Photo by Tanner Pandleton
From gossamer harmonic textures to lush orchestral washes, MIZU builds expansive soundscapes through her singular cello playing. Her stratiform style of composition, melding self-recorded layers of her instrument with electronic manipulation and experimental production, explores themes of transformation and the infinite possibilities within queerness. Taking on new life onstage, MIZU’s work interrogates and challenges the boundaries between concert, theater, and performance art through electrifying and cathartic stagings.
Forest Scenes, MIZU’s latest full-length, is an acknowledgment of the mystery of transcendent experiences and the thrills of self-discovery. The record charts multitudinous connections, inspired in equal parts by the vast urbanity of São Paulo, where MIZU composed the record, the queer spaces and dancefloors of New York City, and in the more abstract place of a self in transition. Forest Scenes deftly interweaves the organic and the synthetic, its wide range of sonic densities a reflection of its diverse origins. The album received critical praise and attention from Pitchfork, NOWNESS Asia, Bandcamp Daily, PopMatters, and I Care If You Listen, amongst others.
MIZU’S debut album Distant Intervals, released in Spring 2023, distills her musical memories as a classically-trained performer and weaves classical motifs with experimental sound design and open-ended arrangements. The album landed in the Top 10 of the Billboard Classical Crossover charts, and received critical praise and attention from platforms such as Bandcamp Daily, New Sounds, Stereogum, I Care If You Listen, Foxy Digitalis, and Them.
A fervent collaborator, MIZU has worked across genre and medium with movement artists such as Lili (Luyan Li), Kennie Zhou, and Antonius-Tín Bui, directors George Miller, Xiao Han, and Dan Silver, visual artists Kevin Peter He and Alexander Baumann, and costume designer MEGHUN. She has performed extensively with guitarist and electronic producer Rachika Nayar, collaborated with techno producer and flutist Concrete Husband, and was featured on the recent album Spike Field by singer-songwriter Maria BC.
MIZU has lent her talents to scoring numerous media works, films, and live performances. Most recently she scored 4 | 2 | 3, a full-length production by choreographer duo Baye & Asa, which premiered at New York’s Baryshnikov Arts Center in March 2024. The score received critical praise from The New York Times.
MIZU’s performance highlights include hometown shows in New York - opening for Tim Hecker at Pioneer Works, opening for Geotic at Public Records, and a performance at The Noguchi Museum. Her concert appearances have taken her to Tokyo, Japan and on a cross-country tour to Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Washington DC. Most recently, MIZU performed at Rewire 2024 in The Hague, Netherlands, and completed another US headlining tour.
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