much for joining me. I hope you guys are doing well today. And uh I before we hopped on, you were alluding that you had had a show yesterday. So those vibes are probably kind of uh probably feeling a little drained today. It's I'm sure it's a lot of energy to pour out when you're up on stage.
Alex:Yes, for sure. Thanks for having us. Yeah, we might be a little bit like post right now, but I'm on the same boat.
colleyc:I have been recovering from this cold, so my head is still a little foggy as well, but it's nice because it fits with this music you guys make, kind of dreamy, petty. So before we start, guys, of like getting into the mirror ball music, I'd really like to know each of you kind of like I know that you guys have both been in music for like two decades, right? Like, this is not your first atom here. You guys have been in this and doing music for a long time. Scott, maybe I'll start with you. Like, what how where did it all start to make sense to you that music was something that you were gonna have to do? Oh well, huh?
Scott:I guess I started a my first band with my brother and we ended up getting another band drum and bass drums and bass who were brothers, and I was we just had a lot of fun. You know, we didn't really know how to play our instruments that well. We had a lot of her I I guess we we were had a lot of passion and we were obsessed with the pixies and we just like went for it.
colleyc:Was this a a band that you guys started in like high school or was it after high school had kind of passed?
Scott:After high school, probably I was probably like 21, 20. I remember because I could I was worried about it must have been like what I was 20 because I was worried about playing in certain clubs.
colleyc:Right. Right, right, right. Like what is it about music that had that that poll? I mean listening to awe-inspiring musicians definitely uh helps open those doors. But what was it about wanting to actually do that process of songwriting and and you know being and and in front of people? There's a lot of stuff that comes with that with that vocation of choice. How how did you how did you come to kind of like figuring that that was something that was was gonna be important? What were some of those salient moments that you had?
Scott:I guess I would say it was less about um I don't know performing, yes, but recording, making a song, being in the studio, recording a song, doing all the overdubs, and then at the end of the night, like sort of being in the studio, listening back to what you cr what you recorded, what you made, and it sounding really good in the studio. Like that was that's probably like the most uh like that's the most fun for me. That's the most fulfilling moment for me is like hearing something you created coming through the monitors and it sounds if it isn't it's sounding good, like that's I love that. Yeah, totally.
colleyc:And and what what was the style that you started kind of playing? Like was it similar to what you're doing with Mirror Ball, or was it completely like a different uh stratosphere that you were in?
Scott:I would say it was more uh it was different. It was more you know, Pixies influenced 90s, not grunge, but more 90s. We were we were uh I would say like uh Velvet Underground and Pixies were two bands that made me want to start playing music. Right. That's so cool.
colleyc:Very interesting. Now we'll come back to Scott's um beginnings, but Alex, please, I'd love to. I mean, a similar kind of like when did music become apparent that it had to be something that you did?
Alex:Yeah, gosh, I'd have to go kind of far back, but I I remember being in high school and I heard I heard Leonard Cohen, and that was when uh because I had kind of like always wanted to be a writer, and I was like, well, if I just write poems, like nobody's gonna read them. I was like, I'll just start singing the like Leonard Cohen. That's really what for me. I just was like so inspired by him. And then the first song I learned was So Long Marion, like on the guitar and the Smiths. The Smiths were like the next thing where I just was like, this is the greatest thing ever. Like, and I I kind of stopped being like a good high like high school student because I started to just care about music, and like I cut all my hair off, and like I don't know, I was getting into trouble a lot, but yeah, that's where it kind of changed for me at like the Smiths. I was just like, This is this is it, you know.
colleyc:Right. And like, was it the realization too that you wanted to be a performer? Because I mean, I mean, you can write, you can record, but you never have to perform. You know, I spoke to a a musician last week and he's like, I write a million songs a day, but I will never perform them live. Like he just it wasn't a part of something he wanted to do. Was the performing always something that you were interested in doing when you were first kind of like coming into it?
Alex:Yes, I think like I I do have like a little bit of a love-hate relationship with performing live because I'm I mean, just this morning I was like, I have to lay off myself a little bit because I'm very critical of my live performances and and I do feel like recording is like where I'm more natively like home. It feels good to me. And playing live, it's like literally, you never know what you're gonna get. It's a can of worms. Like the sound can be great, the sound can be like bad, but you're having a good night, or the sound can be terrible, but you're having a good night. It's it's so many things. And then there's the are you gonna be nervous? Are you not? And but I I kind of like love it. Like, like once I'm up there, I love that that feeling, even though I will say it's very hard. I think the hardest thing about performing for me is just honestly the amount of work and preparation that goes into just the the one single performance.
colleyc:Right.
Alex:Because I like especially when not non-musicians don't always totally realize like that's a ton of work that goes into that, you know, with like four or five different schedules and people and totally, totally.
colleyc:So I look at it it totally is, you know, and those are the kinds of things I mean, I was alluding to a little bit before we hopped on here is that this is a tough business, like it's very hard for musicians to only rely on music. You have to have some other hustle, right? It's just it's hard to do, and the commitment-wise is is insane. And Scott, I'm gonna throw this to you because I know you had a single that came out just you know recently, and and you've been going through that you know, the release kind of windmill, you know, the churning of you know, we're record, we mix, we master, we you know, all this process has to take place. Uh you get a single, you release it, uh hopefully you do a few shows with it, and then it just all starts over again. How do you guys navigate that as a group just with that logistics and like because I looked on the Bandcamp page and you have a lot of singles, but uh to my what I I didn't see any LPs at this point. Like, is it just like the the point just like very difficult to do with all these different schedules and yeah, for sure.
Scott:It's really tough because we we have to make content, we have to record. I mean, these days it's like we've got all these different cameras. Now we have a separate computer now just for like for cameras and social media. Like one can't one computer for music, and then yeah, like it's yeah, we're probably gonna start working on a record actually to how much decided to just like rapidly Yeah, the last couple days we're just like okay, this is why you do a record because you do you all this planning and all the stuff that you're talking about, the mixing, you do it once, and yeah, you know, it's our story is kind of just unique because we we were working on an album and things just kind of changed in my different directions, but because like pandemic stuff and we don't really want to talk about the pandemic and it's for whatever reason we have a bunch of singles and now we want to make a re finish a record. Yeah, navigating that stuff is it it's too much, it's a lot 'cause we're always all day, every day we have stuff to do. Things that probably a label would be doing, but she's always updating the bio and it's like we don't really cut any corners. We tr we try to do everything that a label would be doing, take everything very seriously.
colleyc:Totally, totally and Alex, like how did bring us through Miraball's uh beginnings? Like what how did you and Scott and you also have Denny, right? Denny Weston, who is is he also considered a part of I uh I saw his name on he was playing drums on some of your tracks that was on bag camp. But I mean, is it just the two of you basically that are the main nucleus for Mirabal?
Alex:Yeah, basically, yeah, it's funny that you mentioned Danny because he actually played it with us originally in LA, like when we very first started, and then a bunch of stuff happened, but now he's on some of our more recent recordings too. But yeah, we basically just started out just a duo, and we we kind of we had a lot of mutual friends that were musicians, and we but we had never actually met, and we were both kind of like on a hiatus from our bands. I had a band called White Dove, which was like kind of like a DIY folk, little bit folk like rock band. Um and he, I think you had Prince. Yeah, and so anyway, we were both kind of like on hiatus, and finally we had talked about meeting up to possibly work on some music and like whatever, but it just never happened. And then one night I was kind of like, all right, yeah. And then um, he it was kind of funny. I actually I remember I had moved back to my parents' house like very briefly, anyway, for a little bit. And I was like, my car broke down, like I can't leave. And so he was in an Uber and he had to reroute it to my parents' house, which was up in Sara Madre Canyon, and there was like no reception, and it was just it was like a very funny meeting because it was like in the dark in the canyon, like this random Uber, and then I got the Uber and I was like, Hi, like nice to meet you for the first time in front of my parents' house. It's very strange, but um that's how we met.
colleyc:Yeah, and then it's what was your plan with that initial meeting? Was it to some songs? You have some songs like what was your plan for that initial?
Alex:I think we had no plan. Like, I think we were just sort of like leaps in the wind a little bit. We we definitely were having some late nights around LA, just kind of like going to different. We were in party mode a little bit, going to different bar bars. You know, I grew up right outside of LA and he was in LA for like many, many years. So we just have so many mutual friends there. So we were just kind of running around and we were having fun and we were just like listening to music a lot, but we never we never actually like had a conversation about like this is what we want to sound like or something like that.
Scott:Like we actually let that Yeah, we didn't we definitely didn't have a plan. We sort of talked about doing music, but it was sort of a backburner thing because she still had hands. But I don't mean to take over, but but we just ended up making a song and uh and it was sort of an accident, and I had sent it to a friend of mine who I did not know who was working at Dangerbird Records. I wasn't aware that he was working there, and then he asked randomly asked me if I want to put this song out on Dangerbird, and then so that's when we were like, oh wow, now we have to we hadn't had any plan, but it was sort of backburner plans, and then we sort of had to make plans like right away because we were coming out, we were getting asked to be on a label, but okay, you can't.
Alex:Yeah, yeah, each other like very intuitively. I mean, there was zero pressure, like we were just literally he made a track in the bedroom, and then I just sang on it in the bedroom and he sent it to Dangerbird. It was like the first you take.
Scott:Well, I sent it to my friend and I didn't know.
Alex:Oh, sorry, he sent it to his friend Aaron.
Scott:No, my friend Brian. Oh, anyway. I had no idea he was working at the label.
Alex:Okay. Oh, Brian Canning. Okay, so he sent it to Nick, he sent it to his friend Brian Canning, and then they heard about Dangerbird and they liked it. And then we were like, oh, okay, cool. Um yeah, but it was just very like, I would say, intuitive. We didn't really think about it, which I I've kind of like that, I guess.
colleyc:Um, how does this song percolate? How does it come to be that something that you would put down on tape as opposed to we'll store that for the future? Because I'm not sure where we're going with it. Like, how do you guys build your songs? Like who like who who's kind of doing what amongst the two of you?
Alex:You want me to answer?
Scott:Well, I I'll I'll make tracks and she'll kind of she has a lot of creative input on what I should do. So I try to make something that's like what she's asking for or what she but yeah, and then we'll see what happens with that track and sometimes it'll sometimes she'll write lyrics to it right away, or like she won't she's not really feeling it or something, I don't know.
Alex:And that track gets Grown out, no, actually, no, yeah, it's oh Scott's like really good at intuitively putting together like drums and bass and guitar. He's like really good at that on logic. And so like I'll hear it and I'll just be like, oh, I already have like a melody and lyrics and stuff, um, pretty fast usually, but every once in a while I do still contribute some chords, or like we have one song that hasn't come out, like Devil Mirror. I think I wrote the chords and then so I still contribute sometimes with that, but usually most of the time he is he does the track and then it'll just inspire like something in me, or sometimes it won't at first, and then we'll put it aside and a year later or something, like I'll hear it and I'll be like, Oh, this is like so awesome. I don't know why I didn't like we shelved this one or whatever. So, yeah, we just have a lot right now that are unreleased and shelved. So we're going through going through them again finally.
colleyc:But yeah, that's great. That's great to hear. Cause I want more. I definitely want more. I'm glad that you guys are are. It was one of the questions I wanted to know is how is the writing process going nowadays? It seems like there's there's music coming out, and you guys seem to be in a really nice groove together. And can you elaborate on like how is it going now with with this collaboration that you're doing?
Scott:I think it's going pretty good. I think in the there were times in the beginning where I would get nervous, like, oh my god, how are we ever gonna write like another good song? And then somehow a year later, we have like a bunch more that we're that we really like. But I think we've gotten better at sort of I used to make a lot more tracks that didn't get used. And now I'm the more I'm more the ones I make. Because I I guess I kinda have learned or have got we've gotten sort of like right.
Alex:Yeah, I think that we like started out really intuitively, and then I think I started thinking about things like in this weird way that I've only recently come to realize that I don't like. Like I I prefer the more intuitive, like when things come together that way. That's kind of just how we how we are, and that's our kind of way we work, like in this band. And I think sometimes you can try to force like, let's do like a happy song or something, and it just doesn't, it's just not from that that same place. So I've sort of learned to like not push against that and just lean it to the direction of I guess what we already were doing.
colleyc:So right, right, right. I mean, if it's working too, right? Like it's just reinforcing and trying it, practicing it more and more. It seems to be like on the ascent, you know. Like I really feel this progression that's going on from listening to your singles throughout, you know, one listening. I can start to pick out some. But Scott, I wanted to ask you this question is that how did you how did you get on this kind of dream poppy? Like you were talking about, I mean, and this is a while ago, but you know, more of a grungy, you know, velvety underground y like where did this come from, this style that you guys are now, you know, bathing in beautifully? What what was the catalyst? Or was it something that as you were, you know, going through your musical journey that you were like, I want to start doing things in a little bit of a different way, I want this more vibe in it? Like, how did you come to uh say, okay, this is Miraball and I want this kind of sound going on with it?
Scott:I guess I've I've definitely have always wanted to do something more like involved with like synths or not like heavy synth music, but I've always wanted to do something more dreamy or yeah, it seemed kind of unattainable for some reason. Because when I was making music in the past, it wasn't I didn't always have access to like computers and like that's helped shape, you know, uh using logic and it's kind of helped shape and make it more possible to do dreamer music. But I've always kind of uh wanted to do stuff that it's like it's actually kind of hilarious. Like sometimes I want to do something and I'm like I consider it dainty. And probably the person dainty. I love it. Dainty have a dainty side.
colleyc:I mean it's good to discover what you know yeah, right. I think too it's trickier to play like playing loud seems easier, you know. It's not like where you can just kind of thrash around, but when you're like playing slower music, you have to uh focus more, I think. It's like it's not as just you know, you know, uh pounding on the guitar or like everything is placed there for a reason and you're building this kind of mood and feeling as the song evolves. Not to say that you know rock and grunge and all that other stuff isn't has its place. I'm just saying it it's a different Yeah.
Scott:I I mean some of my earlier bands that I was really into are like Dinosaur Jr., which are really loud. But yeah, it's it's a big learning experience to play a lot softer and more sparse. And it's I guess so you kind of find that you're hiding behind a big distorted guitar. It kind of it feels really awkward to play soft and clean and with like reverb. I mean, even reverb is like sort of a crutch. But uh the more it's definitely awkward and it's you it takes like getting used to and you have to use we definitely have to like use our brain a lot more and arrange things so that they're not so there's captivating and without being loud. And so yeah, it's I actually was a really sort of appreciate the ascension like down in volume. It's been kind of I would say it's definitely been a learning experience and I actually didn't think it was possible to play so soft. I had friends who are a little bit more like Cass McCombs, and I was like, I just didn't know how they did it. Now I feel like we could do that.
Alex:When when you're playing live, your nerves you automatically start the volume of air. So it's really hard to restrain it down. And it's actually something I've been trying to do for years, and it's very hard. And I remember like I was talking to Nadelle Teresi, who's like this really awesome musician, and I just always thought she was so great. And like she we were talking about that and how like, you know, like restraining, like when a band can really restrain it down, like that's actually really like kind of where it's at, you know. And so, like ever since that conversation, I think that was like five years ago or something, I was like about that, and I agree. I think it's kind of it is more difficult, in my opinion.
colleyc:Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I I love your point to Alex that you were like on stage in particular, you know, because you're just like the adrenaline's going and there's people talking, you're like, I'm going over top of all that. And it it it changes the whole meaning of what your song might, you know, the intent behind it anyway.
Alex:Definitely, and it can change the genre even like a little bit, and which is like you know, it happens and live is live and whatever. Sometimes it has that energy, but even just like the singing. I mean, again, I try not to get too like on myself, but even just that, like, I'll hear it. I'm like, oh, I'm like yelling, like I don't like whatever. But I try to just like let it roll off my back. We actually, I think that is one way that we've grown, is just we have gotten a lot better at that. And also, even our I I would say our new song, our newest song is slightly more complex and maybe a little more restrained than our earlier songs. And I don't know if it will keep going into a quieter direction. We definitely have some a little bit bigger, like atmospheric things that we might put out soon. But but yeah, I would say that is kind of one way that we've grown probably in that direction.
colleyc:I've been hearing it. Like if you look listen through your singles, you can start to the restraint and and like the nuances were so important. Like, I just I've been really loving actually I stopped myself from listening to it over and over because I don't want to wear it out, but I've been really enjoying the detail of what you guys are doing. And I'll I wanted to ask you too, like what like what what is the future like look like for you guys? Like, what are your aspirations as a group that you can share with us? And also what what do you see happening the rest of this year into 2026 with Murable?
Alex:We see opening for Oasis and okay. I don't know, like we it's weird, as hard as it is and as like kind of heartbreaking as it is out there sometimes. Like, I think we just are both we're kind of like the energizer bunny or whatever. Like we just never give up, we just go, go, go. And I think that's one thing that we have common because we've we've both been playing music for so long. And in LA, which is I would I consider the hardest city play. I don't know if there is a harder city out there to play, which I think in some weird way kind of makes you like I I'm actually lying because I'm really sensitive still, but I do think it kind of makes you like stealed a little bit, which in some ways is helpful. But yeah, we just like like we said, I think we're just really excited to continue like this direction. We we have more songs that Chris Cody produced that we actually haven't gotten out yet. So we're really excited to get those out, and then also some newer ones and just kind of round out the album.
colleyc:And we're just excited to get an album out because we want a tour and of he bring to the recording process that was surprising to you guys.
Alex:I think, well, for me, I'll just answer really quick. I think for me, like again, like with Chris, it was I almost want to say intuitive, like we all sort of knew what it should sound like in this weird way. And that was interesting because I had not really found anyone else like that outside of Scott, where it was like almost like, yeah, like we already know, I don't know, what doing. And I would say, like at the time for me, it was kind of a blur. And then, of course, there's a little pressure where I'm like, am I like, you know, what if I don't do a good job or something? It's like our day of recording here, and I don't know. But when I look back, I go like, oh man, because he was always like some of the stuff, I'm not gonna lie, go over my head, like when he was talking about just very technical things that he does. And some of it I would I catch on to. But like one he would just do these really little details that were. Really like in the moment you're like, oh cool, but then you realize later, like, no, that really mattered. Like one thing that he did on like red hot dust, I remember is he like I don't remember exactly how he did it, but he put the drums like a tiny bit behind the beat. Like I forget what he used.
Scott:He he slid he he moved the bass a little bit.
Alex:Oh yeah. So he do stuff like that where it was like like to try to make him like more hypnotic. Yeah. It was just so cool to work with someone that knows.
Scott:Yeah, you talked about like a a very old logic click that was kind of like forced the drummer to kind of like play a little bit. So he did little things like that that were like little subtle production moves that you don't really know you don't really hear it or it doesn't stick out, but it's like how the track moves and Yeah, totally and I mean I imagine Scott that experience for you as well, had already kind of had having dabbled in the recording process and the mixing that like whenever you bring another mind in, it must you know help your mind expand.
colleyc:Oh yeah, for sure.
Alex:We learned a lot from recording.
Scott:I learned a ton. I learned everything pretty much that we know. Like our whole I I honestly didn't even know how to use logic very well. No.
colleyc:Okay. But you did you did it, Scott, and you put stuff out doing it, so you you're able to do it. You know, yeah.
Scott:In the beginning it was very it was very tough, but he was actually very good about like if I hit him up. He's a very busy person and gets on a lot of big doing he's always mixing some big band or something.
Alex:Yeah, he's always busy.
Scott:And he's totally willing to answer my dumb logic question.
Alex:He misses us. Like why I gotta record vocals a bit better after that. Because I learned like a couple of little tricks, just like I'll record now my vocals at home without reverb because because it makes you feel better when you can hear reverbs while you're recording, but you actually get better takes, I feel like, when you record without just little things like that that you don't really even notice you're picking up on. Yeah. You kind of learned all these new things.
colleyc:That's wicked. That's wicked. Well, and the music gets I mean, like I said, I feel like you guys are raising and rising. So I mean, I want to thank you guys both for putting the music you have put out. I've been enjoying the hell out of it. I think it's very well done, very thoughtful and has just such a beautiful, complete sound to it. I really think you guys are on to something exciting. And that being said, I'm very excited about what's coming down the pipe for you guys with with more music. I want to just thank you guys for that, and also that I hope that when you have your first LP out that we can get back together and and you know, dissect it and look at all the little beauties that you guys have created through the record.
Alex:Definitely. We love that.
colleyc:And when are you guys thinking like that you might have something that will be dropping? Are you guys looking more to 2026 for maybe an LP to be released, or are you even looking further than that?
Alex:No further. No further than that.
colleyc:Right.
Alex:We were saying around like Yeah. 2026, for sure, yeah. We were hoping March, but we'll see. But we're gonna see if we're gonna do any more singles. We might do like one more. But yeah, we're I think we're just gonna try to work hard on getting the album done this month. And then played it for we were talking originally March, but we'll see. Yeah.
colleyc:Amazing. Well, I want my listeners out there to go check these guys out. Go check a show out, pick up um a piece of merchandise, support them. It's really great music. You'll love the track. We're gonna play red hot dust at the end of this, so don't go anywhere, people, because when I we stop talking, they're gonna start singing. All the best, guys. This has been a ton of fun. I really appreciate you guys carving a little time out to share some of your story with us. And I really look forward to the next one.
Alex:Thank you so much. I really enjoyed your questions and actually hearing Scott's answers. I didn't know so much.
colleyc:There you go. We learned a little bit about each all of each other today, which is great. Thanks so much, guys. Thank you.
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