While the urge to use the word ‘groovy’ is almost unbearable whilst describing Mizi, it is one of only a few words that can sum up
this local band’s style. The distinctive group departs from the standard guitar, drums and bass three-piece with a more experimental
outlook that they call ‘mellow and funky’. It is Tubular Bells delicately blended with Moby, an ambitious approach by any stretch of
the imagination.
The thing is they make it work without sounding too repetitive or dull by using contrasting sounds. This means tranquil tracks
followed rapidly by upbeat dance tunes. Speaking to IP1, Mizi say their members draw on each others’ diverse musical
backgrounds, incorporating elements from genres as varied as Folk and Reggae. They use keyboards as their primary instrument,
and base the majority of their tracks around intricate yet strong bass lines and riffs, accompanied by various other acoustic sounds
and the almost endearing voice of singer Reb Capper.
The band spawned from two friendly neighbours getting together and having a jam session, and presumably a nice cup of tea, at
the beginning of 2006. Just over a year later and they are already planning their debut album. Their performances on stage (at the
Ipswich Music Day for example) are bolstered by a support group, making them a formidable six-piece outfit.
Synthesised keyboard samples give Mizi a somewhat artificial and perhaps over-polished feel on recordings. Live use of bass and
drums with the soothing vocals veils this rather well however. Mizi currently use existing grooves as the basis for all songs but they
have revealed they are starting to write songs from scratch to make a bigger and better sound. And despite having a name that
you might associate with Japanese anime characters (chosen ahead of fifty other names), Mizi are set to become a strong part of
sleepy Suffolk’s music scene.
Mizi are soon to launch a website at www.miziworld.co.uk. Their upcoming album All That and Everything will be released towards
the end of the year, and will be be available to buy from iTunes and at their shows.