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Artist
Mieko Shimizu
12+ albums
art popjapanesefemale vocalistsj-pop
about
Mieko Shimizu (清水三恵子) is a London based Japanese singer, songwriter, composer and producer. She first erupted onto the scene as Apache 61; her searing alter ego, fusing layers of cross-woven breaks and battling shards of sub-bass within stateless melodies drawn from the fringes of the avant-garde. Her last album, ‘My Tentacles’, released as Mico, saw her return to a deeper, more reflective state in the cavernous depth of beautiful symphonic songs that oscillated with glitchy electronica. Her latest album took five years to write. Although she almost abandoned her plans to make it when she was admitted to hospital for two life-threatening operations. While in hospital, a heroin addict was moved into the bed next to Mieko and began to terrorise the ward. The only thing that would calm the mayhem was an old Scottish lady singing traditional folk songs. It was listening to the lady, and seeing the effect that her signing was having, that made Mieko realise the power of music, and this gave her the resolve to finish her album. What resulted is ‘I Bloom’, a gorgeous record of interleaving haunting melodies. It has songs that are both beautiful in their sincerity and tantalising in their simplicity. Her unerring elegance and undying passion take you on a journey from hidden places across emotional landscapes to distant nebulae. On ‘In Bloom’, she collaborated with William D Drake of The Cardiacs. She worked with Japan’s Mick Karn, Nitin Sawhney and the London Symphony Orchestra
