Mira Aroyo Explained

Mira Aroyo
Native Name:Мира Аройо
Background:person
Birth Date:1977 7, df=yes
Birth Place:Sofia, Bulgaria
Years Active:1999–present
Label:Nettwerk

Mira Aroyo (Bulgarian: Мира Аройо, in Bulgarian pronounced as /ˈmirə ɐˈrɔjo/; born 1977) is a Bulgarian-born Israeli-English singer, musician, songwriter, DJ, and geneticist. She is best known as the keyboardist, co-lead vocalist, and co-songwriter of the electronic band Ladytron, which she co-founded in Liverpool in 1999. She writes and performs her Ladytron lyrics in both Bulgarian and English.

Early life

Aroyo was born in Sofia on 11 July 1977,[1] the daughter of Jewish parents.[2] She moved with her family to Israel when she was 10, and later to England.[2] The first musical instrument that she played was the guitar,[3] having also played the accordion when she was younger.[4] Although her parents were uneasy about her decision to pursue music, they were nevertheless supportive and respectful of her choice of vocation.[5]

Career

Scientific career

Following the completion of her undergraduate education, Aroyo pursued postgraduate research studies in genetics;[6] she was a doctoral student[7] in the Division of Molecular Genetics at the Department of Biochemistry of the University of Oxford,[8] where she was supervised by Dr. François-Xavier Barre[9] and Professor David J. Sherratt.[10] [11] [12] In 2003, the Department of Biochemistry noted that Aroyo was a postgraduate geneticist and recognised the release of her band's second album, Light and Magic.[13]

Contrary to claims that she completed her DPhil degree, specifically in or around 2002[14] (though it has also been claimed that, as late as 2008, she was still a candidate),[15] Aroyo left science and her doctoral programme before completing it and graduating.[7] In an interview with The Sunday Mail, she explained that, "We all had jobs when we started Ladytron then little by little we ditched them. I was a geneticist doing a PhD and realizing lab work wasn't for me. We were doing Ladytron at the same time and I was enjoying it more. It was easier and more fun".[16] In a later interview, when asked, "Apparently you were enrolled as a PhD student in Oxford. Seems like a pretty prestigious post did you ever have any doubts leaving academia for Ladytron?", Aroyo replied, "Yes. For the first 3 years of Ladytron I was juggling both, until it became apparent that I would be compromising both if I continued that way. I was young and it seemed a lot more fun at the time to travel the world playing music".[17]

Musical career

In the summer of 1999, Liverpool-based producers and DJs Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu met students Helen Marnie through various DJ gigs[18] and Aroyo through a mutual friend.[19] Sharing similar interests in music, they formed the electronic band Ladytron in the same year. Since then, Aroyo is the secondary singer of the band, and also plays synthesizers and contributes to songwriting.

Aroyo also collaborated with the indie pop band The Projects.[20] The song "Don't Eat Meat" featured her as vocalist.[21] She also collaborated with John Foxx & The Maths for the song "Watching a Building on Fire".

Film and TV Production career

Aroyo was a producer of the 2018 documentary "Can You Feel It - How Dance Music Conquered the World". She is the Director of History 101, a 2020 TV Series on Netflix.[22]

Personal life

Aroyo married photography curator Harry Hardie in 2010.[23] Their daughter, Noa, was born on 23 February 2012.[24] [25] They live in London.[26]

Aroyo is a pescetarian[27] and an advocate for animal rights.[28] She has an interest in architecture and presented a 15-minute short film, The Folly, about "the cottage home of an elderly lady who has to adapt to her remote surroundings as she gets older".[29]

Instruments

During Ladytron's live shows, Mira Aroyo plays synthesizers and occasionally sings. Her primary synthesizer is Korg MS-20, which she used since the band's beginnings.

Aroyo played live the following instruments for the band:

On the early part of Witching Hour tour, Ladytron used to name their four identical Korg MS2000B to be easier installed on stage. Her MS2000B keyboard was named Babylon.[30]

Discography

Ladytron

See main article: Ladytron discography.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ladytron - Gig Reviews. Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Paris. Pompor. 25 September 2008.
  2. Web site: Ladytron's Mira Aroyo on Bulgarian Chalga Music. BEAST Magazine.
  3. Web site: Beatport Live presents Ladytron's Mira Aroyo Beatportal . 2012-07-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111007155825/http://www.beatportal.com/feed/item/taste-test-mira-ladytron/ . 2011-10-07 . dead .
  4. Web site: Insider: Ladytron. Roland U.S..
  5. Web site: An Interview with Ladytron's Mira Aroyo. Chi Ming. Lai. 4 March 2011. The Electricity Club. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140314175355/http://www.electricity-club.co.uk/ladytron-interview/. 14 March 2014.
  6. Web site: I love technology that simplifies my life. Natalie. Hanman. 3 August 2007. The Guardian.
  7. Web site: 60 second interview: Ladytron's Mira Aroyo . Avril . Cadden . Sunday Mail . unfit . https://web.archive.org/web/20110303011146/http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/music-news/2008/06/01/60-second-interview-ladytron-s-mira-aroyo-78057-20591556/ . March 3, 2011 .
  8. Web site: In a league of their own. Andrew. Perry. 5 December 2002. The Telegraph.
  9. Web site: F.-X. Barre's lab. Centre de Génétique Moléculaire, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. 2014-03-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20140314194256/http://www.cnrs-gif.fr/cgm/barre/index_gb.html. 2014-03-14. dead.
  10. Web site: 2000 D.Phil. Symposium Programme and Abstracts - Mira Aroyo. Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford. 2014-03-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061513/http://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/graduate/DPhilSymposium00.html#Aroyo. 2016-03-04. dead.
  11. Web site: Prof David Sherratt Page. Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford. 2014-03-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20180825191113/https://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/aspsite/index.asp?pageid=600. 2018-08-25. dead.
  12. Web site: Sherratt Lab. Department of Biochemistry, Oxford.
  13. Web site: Department of Biochemistry - Admin & Adverts January 2003 . unfit . https://web.archive.org/web/20070710051808/http://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/newsletter/PDF/adminjanuary2003.pdf . July 10, 2007 .
  14. Web site: Home entertainment: Ladytron. The Guardian.
  15. Web site: She Blinded Me with Science. Thomas. Matich. 10 June 2008. Real Detroit Weekly. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140314174812/http://www.realdetroitweekly.com/detroit/ladytron/Content?oid=1203774. 14 March 2014.
  16. Web site: 60 second interview: Ladytron's Mira Aroyo . The Daily Record . unfit . https://web.archive.org/web/20110303011146/http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/music-news/2008/06/01/60-second-interview-ladytron-s-mira-aroyo-78057-20591556/ . March 3, 2011 .
  17. Web site: Mira Aroyo (Ladytron) - March 23, 2011 - Interview. Peter Quincy. Ng. 23 March 2011.
  18. Web site: 3/29 – Ladytron – 'Best Of: 00 – 10' . Nettwerk Press Blog . 14 February 2011 . 8 May 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131224110841/http://nettskinny.com/release/20110214/329-ladytron-best-00-10 . 24 December 2013 . dead .
  19. Web site: Videovision: Ladytron interview. 2002 . 8 May 2013.
  20. http://www.myspace.com/letsgetstatic THE PROJECTS | Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's
  21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MhK4IFrfZk The Projects - Don't Eat Meat - YouTube
  22. Web site: Mira Aroyo . 2023-03-28 . MUBI . en.
  23. News: Bedales Association and Old Bedalian Newsletter 2011 (PDF page 40). Bedales Association. 6 May 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110928030620/http://www.bedales.org.uk/media/37/1837-bedales-newsletter-2011-lores.pdf. 28 September 2011.
  24. Web site: Ladytron Wraps Their Tour in Miami. Brennan. Forsyth. 15 October 2011. Rhythm Scene. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140314194807/http://www.rhythmscene.com/2011/10/ladytron-wraps-their-tour-in-miami/. 14 March 2014.
  25. Web site: Bedales Association and Old Bedalian Newsletter 2013. Bedales Schools. 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130903011018/http://www.bedales.org.uk/media/34/14834-bedales-association-and-old-bedalian-newsletter-2013.pdf. 2013-09-03.
  26. Web site: Interview: Ladytron's Reubun Wu. stonebanks. 22 March 2013. City Weekend Guide. 24 March 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131030190416/http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/articles/blogs-shanghai/shanghais-nightlife/interview-ladytrons-reuben-wu/. 30 October 2013. dead.
  27. Web site: Electropop Band Ladytron Tell Us What's Really on Their Mind. Cat. Morley. 13 September 2008. Cut Out + Keep.
  28. Web site: Mira Aroyo. Viva! Activists. June 15, 2016.
  29. Web site: Architecture of Re-assurance. University College London.
  30. http://www.korg.com/Artist.aspx?artist=259 Aroyo's Korg MS2000B

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