MIRADOR

In the band, 21st century guitar hero, innovator, songwriter, and GRAMMY® Award-winning Greta Van Fleet co-founder Jake Kiszka not only shares vocal and guitar duties with critically acclaimed co-vocalist and guitarist Chris Turpin of Ida Mae, but he also shines as a producer and songwriter, stepping out on his own. Working and songwriting in tandem with Jake and curating this vision side-by-side, Chris has emerged as a perfect creative partner, adding yet another dimension to MIRADOR.

Fiercely resolute in an unapologetic commitment to bucking any and all rules, the group stretches the limits of rock ‘n’ roll blasted out of the stratosphere by a thunderous vocal call-and-response, fret-burning six-string sorcery, and evocative lyrics. Jake, Chris, and their musical cohorts have paved an unprecedented path rife with uncompromising fire, unbridled fearlessness, and unmatched attitude, laying the groundwork for a rock ‘n’ roll movement beyond the established scope of the genre.

Now, this vision roars to life on their 2025 self-titled full-length debut, MIRADOR.

“MIRADOR comes from a deep passion for rock ‘n’ roll, early folk, and country blues as well as folklore,” says Chris. “We absorbed these threads of narrative and emotion.”

“Our world lives in those traditions,” Jake goes on. “There’s an unspoken mysticism. You can trace it back to the stories of meeting the devil at the crossroads, selling your soul, and losing your mind to the wind. MIRADOR definitely inhabits a lot of that. We’re hyper aware of our lineage, so we can build our own future as a band. It’s two guitar players from notable groups coming together to create a new mythology. As soon as we were in uncharted territory, we knew we were doing something right.”

Jake and Chris initially met back in 2018 when Ida Mae opened up for Greta Van Fleet during a sold-out three-night stand at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, MI. Ida Mae later canvased North America with Greta Van Fleet. On the road, Jake and Chris cemented their friendship by way of late-night jam sessions fuelled by wine and a shared passion for everyone from Charley Patton, Muddy Waters, and Lightnin’ Hopkins to Martin Carthy, Bert Jansch, and Fairport Convention. Back in Nashville, these friends continued to collaborate, deciding to “write a couple of songs for fun” during 2023. A week later, they had ten tunes. The name MIRADOR spoke to their ongoing creative conversation.

“In Spanish, ‘MIRADOR’ translates to ‘viewpoint’ and ‘tower’,” Chris notes. “In terms of perspectives, Jake was looking towards the UK for early rock ‘n’ roll inspiration. Meanwhile, I was surrounded by ancient coastlines, and I was looking towards America for this unbelievable excitement in rock ‘n’ roll—like so many mad Brits did,” he laughs.

“We were like long lost brothers,” adds Jake. After we wrote those songs, I realised we had a chemistry I’d never had with anybody but my own brothers. It was obvious we needed to do this.”

They rounded out the lineup with the addition of Mikey Sorbello on drums and Nick Pini on bass & keys, virtuosic instrumentalists and underdogs of central London’s underground Jazz and Rock n’ Roll scene. This rhythm section expanded the scope of the band’s sound with hard-hitting and inventive rhythms and fluid integration of impressive bass fretwork and cinematic keys. The world got to know MIRADOR when they spent a month opening up Greta Van Fleet’s Starcatcher World Tour in arenas coast-to-coast throughout 2024. Galvanised by this nightly trial-by-fire, the band rolled right into a Savannah, GA studio with GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Dave Cobb [Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton], and they cut MIRADOR live in barely two weeks.

“After four weeks on our first tour, we went to the studio,” smiles Chris. “By the time we got there, Dave harnessed a lot of the intensity and frenetic energy from the road. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the golden age of rock ‘n’ roll, and he worked us very hard. It was proper rock ‘n’ roll!”

“If we didn’t cut our teeth in the most intense circumstances, I don’t think the record would have the same spirit,” Jake notes. “We were able to capture sheer chaos and madness. It was a seminal moment of creation.”

The guys introduce the album with 'Feels Like Gold'. Rumbling distorted guitar breaks like a wave on loose palm-muted phrasing above a robust backbeat. This momentum swells towards a towering chantable chorus, “And it feels like gold”—uplifted even higher by a hummable riff. Jake and Chris trade vocals fluidly until an evocative lead transfixes on the bridge.

“For me, it’s thematically fascinating,” Chris reveals. “You can envision two people coming together in a battle cry. There’s a sense of this happening just before the fight and the invaders run over the hill.”

“We wanted to write a song centered in the Detroit rock ‘n’ roll, blues, and punk scenes,” recalls Jake. “There’s some conquest and war in there too. It has tension, and a cry for solidarity. It’s very foreboding.”

An ominous hum dissolves into lithely picked acoustic guitar on 'Must I Go Bound'. Ancient Uilleann Pipes echo in the distance as breathy harmonies weigh heavy on the production. It culminates on a heartbroken refrain, “Must I love another that’s never loved me.”

“It hints at our intention with MIRADOR,” Jake states. “‘Must I Go Bound’ is a prime example of two musicians coming together simply to play. It encapsulates the essence of our kinship and philosophy. It’s about brotherhood and longing, in one sense.”

“Jake had written a piece of music, and I sculpted around it,” Chris remembers. “I pulled the chorus lyrics from an old ballad book. We changed them to be modern, but it’s simple.”

Then, there’s 'Fortune’s Fate'. A turbulent guitar groove tosses and turns, and emotion overflows on the confessional chorus, “there goes my shadow to the one I love.”

“Sonically, it’s blues-based,” Jake adds. “We were thinking of a character who’s searching for his treasure or destiny and the journey he takes to get there. This idea of a quest really underscores the whole album.”

Elsewhere, 'Heels of the Hunt' launches forward on a rapid-fire drum roll, while wild riffs chase goosebump-inducing vocals through a bluesy haze. “Blackbeard used to hang around Savannah, GA, and Dave took us to some old pirate bars,” Chris comments. “We’re teasing pirate culture. The phrase ‘Heels of the Hunt’ came from my mother-in-law who is Northern Irish. If you’re stressed or find yourself in a predicament, you can say, ‘I landed at the heels of the hunt’.”

The finale 'Skyway Drifter' opens like a finger-picked dream accented by glimmering acoustic tones. It reaches for the heavens with a cathartic breakdown of distorted riffing awash in cinematic strings. “There are two drifters on the skyway,” Jake sets the scene. “One is traveling north, and one is headed east. We talked about all of these characters, but this was a way to paint ourselves into the story like, ‘Here are Chris and I’.”

In the end, MIRADOR have given rock ‘n’ roll a myth like no other.

“For me, it would be beautiful if this is all-consuming for listeners—like when you see a movie at the cinema,” Jake concludes. “We’re trying to immerse people in the world of MIRADOR and where we’re coming from. There’s so much duality in the album: the humanity, the soul, the adventure, the tyranny, and the journey. It’s a very important record for us, but also in terms of what has gone down in the world of rock ‘n’ roll today. We hope you feel like you belong to this place as much as we do.”