Mieko Shimizu's single 'Lazy Light' ft William D Drake of Cardiacs is an ethereal slice of lo-fi goodness
UK-based Japanese singer-songwriter and composer Mieko Shimizu is set to premiere her new single ‘Lazy Light' on July 3 via Street Furniture Records. This is the latest track off her album 'I Bloom', which released earlier this year. The swirling number is an ethereal slice of undulating lo-fi goodness, and was developed as a collaboration with William D Drake of the seminal band Cardiacs — he both co-wrote and sang guest vocals on the song.
It has been remixed by the Mercury Prize-winning Mike Lindsay (of Tunng fame) and it is perfect for a languid, hazy summer afternoon with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Even the music video for 'Lazy Light' conveys this floating vibe, beckoning us into a dreamy, laidback journey through a smoke-filled landscape. You can check out the meditative and pastel-soaked visuals for Mieko's new offering below:
Mieko and her brother, Yasuaki Shimizu (also a critically acclaimed artiste), arrived in London with a singular goal in mind – to subvert all expectations of what a Japanese female artiste could be capable of. With this statement of intent, Mieko broke into the UK electronic movement under the moniker of Apache 61, garnered plays by the iconic John Peel, and quickly built a name for herself in an underground music scene dominated by male contemporaries.
She soon signed to Haruomi Hosono’s label, Daisyworld, releasing her eponymous album and remixing tracks for Yellow Magic Orchestra soon after. This transcendental artiste is also an enigmatic live performer, having supported the likes of Goldfrapp and Massive Attack with Riz MC at the Meltdown Festival, and Kraftwerk at the Sonar music festival in Barcelona.
Mieko Shimizu's reflective and fluid style, backed by haunting vocals from William D Drake, creates a vibe perfect for introspective daydreaming on 'Lazy Light', with its warped and warbling soundscape. The track opens with pitch-bending guitars, in the vein of Connan Mockasin or Mac DeMarco, and then settles down into a super chilled stoner backbeat.
Speaking about the track, Mieko told MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), "The original 'Lazy Light' was co-written with William D Drake from the Cardiacs. I love William's songs, as they are so beautiful and magical. They have very strange chord structures with enigmatic Grimm's Fairy Tale-like lyrics. I instinctively thought he would bring a new ray of inspiration."
She also revealed some of the creative sparks that went into making the piece: "'Lazy Light' is based on my friend's death, but the ideology is more about the existence of human beings as energy and that energy still going on after death in some other form, like... particles or atoms. I asked Mike Lindsay from Tunng / Lump to remix this song as I knew he would somehow keep the sensitivity of the original and at the same time bring something completely new and inventive. He definitely didn’t disappoint!"
Mieko Shimizu's new single 'Lazy Light' ft William D Drake will be released on July 3 via Street Furniture Records, and we look forward to more therapeutic pieces from this prolific Japanese composer in the future.