Will she go solo?
 

I doubt she'll retire completely, so I'm asking if you think we'll get a solo album any time soon, or if her career will be any more than her throwing us a bone every once in a while. 'Hiatus' means long hiatus. Apparently 2008 was considered a hiatus but a year isn't that long in the grand scheme of things. I'm not sure if this is a logical poll (you can't predict these things), but what do you expect will happen, or want to happen?

We don't know the reason they split up, but just before Sports release she said that she enjoyed making SG so much that she wasn't sure if she wanted to return to Jihen. She also said that her feeling of being unable to make music on her own wasn't so strong anymore. She also made the decision to disband in Nov 2010.

I was wondering if all the 'promotion' she's been doing recently, with all the Shiseido stuff is to help the transition from Jihen to a solo career (if not to help support her second child =P). Carnation single + PV too. But she officially ended her solo career back in 2003 or whenever it was...

Cocco came back. Ringo will too.

I feel like the next album will be constructed more similarly to SG with a larger variety of people working on tracks than MM/SS/KSK's more central approach.

Even if I'm really curious as to what another bakeneko album would sound like after all this time, another SG-style album with a wider, *different* pool of musicians would be just as exciting (I don't mind the SUPER BUTTER DOG peeps and, after Shun and Mayakashi Yasaotoko SOIL&PIMP so much, but please give Saito Neko and Takayuki Hattori a rest plz. Maybe Carnation and Bon Voyage is her farewell to Saito Neko too)

I just wonder because TJ have been quite active in the last few years so now seems like it'll be the right opportunity to retire for a while.

Well, Tokyo Jihen has been active, but Ringo herself hasn't been very active. Remember how she mentioned being somewhat lonely and bored during the Sports and Discovery era? She hasn't been very involved with the band in a looong time.

Ringo needs to bring back Chieko Kinbara for her next album. I like her less abrasive style over Saito Neko's.

Next album should be released alongside bon voyage DVD

She has a second child? :( I don't think that is true. (Sorry if you had said in sarcasm but I did not pick it up.)



I will slap her if she doesn't. Come on, Ringo!

Speaking of, should we except Sonata as a guest vocalist anytime soon? Or better yet, Ringo + Junpei + Sonata.

Ew, no.
Tori Amos does that and it's honestly disgusting.

I think she's going to resume her solo career (or maybe form a new band), but right now, she's going to take a long hiatus.

Then when Utada finally ends HER Hiatus, Shiina will end hers, and then they will both release amazing albums that are TOTALLY worth the wait /wishful thinking

It is an inevitability.

After SG and years of TJ, I wish for an album with less people on it. Less collaborations, less competing personalities. Less of everything. Less "how many genres can I fit on an album" God willing, less showtunes, less Saito Neko.

How would you like acapella album?

In short, you mean a new KZK-type album?

It could be amazing! or awful....almost nothing in between :lol:

Well hey, she makes it work right before the climax of Souretsu.

That's a weird thing to say Jihad.

After all, SS had a ton of people working on it. And it certainly did the whole "how many genres can I fit on an album" approach.

I really don't think it really had many 'genre' (compared to say Daihakken or Variety or SG.) It was all very Alternative Rock. Even a song like Sakana which definitely adapted that aesthetic. It shows more influences than MM, but its all very uniform, unlike SG. Like, Identity and Yamin ni Furu Ame are very different from each other, but they're still the same class, right?

And yeah a lot of "people" did stuff on SS, but I think we all know that's not what I'm actually talking about. Even if you want to take it literally, I'd be very excited for that as well.

Technically correct, but like I said earlier, MM/SS had a core cast that created the sound of the albums. Shiina, Kameda and Nishikawa (and Kawamura to a lesser extent) crafted the majority of the tracks. They created a much more cohesive sound compared to the approach taken for SG. The tracks on SG naturally have a more individual sound to them.

I voted that we'll get a solo album soon judging by the Carnation single and the 32sai no wakare song but now I think maybe it'll be better for her to rest a little, she worked a bit too hard those 2 years...

what I really want to see her do someday is a completely solo show and by that I mean no other band members, just her playing and singing her own songs (ok, she can bring Kameda on if she wants, but no Senko Shoujo this time, please...). I think it'll be a good challenge for her

Her son is... 11 year old this year? (July 2001) I don't see a reason why she would go into a long hiatus...

I expect her to return. This is what she does for a living, and she has luckily received the attention and material compensation she deserves. Bands inevitably implode, but great solo artists have lifelong careers.

Like the Cocco parallel. Concurrent careers, equally awesome, and Ringo has the advantage of not having unusual (and endearing) emotional fragility.

Perhaps a pause? I can live with that. Cornelius ever since Point seems to be on a "release something of length every 5 years" schedule (and that's counting salyu x salyu), and yet I continue to survive. Hard to imagine our dynamo adopting his glacial pace.

True that, TeslaGuy, and may I add that I'd rather see her do that than set foot onto the Yasutaka Nakata route of "one new album every year almost exactly to the year + tons of sidework" which, and it pains me to say this, has lead to increasingly diminishing returns musically.

Ringo solo album five: Ringo meets Massive Attack/Portishead (with a futuristic theme for the tour). I'd bet a billion yen on it.

I'd pay for it.

Too 90s

one thing i'm quite sure: her next album will sound like something we'll never expect

Please no more sanmon gossip-ish songs, those things can give me a headache sometimes. The barrage of music is too much. There is just too much happening at one go and my brain cannot take it.

I also didn't like most of Sanmon Gossip that much

More SG pls :wub: 4 lyf

I also like Sanmon Gossip.

It's weird that you think it's too sonically dense, because Ringo LIVES for sonically dense. What do you think SS and KZK are?

Sanmon gossip songs doesn't really have distinct loud or soft parts. It gets really tiring for the ears after a while of listening. Whereas, SS or KZK do have soft parts for the ears to rest for a bit.

But that's the point of Shun following Tsugou no Ii Karada (and to a lesser extent 0 Chiten Kara following Mittei Monogatari).

Yes. SG all day err day.

No. It totally does have that soft and loud. I think the album overall just has this great energy. Rodousha has a bit of a softness and hits it at the end, 0 Chiten Kara is beautifully calming, Shun gives you a break after the rush that is Tsugou no ii Karada, Irokoizata waltzes in after Togatta Teguchi, etc. etc. etc. blah blah blah.

Seriously though, I just love Sanmon Gossip as far as listenability goes. I can just start it up and listen to it all the way through. My only qualm with it is Bonsai Hada WHICH IS A FANTASTIC SONG FOR REAL, but man, it is just so so so intense that I need to pass over it. I could definitely see it as being a strong opener for a Ringo solo tour ala JCHI's "Yukiguni."

Probably later this year or in 2013 she will reemerge with something.

I don't see her taking a huge break.

2013 won't just be her 15th anniversary, it'll also be ten years since Stem/KZK/Sugoroku/Ringo no Uta.

Then, maybe my equalizer has something to do with it. I shall try it on a different audio equipment.

She's already got one new single out with Carnation. Seems entirely possible that we might see a new album from her before 2012 is out, especially if she decides to pad it out with solo versions of Jihen songs like Onna no Ko (although I hope not; it would feel so lazy :/).

Remember, she's allegedly wanted to call it quits with the band since Sports era. Who knows how much new solo material just waiting for a release she's come up with since then?

The only way the Carnation single could really have any impact on how soon a subsequent album would come out, is if Shiina Ringo were going to reuse any of Carnation's B-Side compositions - which I'm really hoping she won't do. I like the songs, but it pisses me off whenever an album devalues a single - or when a single is premeditated to end up worthless.

Ariamaru Tomi had a B-side that didn't end up on the album.

Ariamaru Tomi itself didn't end up on the album.

I guess that means with the way Shiina likes to recycle songs, an album version of Ariamaru Tomi, Carnation and the Carnation B-sides are all going to end up on her next album.

This thread reminded me of Ariamaru Tomi. That was a kick ass song. I guess the best song she's written since, huh?

Sure, if you completely ignore Mayakashi Yasaotoko and Noudouteki Sanpunkan.

@Maou
Right, duh!
Maybe Carnation is an example of that then? Maybe nothing on the Carnation single will end up on the album.

I will admit I just do not see the appeal in Sanpukan as others. (It seriously doesn't even seem like a good tame rnb song. Anyone else?)
However, Ariamaru Tomi is a great song. Mayakashi is perfectly fine, in context. The way people overrate this song in particular reminds me of when people were equating Adult to KZK. Let's be fair.

EDIT: I said something positive. Why do you people insist on making me go negative? Q_Q

I'd take an album which had Ariamaru Tomi coupled with an acoustic rock version of Carnation (like Discovery). Actually them two songs would work great together.

But you know, I'll take whatever, she's the only current artist in Japan besides Togawa that I really care a lot about.

As it goes, you could also stick 'A Separation' onto that album with Ariamaru Tomi and acoustic Carnation. I don't know why they released it as a Jihen song.

I hope she announces something on Sunday. Will happily be reckless with finances and/or become a rent boy if it means that I can see SR live. It’s a tangible utopia for me. mortgage wife kids car? meh.

Why Sunday?

It’s her birthday. Hello to my 34th self. I’m gonna suck and drink your yen, right from you.
I am alive.

I almost spit out my drink. Is she contractually obligated to release at least one album a year? because it seems like she has. except for in 2001. when she was pregnant.

^You forgot 2005. That's ok because Education was released Nov 2004 and Adult Jan 2006, so they're pretty much one year apart.

All I know is that she is not lazy, crazy, and unproductive. She looks like a lady that can get things done.

She released/was involved in a fair amount of *new* material this year really...

2 digital singles (Between Today and Tomorrow, Jiyuu e Michidzure)
1 album of songs for a play (Ichigo Ichie)
2 full length new DVDs (Discovery and Bon Voyage)
1 Live album (Tokyo Collection- featuring a "new song")
1 Bsides compilation (Shinya Waku- featuring a new song)
1 Mini album (Color Bars)
1 Compilation DVD- Chin Play Kou Play- which had previously unreleased on DVD/Blu Ray stuff.
1 SMAP song

Phew, yeah I'm pretty sure that's all of it... correct me if I missed something.

So that's really an album and a bit's worth this year...

Sure a new Shiina Ringo full length would be better than all of this combined, but there's really enough new material here to hold me over :-)

I'm actually hoping next year there might be a little less"yen-sucking and drinking", I had to stitch the new holes in my wallet by October time this year :-p

Didn't Ringo say TJ had about 30 songs when recording Daihakken? So I suspect she had a vault at home with hundreds of songs locked inside, because of her "if not sure save for later" kind of theory.

As for the so-called "yen sucking", that's a pretty rational decision made by the record company - releasing a bunch of stuff before Tokyo Jihen fades into obscurity, why not. She didn't force anyone to buy anything. I'm pretty sure a lot of people were heart-broken, and cried a river after hearing (insert album name) and never bought anything again. :p

I’d hope the songs she’s hoarding were never meant for TJ in the first place. That was the case with SG, IIRC. Even the SG idea itself was conceived back in HF.

IMO not back in HF, but back in 2001 when she released the Mayonaka wa Junketsu single. Maybe even early, like the song Sakana on SS.

Anyway, Ringo is Tokyo Jihen for me...Himitsu and Konya wa Karasawagi fit perfectly on SG.

So this is roughly how it would go, right?

March: New single announcement
May: Single release, concert tickets go on sale/obnoxious ringohan raffle shit
June: New album/anniv. release
August/September: Tour/anniv. concert

I hope you're right. At least on the new album/tour parts.

This is totally how it is. I think Ringo could be bitter about the lukewarm reaction to "Jiyuu e Michizure", at least if the Japanese fandom reacted anything like the English-speaking fans did.

I'd like to see her perform it Season Sayonara Ultra C style.

Her stinginess in regards to performing SG tracks live makes me wonder if she's planning a special multi-part 'Ringo and Friends' show (a bit like Ringohan). TJ's final concert or not, the Bon Voyage set-up called for a performance of Mittei Monogatari at least, if not the whole album =P

I also wonder if the new album, if it exists, will be like the sa_i_ta, 3min, zettai zetsumei, shuraba stretch in Bon Voyage. Saito Neko, Nobuhiko Nakayama, but with less disco. SR seems to really like Perfume, lol.

Hell, if Ringo released a disco album I wouldn't complain. Just no more orchestral rehashes of KSK please. I know it's tempting with the 10th anniversary of the album and all but spare us fans.

Its time for the orchestral rehashes of SS/MM/SG!

^
I'd definitely pay for an HF-like album borrowing most heavily from Muzai Moratorium or Shouso Strip, even if I wouldn't necessarily replay the new tracks more often than the originals.

But what I want the most, is for Sanmon Gossip to get the Electric Mole treatment (which wouldn't entail Saito Neko AT ALL). Probably won't happen, though.

I'd love for her to replace Saito Neko with Koji Ueno for a track or two, I would probably explode.

That would be glorious.

I'd like it if she took the of raising the dead on one's turntable to its extreme and brought a turntablist to her anniversary concert. Newer music plus sampling of older solo and Jihen music. Ringo's approach to making art is to chop up the things she likes and stick them together. A turntablist might be a cool way to honor that. It also fits the SG thing and of course SS. (A show like this would open with Ringo playing an acoustic version of Ringo Catalogue. Obviously.)

Jihen catalogue like in ringo catalogue.

I don't remember if I already said that before.

But, if Ringo doesn't feel like releasing anything new this year. I would like her to reconsider the possibility of proposing what was refused when she writted the "original" soundtrack for Sakuran. Hopefully this unknown work is kept in a cache!

Well, it's just an idea.

So maybe it's actually

August: New single announcement
September: Single release, concert tickets go on sale/obnoxious ringohan raffle shit
October: New album/anniv. release
November: Tour/anniv. concert

I'd like for her to immediately dedicate time to her solo music career, but the likeliness of her giving it full attention in the near future... Well, I expect a couple more random non-album singles, collaborations and CD collections. My bet is that we'll be waiting at least another full year until something big. It just won't be called an official hiatus and the fans will have a little bit for their Ringo sweet tooth.

I just hope these random non-album singles like NIPPON and Jiyuu e Michidzure and Kodoku no Akatsuki stay NON ALBUM...

Carnation and it's bsides and the track Irohanihoheto I'm cool with though.

Amen. Ima needs to be on the album too. I expect it to have a badass new official title.

too bad... lol

I miss Izawa. Miss a bunch of people. And I am new fan, arriving two years ago amidst laments that the golden age of Jihen had already faded upon the departure of essential core constituents.

But being blissfully ignorant of the glorys of the golden age, I was quite content listening to and learning from the music from that era that had not been put on the pedestal. And sharing my excitement and enthusiasm with forum members about, say, discovering Ringo flirting with both babydaddys.

It seems now that the Jihen era has passed, with my fave band members gone separate ways, but there are new bright lights in the Japanese music community, and esteemed veterans who occasionally deign to release music. And God. And intelligent new musicians who have fresh perspectives worthy of our attention.

Shiina's truly fantastic new album has revitalized this forum, and my hope is that it continues to be a locus of insight about her music, other Japanese music, and the world in general.

I came here because I liked Shiina Ringo's music. I stayed because I liked the other people who helped making her music.