Conversations with Mizu

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mizu

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was classically trained as a cellist at Juilliard in New York. Here I received both my Bachelors and Masters degrees. When I first started out at school, my intention was to follow a more traditional career path – either as a solo cellist or orchestral musician. Gradually, I began to realize that this was not the right path for me; while I loved classical music, I struggled to find my own voice within an oversaturated world, where numerous other cellists play the same Bach suite or Beethoven sonata with equal skill and facility.

While I was still in school, I started to find myself as a person through queer community in New York, meeting inspiring peers from other mediums and backgrounds. With the help from musicians of other genres, I began experimenting with musical software & recording processes through my cello.

To see this instrument I had known for my entire life being transformed through the infinite possibilities of digital production was like reigniting the magic with a lifelong friend/lover.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I definitely struggle with the pace of output which feels demanded of musicians in our capitalist economy.

I also don’t make easily accessible music per se; it is instrumental, and often longform – a bit of a hard point of entry for listeners. I think people like to latch onto words, song structures, beats – which very often, my music does not have.

Because of that, the inevitable struggle of competing with the human attention span always lingers.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
At the moment, I consider myself a cello player first and foremost. However, I am beginning to embrace my broader performance background – even before I picked up a cello, I was drawn to theater.

I was in musicals when I was young. At nine years old, I composed a full musical of my own.

This love for theater is slowly creeping back into my work as an experimental musician. I incorporate movement, elaborate staging, costume design, and lighting into my sets.

It thankfully seems to be received well. A few months ago at my album release party, an audience member even came up to me and said they had written an academic paper on my movement work with the cello! I was falttered and honored to hear that, though admittedly I’m scared to read what they had to say.. ha!

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
My live performance experiments definitely require many risks; often times it feels like I am going into battle.

In towns where I don’t know anyone, doing this weird little thing that I do requires so much resilience sometimes. I wouldn’t say an audience member in Iowa City is necessarily expecting to see a cellist in a tulle costume carrying their instrument on top their head.

How can I fight my own insecurities? What if the crowd doesn’t receive this as intended? It takes a hell of a lot to do that night after night.

Pricing:

• Music – priceless <3
• Show Tickets – has ranged from $10-150 (sometimes you can even catch me for free..!)
• Scoring Work (film, theater, dance) – ask my manager 😉

Contact Info:

• Website: https://iammizu.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iammizu__/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamm1zu/
• Twitter: https://x.com/iamMIZU
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@iammizu

Image Credits
Ellen Qbertplaya
Lisha Zheng
Kevin Stiles
Xiao Han
Chong Gu
Daedalus Li
Emilio Herce
Nicole Vergalla
Neil Haran