Monday 4 March 2019

Mieko Shimizu & Keiko Kitamura - A World in London

Mieko Shimizu

27th February 2017
A World in London, Resonance FM, London, UK

The soul of Japan from the heart of London with Mieko & Keiko on this A World in London! 

Next week a sea of women will march through our capital’s streets with Million Women Rise and connect with sister events globally on the one day of the year when 52% of the population is fully acknowledged and prioritised. There will be showcases everywhere spotlighting the wealth of female musical talent that is too often marginalised in our festivals & live music scene, and one of these is at The London Jukebox in Islington on Thursday MARCH 7th. On the EVE of International Women’s Day AWIL has programmed a perfect line-up that includes this week’s radio guests Mieko Shimizu & Keiko Kitamura - two of London’s finest musicians with a unique sound bridging this city with Japan. Their music is built around Mieko’s latest album, ‘I Bloom’, which juxtapositions electronica and left field neo classical elements with Keiko’s traditional 13 string Koto. Mieko is the vocalist in this sumptuous duo with a voice you can float away in, to a higher state of consciousness, and maybe to the edge of Mount Fuji where she spent her childhood. Her lyrics come from dreams and nightmares, oscillating between the real and surreal and last year reality struck big time when Mieko became ill and nearly met her maker twice. They say that life is never the same after a near-death experience, and perhaps ‘I Bloom’ is even richer as a result. Certainly the bond between Mieko & Keiko as artists which was instant and has been constant since they first met in 2012 has deepened, synchronising them into one of the most special musical duos ever created.

I’ve been lucky to receive many beautiful gifts from guests on AWIL but – ha! – never dog biscuits for my birthday girl Rottweiler. Keiko remembered because she shares the same Earthday! So while my dogs greedily devour their new treats, I’ll savour every musical note by Mieko & Keiko, and so should you when ‘I Bloom’ is released in June on Street Furniture Records. Meanwhile, catch Mieko & Keiko live at The London Jukebox on March 7th for A Women’s World in London alongside Nina Miranda, Luzmira Zerpa, Marina Deligianni. Sofia Pechlivani, Garance, and me! Mieko Shimizu’s website: www.miekoshimizu.com Keiko Kitamura’s website: www.keikokitamura.com

Keiko Kitamura
27/2/19 – AWIL 199  Online: https://www.mixcloud.com/Resonance/a-world-in-london-27th-february-2019/ Production & pics by Norman Druker, Sophie Darling, Lucas Keen, and artist Alban Low. Also this week global music mix at SOAS Radio, click: https://www.mixcloud.com/SOASradio/awil-290-winter-summer/  Next week Diana Lwanga at SOAS Radio and Olcay Bayir at Resonance. Download the AWIL Album Wonderland 2018 from #Spotify! Top 50 global CDs handpicked by #AWorldinLondon – Click here: https://open.spotify.com/user/34igi7n6p14p56303se0gtkyj/playlist/5hjexMuYohZ6d4zjuoGIfm?si=Gy0ckfI_QaWw4xqKQ-VGhw  #TheSoundofDiverseLondon #ConnectingCulturesThroughMusic – thirteen years - #DJRitu. Live on Wednesdays 6.30pm Resonance 104.4 https://www.resonancefm.com/ & 4pm SOAS Radio https://soasradio.org/  Online worldwide at #Mixcloud  http://www.djritu.com #InternationalWomensDay #WomensHistoryMonth #WomenInMusic #EqualisingMusic

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