Mizan K.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • producer
  • videographer
  • performer
Instrument(s)keyboards, vocals, synth
Years active2010–present
Websitemizan.world

Mizan K., known professionally as Mizan, is an Ethiopian singer, songwriter, videographer and producer.[1] Following a series of singles, she self-released her debut EP, Dark Blue in November 2015, which garnered attention for its minimalistic musical and performance style.[2][1][3][4]

Early life and education

Mizan was raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and attended a higher music institution at a young age where she studied piano.[5] At home, her family collected Ethiopian-pop tapes, Soul, and Motown records, including works of Aster Aweke, Ella Fitzgerald, Bizunesh Bekele, Tilahun Gessesse, and Bettye Swann.[5] She learned to compose lyrics, poetry, and experimented with creating lo-fi productions, and performed regularly for friends and in talent shows during her time in high school.[5][6][7] Mizan moved to the United States to study literature. She moved to New York City in 2013.[5][8]

Career

Dark Blue: 2010–2015

In 2013, Mizan moved to New York where she continued work on music. Her free-styled cover songs" including "Crazy" by CeeLo Green, and "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers earned her 1st place at the Amateur Night in the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.[9] She soon set up a studio with long time collaborator The Brown Ghost to start recording a collection of tracks, which would later become Dark Blue.[10] Together, they produced and composed all the music and videos with an all DIY approach.[10] "Dissatisfied" with the limited and "sanitized romance" of pop music, the two combined "electronic", "keyboard elements," as well as traditional instruments to create a work that "looks to minimalism and relatability as the music's primary goals."[11] Mizan announced the completion of her EP in November 2015, by releasing all tracks as singles with videos alongside them, including "Thru" and "Looking For," in which Pitchfork noted Mizan's vocals as a "vibrato that glows over self-discovery"[12] The album became recognized by Rolling Stone as a "terrific six-song EP" that was "stark and frank," naming it one of 20 best R&B albums of the year.[13] Billboard dubbed the work as "a refreshing take on the human experience...discussed everything from anxiety as an inherent part of urban living to waking up to one's surrounding...with Mizan's voice as the glowing centerpiece"[1]

Discography

EPs

  • Dark Blue (2015, Self-released)[14]

Music Videos

List of music videos, showing year released and director
Title Year Director(s) Ref.
"No Fool" 2013 str8ngecreature [14]
"Anxious" [14]
"Looking For" 2015 str8ngecreature, Mizan, Hasabie [14]
"Thru" str8ngecreature, Hasabie [14]
"7 Billion" 2016 Mizan, str8ngecreature [14]
"Awe" Mizan [14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Paley Martin (6 November 2015). "Mizan Talks 'Dark Blue' EP, Directing Her Own Music Videos & Making Music that Uplifts". Billboard.
  2. ↑ Constant Gardner (22 October 2015). "Mizan K Is The Director and the Star of her "Looking For" Video". Complex Networks.
  3. ↑ Charles Aaron & Jon Dolan & Suzy Exposito & Maura Johnston & Mosi Reeves & Christopher R. Weingarten (16 December 2015). "20 Best R&B Albums of 2015". Rolling Stone.
  4. ↑ Max Mohenu (17 November 2015). "Reviews, "Looking For"". Pitchfork.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Heran Abate (4 November 2013). "Tadias Interview with Musician Mizan Kidanu". Tadias.com.
  6. ↑ Bethel Biru (26 November 2015). "Artist Spotlight, Mizan".
  7. ↑ Ian David Monroe (20 November 2015). "Looking for Mizan".
  8. ↑ Kiana Fitzgerald (15 October 2015). "Songs We Love: Mizan '7 Billion'". NPR.
  9. ↑ Heran Abate (4 November 2013). "Tadias Interview with Musician Mizan Kidanu". Tadias.com.
  10. 1 2 Constant Gardner (22 October 2015). "Mizan K Is The Director and the Star of her "Looking For" Video". Complex Networks.
  11. ↑ Paley Martin (6 November 2015). "Mizan Talks 'Dark Blue' EP, Directing Her Own Music Videos & Making Music that Uplifts". Billboard.
  12. ↑ Max Mohenu (17 November 2015). "Reviews, "Looking For"". Pitchfork.
  13. ↑ Charles Aaron & Jon Dolan & Suzy Exposito & Maura Johnston & Mosi Reeves & Christopher R. Weingarten (16 December 2015). "20 Best R&B Albums of 2015". Rolling Stone.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Constant Gardner (22 October 2015). "Mizan K Is The Director and the Star of her "Looking For" Video". Complex Networks.
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