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'Nebula 1 & 2' is the first collaboration between Mieko Shimizu and Jasmine Morris, commissioned as part of a Not Applicable season of live performances hosted in venues throughout London in 2023.
Musical landscapes formed of arresting string harmonies dissolve into electro-acoustic seas, eventually submerging us into a world of rhythmic electronic currents and ancient memories. As the compositions evolve, we wash up on the shores of what might be distant planets, familiar but uncanny, our senses reawakened to a new reality where inter-planetary and inter-generational forces unite.
The recording captures a unique moment in Mieko and Jasmine's respective lives and acknowledges a shared passion for electronic music, fostered in part through their relationship as mother and daughter.
MIEKO SHIMIZU
Mieko Shimizu is a London based Japanese singer, songwriter, composer and producer.
Mieko first erupted onto the late 90s dance music 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. Haruomi Hosono of the cult electro-pop act ‘Yellow Magic Orchestra’, signed Mieko to his label ‘Daisy World’, where she released her first eponymous album. Following albums for several independent London based labels, 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.
Consolidating her unique voice and production style, Mieko has since released work under he own name, culminating in her most recent; 'In Bloom' an arresting suite of songs that are both beautiful in their sincerity and tantalising in their simplicity. The album also features collaborations with William D Drake of The Cardiacs.
During the course of her career Mieko has also worked with Japan’s Mick Karn, Nitin Sawhney and the London Symphony Orchestra (on the Japanese silent film ‘Yogoto no Yume’), David Cunningham from The Flying Lizards, Robert Lippok of To Rococo Rot and re-mixed the likes of Coldcut.
Mieko has also produced scores for contemporary dance company Phoenix Dance Theatre as well as the Ballet ‘The Red Balloon’ at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre. She was made an ‘Emerging Artist in Residence’ at London’s Southbank Centre where she collaborated with the London Philharmonic Orchestra on her own compositions.
In her new live shows, Mieko combines ancient and modern. She’s currently performing with Keiko Kitamura playing the Koto – a type of Japanese harp – while she combines Moog synthesiser, keyboards, FX pedals and vocals to create a luscious, ethereal live show.
JASMINE MORRIS
Jasmine Morris is a musician and composer based in London.
Jasmine studied at the Royal College of Music under the tutelage of Kenneth Hesketh and Catherine Kontz. She has been awarded multiple residencies (Britten-Pears Young Artist, Dartington Music Festival, Luxembourg Composition Fellow) and prizes (BBC Young Composer). She is also due to start at Cornell University this fall.
Her work has been premiered at the Barbican, Tate Modern, Aldeburgh Music Festival and King's Place. Further commissions have come from the LSO, Riot Ensemble, Solem Quartet, CoMA and the Viktoria Mullova Ensemble.
In 2020, Jasmine collaborated with musician Per Runberg on the album Astrophilia, released by the label Nonclassical. She also performs frequently as an electronic artist and has played various live sets in venues around the UK (The Rose Hill, Hundred Years Gallery, The Glove That Fits, State 51 conspiracy, The Village Underground.)
J.Lynch (aka Thirty Pounds of Bone) plays with organic elements, including prepared piano, against electronics to impressionistic effect. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 21, 2023
Warped electronic tones populate the latest from Willowbranches, curling and twisting into fascinating sonic shapes. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 12, 2022
