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Old 2014.06.19, 09:23 AM   #273
Parsec
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Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Japan
Posts: 38
Parsec is headed in the right direction
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Not 100% sure, but I think I first came across Shiina Ringo's name in a Lonely Planet guide book in early 2011, shortly before my first trip to Japan. I remember reading a section in it about Japanese music and there was a short paragraph about Shiina and Tokyo Jihen, about how she had ended her solo career in order to be part of a band, which was enough of a weird career move for it to stick in my memory. But I can't remember how soon after that I first checked her music out. I came back from Japan smitten with the country and it's culture, started learning Japanese and getting deeper into Japanese music. Over the next two or so years I would occasionally come across her name on the internet and then check out the odd video on Youtube without really getting hooked.

The only one I can still remember watching was Mellow. At the time I found the song too straight-forwardly "rock" for my tastes. Perhaps if I'd heard KZK then, it would've been different (I love Mellow now though).

Anyway, about October or November last year I spent a lot of time on rateyourmusic.com, reading it's forums, and I kept seeing this "Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana" title appearing in various threads and it sounded pretty intriguing, so I thought I'd give her another go, but with that album this time, rather than a randomly selected song on Youtube. The first time I listened to it, I didn't really know what to make of it, I was kind of doing other stuff while I listened, and I think it was just too much to take in. The second and third times though, were mind-blowing, some of the best music listening experiences I've had, and it's pretty much my favorite album now.

Also, a very very strange coincidence: I make music and the last two pieces I wrote before discovering Shiina were titled "Stem" and "Glips".
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