Nelson Hiu, born and raised in Honolulu Hawaii, is a fourth-generation descendant of Chinese and Japanese immigrants. His interest in music, improvisation and self-discovery began while a secondary school student during the tumultuous late 60s and early 70s. He is a multi-instrumentalist. He studied ethno-musicology at the University of Hawaii. He has been living in Hong Kong since 1985 as Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts hired him to come to teach. Nelson has also been a founding member of many new music ensembles in Hawaii and Hong Kong including Nuclear Tan, the Pagan Babies, Gain Dangerous Visions, the Pet Project Hawaii, Uncarved Block, CIMG (Collective Improvisational Music Group), Little Red Truck, Dancing Stone and Yihk, and has collaborated extensively with dance and theatre. His music for dance has been performed in Hawaii, Arizona, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Utah, New York City, Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and the Mainland.