BENGALURU: Cheyenne Marie Mize, singer, songwriter and musician, has a voice you can’t easily forget after a listen. She carries the haunting melodies of American folk music in her raw and rustic melody. Her albums, Before Lately and Among the Grey, both chase after a mood or feeling rather than stick to one genre. “I have always had a hard time concentrating on any one genre or instrument, so generally there’s a little bit of everything thrown in there” says Mize, adding, “I like to set a scene and create a mood with the sounds in each song. I like listeners to feel like they are inside that world for just a few minutes.”
A native Louisvillian from Kentucky, Mize cites powerful female songwriters from all over the world like PJ Harvey, Susanna Wallumrod, Shannon Wright and Carol King as her influence. “So much music, from different genres, time periods and places, has had an impact on me,” she reveals. And it even extends to Indian music. Miza says she has always been inspired by the intricate and meditative tabla rhythms of India and the sounds of Indian violinists. “The whole idea of ragas blows my mind - I hope that I can find some musicians to play with while I am in India,” she says.
In the upcoming gig, Mize, playing with her ensemble Cheyenne Mize & Friends, plans to play some of her songs and also play the guitar, keyboard, and violin. She will play her music about life, love and loss. Keeping her eyes steadily on the future, she sums up saying, “I hope to write more in the next year and collaborate with as many people as I possibly can.”