- bio -

Mir (meer) has sprung up and survived, in spite of difficult times in today's music industry. One of the most innovative and melodic new groups to come out of Canada, Mir's unique, challenging, easily identifiable sound makes them stand out clearly against all other pop/rock groups.

Unwaveringly sincere and universally relevant to life as we live it; Mir's songs have very broad enduring appeal. The trio, emotionally charged in the studio, and all the more so on stage, has succeeded in developing a new sound and an original style that embraces the old with the new and creates something of broader and higher synthesis.

Mir creates an exciting new definition of the term "pop music". Asif Illyas, Shehab Illyas and Adam Dowling bring charm, wit and reflection into the pop genre; characteristics that were seemingly swept away with the tide in the early 1990's. It seems these days that the recording industry is spilling forth with music by artists who offer a watered-down version of what has already been done, or who perform songs written to appeal to a certain audience. A very diluted, insincere and premeditated pattern of songwriting has emerged, stalling any inspiration in pop-musical growth. Mir consistently strives to offer something more in the face of the mainstream.

Asif and Shehab were born in Sri Lanka, grew up in London, England, and have been pursuing their music with passion ever since in their home, Halifax, Canada. Drummer, Adam, and the Illyas brothers crossed paths along the way and clicked instantly; mutually agreeing that pop music could fuse meaningful song writing with new elements in instrumentation, performance and arrangement. Their songs are catchy, sweet, powerful, sad, sometimes simple, sometimes complex; but anything but boring and predictable. They seamlessly blend elements of drum, guitar and bass, with dance, hip hop, rock and traditional world music instruments while never veering too far from the core fundamentals of great pop music - powerful rhythms, meaningful thought provoking lyrics, memorable melodies, rooted in soulful emotion.

Mir has risen above the typical standards in the world of today's predictable music to get their sound heard. They continue to raise the bar as they challenge themselves and their listeners. Mir insists their quest is not to stray off the beaten path but rather to forge a new one based on the time-honoured qualities of melody, sincerity and meaning in modern music.

Mir's smooth blend of electronica, pop, and world flavours has landed them on stages and recordings as diverse as OzFest to sharing space on European CD compilations with Sting, Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell. Their resourcefulness has provided them with their own compact but functional recording studio where they spend their time as musicians, re-mix engineers and songsmiths. They have also created their own annual festival, the, "Mir Supershow", where they make live music with other great Canadian and international recording artists along with an orchestra, to deliver a unique concert with world-class distinction. It is this dynamic, industrious nature that cements Mir as one of Canada's most promising pop acts.