London-based duo Mimi Xu – producer & electronic composer, and MAGUIRE – multi instrumentalist and lead vocalist came together as Awkward Moments in 2018.
Individually, Mimi Xu is well known for her catwalk soundtracks, film scores, and DJ sets, and has created immersive performance pieces for The Royal Academy of Arts, The Barbican, Meltdown Festival and The Gagosian Gallery. MAGUIRE is a classically trained pianist, vocalist, violist & violinist, who has performed at venues ranging from The Purcell Room and The Royal Festival Hall with The Arcade String Quartet, to Brighton Dome performing her solo material released on indie label 7476.
Together they premiered their debut album ‘An Entropic Cycle’ at Houghton Festival, and released it in March 2020. They followed this with a Remix EP featuring remixes from Ghost Culture (Daniel Avery, Kelly Lee Owens), Son of Philip and Bobby. Their track ‘Delighted To Be Free’ was part of the ‘Ambient Layers’ compilation on K7! Records. In 2021 they released their protest club track METACURSE in collaboration with Ghost Culture. Following that they released ‘A Strange Time EP’ in March 2022.
Their latest ongoing project ‘Life On Venus – Remixed & Reimagined’ is a collection of remixes by the likes of – Ewan Pearson, Craig Richards, Frank Wiedemann, Sasha, Trey Mirror & Hans Berg to name a few – that will become part of a limited edition vinyl art project and live performance piece; raising questions surrounding the male gaze, human connection, and queer identity.
The duo have performed their new mixed media show 'A Strange Time' at various European festivals including Houghton, She Makes Noise and FEST, played at HÖR Berlin, scored short films, and host an ongoing radio show on OpenLab Radio. They are currently finishing their second album ‘SIX SEASONS’ – an ambient neo-classical meditation on time, exploring man’s distorted relationship with the natural world – set for release in July 2023. For this they will collaborate with Valencia-based digital artists Pablo Alpe and Ana Piquer – pioneers in their field at developing cutting edge technologies to create a multi-disciplinary live performance. They are also working on their third album ‘A Strange Odyssey’ with co-producers Al Doyle (Hot Chip, LCD Sound System) and Liam Howe (Sneaker Pimps, FKA Twigs) – set for release in 2024.
Xu & MAGUIRE host a regular club night called ‘A Strange Night’– a cultural platform for good vibes – that promotes community and diversity in these divisive times, where they raise money for charities close to their hearts such as Choose Love, Choose Earth and In Place of War, and experiment with club friendly satellite performances. The events have seen DJ sets from 2ManyDJ’s, Ewan Pearson, Benji B, Joe Goddard, Tom VR, Paul Simonon (The Clash), James Massiah, and Shay Malt, and live performances from Tom Rasmussen, Häus of Dons, Daria Blum, BĘÃTFÓØT, Nah Eeto & Laima.
Individually, Mimi Xu is well known for her catwalk soundtracks, film scores, and DJ sets, and has created immersive performance pieces for The Royal Academy of Arts, The Barbican, Meltdown Festival and The Gagosian Gallery. MAGUIRE is a classically trained pianist, vocalist, violist & violinist, who has performed at venues ranging from The Purcell Room and The Royal Festival Hall with The Arcade String Quartet, to Brighton Dome performing her solo material released on indie label 7476.
Together they premiered their debut album ‘An Entropic Cycle’ at Houghton Festival, and released it in March 2020. They followed this with a Remix EP featuring remixes from Ghost Culture (Daniel Avery, Kelly Lee Owens), Son of Philip and Bobby. Their track ‘Delighted To Be Free’ was part of the ‘Ambient Layers’ compilation on K7! Records. In 2021 they released their protest club track METACURSE in collaboration with Ghost Culture. Following that they released ‘A Strange Time EP’ in March 2022.
Their latest ongoing project ‘Life On Venus – Remixed & Reimagined’ is a collection of remixes by the likes of – Ewan Pearson, Craig Richards, Frank Wiedemann, Sasha, Trey Mirror & Hans Berg to name a few – that will become part of a limited edition vinyl art project and live performance piece; raising questions surrounding the male gaze, human connection, and queer identity.
The duo have performed their new mixed media show 'A Strange Time' at various European festivals including Houghton, She Makes Noise and FEST, played at HÖR Berlin, scored short films, and host an ongoing radio show on OpenLab Radio. They are currently finishing their second album ‘SIX SEASONS’ – an ambient neo-classical meditation on time, exploring man’s distorted relationship with the natural world – set for release in July 2023. For this they will collaborate with Valencia-based digital artists Pablo Alpe and Ana Piquer – pioneers in their field at developing cutting edge technologies to create a multi-disciplinary live performance. They are also working on their third album ‘A Strange Odyssey’ with co-producers Al Doyle (Hot Chip, LCD Sound System) and Liam Howe (Sneaker Pimps, FKA Twigs) – set for release in 2024.
Xu & MAGUIRE host a regular club night called ‘A Strange Night’– a cultural platform for good vibes – that promotes community and diversity in these divisive times, where they raise money for charities close to their hearts such as Choose Love, Choose Earth and In Place of War, and experiment with club friendly satellite performances. The events have seen DJ sets from 2ManyDJ’s, Ewan Pearson, Benji B, Joe Goddard, Tom VR, Paul Simonon (The Clash), James Massiah, and Shay Malt, and live performances from Tom Rasmussen, Häus of Dons, Daria Blum, BĘÃTFÓØT, Nah Eeto & Laima.
Photo by Jak Payne