haiku hands

MUSIC

Sep 24

Last week Haiku hands UNVEILed debut self-titled album, we spreak to Mie Nakazawa as part of our ongoing creators series expanding from Issue 3 Honesty, Renaissance and Being, exploring the concept of vulnerability and catharcism across multiple artistic mediums.

Art is inherently born out of a desire to acknowledge and evolve, how would you describe the journey to your current identity? From your youth to where you are now, what significant experiences have you transformed into something so powerful, and something you're proud of?

For me, being an artist isn’t a simple thing. There is no clear wrong or right. The good comes with the bad and practicing art gives me a sense of freedom, which I am very grateful for. The people around me are significant to my identity. My parents encouraged me to express myself. My mum supported me to be wild and was never critical of me, which I feel very fortunate for. My father was a Japanese yoga teacher. The style he practiced and taught is called Oki Do yoga. The philosophy behind this yoga is that you must put yourself out of your comfort zone, challenge yourself and play. Growing up with these ideals was a good foundation for me to pursue a creative lifestyle.

However, becoming a member of Haiku Hands was out of my comfort zone. I was quite attached to being an introverted visual artist. But I decided to challenge myself and try something new. This ended up being quite confronting, and also very rewarding. I am proud of myself for pushing against what was comfortable.

How has your music and style operated as a vehicle for claiming such power within yourself?

In a bunch of Haiku Hands songs we deliver our lines from a boistrouse, ‘I do what I want’ kinda place. This feels great to perform and is highly encouraged in the studio by Haiku Hands silent member Joelistics. When I get to perform these rowdy ‘I do what I want’ songs, It feels really goodand when we feel what we are saying, the audience smiles. We get to create this really warm feedback loop. This shared sense of joy fills me up and gives me energy to want to make another boistrouse thrasher.

What we believe is the most intriguing question to ask an artist is what was the defining initial moment, and the emotion at the time, that made you realise that you’re going to do this, you’re seriously pursuing your music. Did that moment come to you out of experimentation, fortune, misfortune, or has it been a long-standing practice?

I didn't have an initial moment where I decided that I was going to be an artist. With visual arts, it was a very slow move towards actually claiming that I was an artist, even though I was regularly making artwork at my studio and was putting on exhibitions. It took me two years out of art school beforeI I could feel comfortable filling in the occupation section as an artist.

With music, it was also gradual. Thinking about it now, I still find it hard to call myself a musician. Claire and Bea from Haiku Hands asked me a few times to be in the band and I was very resistant. I ended up agreeing to go to a writing session at Joelistics house in Melbourne. I got a taste of what making music felt like; a lot of the time, very challenging. In this session we wrote and recorded some bits that ended up being in one of our new tracks, ‘Mechanical Animal’. Maybe this is when I got hooked, but I still feel like I’m getting hooked more and more.

Did you have any hesitations? If you could dissect what was going through your head at the time, what were the push and pull thoughts? How did you overcome that?

As I expressed above, I was very hesitant to join Haiku Hands. My idea of myself was as a visual artist and I was happy to be behind the camera, not in front. I felt quite comfortable in the identity I had created for myself. I think it is quite confronting to change your identity for yourself and for the people around you.

I did start to have many push-and-pull thoughts. I was holding onto an identity, but I was starting to perform and was falling in love with a new one. I was getting a kick out of challenging myself and pushing the boundaries of what people thought of me and which path I should go on.

I stopped holding onto preconceived ideas of myself because I realised it wasn't necessary. I let the feeling of excitement override everything else and allowed myself to be excited by the idea of Haiku Hands being something new and changeable. It was nice to be creating with people instead of being a solo visual artist, spending many hours by myself.

Art and music serves as both a catharsis and a call-to-action, it’s a profound concept that something so deeply personal translated into a public experience can resonate very intimately and emotionally with others. What have you found most frightening, yet gratifying, in this process? Can you describe your most memorable moment that has reflected such?

I get the feeling of catharsis when I go on stage. My approach is to be as free as possible, so the audience can feel the permission to be free, too. I remember our first Sydney headline show, which is my home town. It was the first time I performed in front of friends and family and there were a lot of them there. I really put myself out there at that show. I woke the day after that gig thinking ‘what the hell did I just do and why did I do that’. I was absolutely shattered and drained. Though, at the same time, I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude to my friends and family that came to the show and to this day continue to support me and Haiku Hands.

Resilience is a word strongly concurrent with feminism. What does resilience mean to you in your personal life, mental health, artistic practice and role in society? In your opinion, how does one practice resilience and what are the most vital pressures to stand up to?

I think resilience means moving through a space with sharp debris flying at you, and you just keep on walking.

Resilience is having a deeper knowledge of who you are so when that sharp object that comes flying at you, you can say to it, “sorry mate, I am not letting you into my inner sanctum, ‘cause you do not belong here.”

I would say the best way to practice reliance is meditation, to help that nasty debris to move through you and not get stuck in you. You need to nourish the people around you who support you, so you feel powerful enough to punch the debris when it comes at you too hard.

What do you believe is important to communicate to aspiring artists?

Seek out a mentor. I had someone who gave me a lot of practical support, which was so helpful. She looked and listened to my work and gave feedback, which was critical, but not condescending.

Ask for what you want and don’t be offended or give up when people say no.

If you want to do something and there is no one who looks like you in that role, you are still allowed to do it.

Play.

Work hard.

Don’t try and be something that you are not, this will become tiring.

Be kind to yourself.

Be open.

Collaborate.

Challenge.

Experiment.

Lastly, what can you tell us about your up-coming album? What can we expect from you this year?

Well, we, ‘Haiku Hands’, have just released our first ever album. It is a bundle of songs that you can sing and dance to. I hope it will shock you, make you laugh and want to play it over and over again. My two favorite songs on this album are “Car Crash”, which is a beautiful tribute to a friend and makes me cry, and “Eat This Bass”, which is perfectly chaotic.

For the rest of this year I am going to make art, practice rapping and play in a garage band. The whole time, I will have my fingers crossed with hope that we will be able to perform live in the not too distant future.

You can see more about Haiku Hands here & listen to new album ‘Haiku Hands’ here / Words by Jay Rickards