Who I Am: From Mie Prefecture to New York

I'm Mitski, a singer-songwriter. If you've found your way to my shop, here is the short version of where I come from and how the music started.

Where was I born?

I was born Mitsuki Laycock on September 27, 1990, in Mie Prefecture, Japan. My mother is Japanese and my father is American. Later I took my mother's surname, Miyawaki, and you'll sometimes see me credited as Mitski Miyawaki.

Why did I move so much?

My father worked for the U.S. Department of State, so our family moved constantly. By the time I was grown I had lived in 13 countries. Japanese was my first language.

When did the songs start?

I began writing songs at 17 or 18. In 2010 I moved to New York, spent a year at Hunter College and then went to the Purchase College Conservatory of Music to study studio composition. I graduated with a Bachelor of Music in 2013.

What came out of those years?

My first two albums, both self-released:

• Lush (2012), my first album, orchestral, made while I was studying.
• Retired from Sad, New Career in Business (2013), my second, from the same conservatory years.

A year later came Bury Me at Makeout Creek, and at the end of 2015 I signed with Dead Oceans, the label I'm still with today.

What does that have to do with the merch?

Everything in the shop comes from those records and the ones after them: the album titles, their lettering, and my name in different styles. Every design comes on tees, long sleeves, crewnecks and hoodies, with kids' and youth sizes too.

If you want to know more about each album, read my eight albums, in order. And when you're ready, browse the shop.