MusicFests365 recently had the pleasure of chatting with emerging electronic Dj/Producer Ian Evans, better known by stage name Mize. Evans hails from the great state of Alabama and is up next for your new favorite producer and artist. Mize has been a breathe of fresh air providing an extremely versatile sound and vibe in everything from his single and mixtape releases to his live sets.

With the Mize project starting only about a year ago in August of 2018, it is clear that there is something special here as listeners quickly connected and took a liking to the tunes of Mize. We are excited to see the next steps for Ian and know that his hard work and creativity will continue to set him apart in an increasingly thick crowd.

Check out our full Q&A below:

Robby:
First, we want to congratulate you on your single “Crushing Blow”, as well as “Moon Shoes”, making it onto Zeds Deads Deadbeats radio and Liquid Strangers Wakaan Weekly recently, big ups there! You have been on quite a tear in 2019 and we are excited to see what the rest of the year/future has in store. 

Ok, so starting things off with a bit of a generic question here but we always think it’s an important one because music often times contain a deeper message or meaning. When listening to your music at home and when coming out to your live sets, what do you hope fans are taking away from your music ultimately?

Mize:
Be yourself. Get loose. Always remember that life is a GIFT. This time we are sharing together is a PRESENT. 

Robby:
Couldn’t agree more. Our time here should most certainly be cherished and appreciated always.

So, we love the acapella heavy sets and IDs you seem to have an arsenal of. Can you tell us a little more about your process finding the right songs to fit acapellas?

Mize:
As you could’ve guessed I’m heavily inspired by the way Bassnectar layers acapellas over bass music, however, I also draw a lot of my style from lo-fi artists like DJ Yung Vamp, Soudiere, Vonstorm, and Jason Rich. I love how these lo-fi artists can take a tiny little insignificant phrase from a song and COMPLETELY transform it. These kids are making HARD ass 2-3 min songs with 1 bar of an acapella. Ironically I discovered lo-fi from somebody playing World of Warcraft. Honestly its kind of magic how it comes together; sometimes I’ll test out a phrase on a song to see if it sounds right and the bass line with somehow sound like the flow to me — its weird and I honestly can say I don’t know how I end up doing it at times. Theres a lot of experimentation and plenty of trial and error. 

Robby:
This is a bit of weird one but we think you are a pretty funny follow on twitter. For better or worse, social media has cemented its place in music as a tool for multiple different uses whether it is a deeper connection to fans, easier exposure for content, or networking, social platforms have helped many artists evolve and grow. How has social media effected you and your music specifically and what are your favorite and least favorite aspects of the platform?

Mize:
Honestly I just tweet my mind and I enjoy how fans like that raw expression and communication from artists. They want to know that you are a real person who they can relate to and not just a logo that tweets out show dates. Its pretty cool but I can see how a lot of artists hate it. It can stunt your growth at times if you don’t participate in the game. It almost seems like a requirement to be active on your socials if you want to break through. To me though, if an artist puts out really really good music all it takes is TIME. People like Dave Tipper don’t have to tweet opinionated things because people have known for decades that this guy has the sauce with synthesizers and vinyl. Bottom line is, if your career is based off of social media gimmicks and not music, you aren’t going to be a timeless artist. That works in pop music but not here. I like some platforms more than others but I realize they all play a super important role in my career as an artist. 

Robby:
The last time we saw you was at the Further Frequencies after party in Nashville, that was a wild ass little after party/festival. You were getting down on stage, it was fun to watch you enjoying your craft. Whats going through your mind while you’re spinning? Do you have any pre-set rituals to get you in the groove?

Mize:
Honestly that was a top 3 set of my career for me (so far). That was 70 minutes of absolute bliss. I don’t plan my sets and I freestyle everything after the intro, so I’m usually thinking things like “ok….what could I go into next? how should I turn this up or down a notch?” Before my sets I usually have a drink or two to loosen up. Its exhausting to get DRUNK drunk so I steer clear of that. I used to get really nervous but now I just walk on stage and tell myself “these people are on my team.”

Robby:
Seeing recent releases of yours of edits of older Kaskade songs.. are there any other non-bass artists that influenced you when you were younger or still often listen to now?

Mize:
DEFINITELY Mat Zo. He’s putting out bass music now and his song “Motivate” is in my rotation right now. He’s been one of my top 3 favorite artists for over a decade now. 

Robby:
What are your plans next as a growing artist? With your songs being featured in Liquid Stranger’s Wakaan weekly playlist and Zeds Dead featuring you in their Deadbeats podcast, do you hope to release music with any specific labels? Or do any labels interest you?

Mize:
Its crazy when I first started making bass music in 2017 I had dreams of releasing on ThazDope Records. The thought of anyone like Wakaan or Deadbeats noticing me was absolutely unheard of to me. I have my sights set and we’ll see how 2019 wraps up 😉

Robby:
A few in the MusicFests group love the audio/visual project you released with VJ Data Byte called DIVE.wav, what went into creating that idea and executing it? Any plans to do something similar in the future?

Mize:
I remember Ash (Data Byte) called me one night while I was about at a bar and pitched the idea to me. I was super apprehensive at first because I didn’t even think I had 15 mins of original downtempo music made, let alone any that people would want to listen to or would fit together. I am so incredibly thankful that I was wrong. That project completely transformed my career in so many ways. I’d love to do something like that again in the future it was and still is such a killer concept.

Thats amazing and we are happy you both decided to collaborate because it is certainly a beautiful work of art. Thanks for sitting with us, we really appreciate it. We are super excited to see what is next for the Mize project and will be here for the ride!

Check out the rest of the photos from Mize’ Nashville set earlier this summer below: