In 2015 guitar legend Gordon Giltrap MBE was a guest at Mark Soden's Award Winning Boutique B&B and discovered that his host had a small recording studio in an old stable block on the site. Gordon couldn't resist grabbing an acoustic guitar from the boot of his car whilst Mark couldn't resist grabbing a fine bottle of red, and the pair of them spent an afternoon jamming and laying down some ideas. These sessions would later be edited and used within the Cydonia Collective project.

Gordon then introduced Mark to Paul White, Executive Editor at Sound on Sound Magazine and award winning author of music technology books. Paul is a BASCA recipient who had produced and recorded some of Gordon's fine work in the Eighties and continues to work with Gordon to this day. Pauls' magazine subsequently featured the re-building of Mark's studio set-up in his attic conversion. During this process they discovered a love of all things ambient and cinematic as well as a common interest in home recording and bespoke french baguettes from a local deli which are now a ritual during Mirror Noir sessions.

Paul and Mark swapped sample libraries and ideas and in 2016 sat down together and started working on "STASIS" their first project as a duo. The albums kept on coming and in 2018 they teamed up with Output Music in California who have provided many of the software instruments used by Paul and Mark today. They now have an enviable collection of sound sources and plug-ins at their disposal. 

Mirror Noir continues to grow and the label's music now features many classical, contemporary and modernist artists including Alice Rose Wild, Mary Pitchford, Raymond Burley and  GG himself who has contributed to tracks on all of The 8 original Cydonia Collective Albums. The Gordon Giltrap NHS Charity Single has also been released through Mirror Noir and The Malvern Gazette has featured this story HERE.

CLICK HERE  for Gordon Giltrap's official website.