With a career that has seen her as an acclaimed Japanese electronic artist and producer, a trailblazing female drum’n’bass DJ (signed to Haruomi Hosono’s personal label), a collaborator with the likes of Riz MC (Riz Ahmed) and Mick Karn (JAPAN), and having her own residency at the Southbank, it’s safe to say that Mieko Shimizu is sui generis.
Upcoming single Snake Of Summer (out now), takes the avant-garde sensibilities of Bjork, and combines them with the pastoral harp sounds of Joanna Newsom to create a completely unique sonic amalgamation. Opening with the gentle striking of the Koto (Japanese harp) to create a soothing, pastoral and traditional sound, Mieko’s vocals soon enter with a breezy, rustic melody. A testament to her creative ability, Snake Of Summer is a complete departure from the more electronic focused tracks on upcoming album I Bloom.
“I wrote Snake of Summer about my mum and dad while they were still alive, they both passed away recently,” says Mieko. “I sang this song at my mother’s funeral and refer to them in the lyric “It’s time for Thinker and his Foxy Bride to go under the seasons to die”. I can hear my mother’s voice in the recording of this song, near the end!”
The chorus “we are all sunset watchers” is a quote from Aldous Huxley’s book ‘Island’ and refers to the fact that humans have stood in the same places as every generation of our ancestors since time immemorial watching the sun go down just like Mieko, her mum and dad, to which this song is dedicated.
