Might SR come to the West, after all?

[Scribble R]

She's gone overboard with the travel motifs (including Companion to Freedom)
Also I hear that she's just been traveling the world (including a trip to London). I'm sure the idea's been proposed to her many times (especially with her sistas Utada Hikaru and Ayumi Hamasaki having done *something* in the West), and rumours suggest she is set against it. But all her lyrics seem to point to a transformation of sorts in her personal life -- she keeps referring to 'her new self' in one way or another, explicitly in that Dai Hakken interview.

Soil n Pimp did it. As did Cornelius and Salyu in London's Jazz Cafe. Hopefully she's next. Or a collaboration with some western musician. Not expecting her to break through or anything, obviously.

fake edit: most of her lyrics have this sense of motion, but from Sports on, the journey seems to be continuing on a different level

[Tokyo Jihad]

Ten years too late, son.

[TurtleFu]

There's like an inverse rule of being famous sort of thing. Cornelius makes electronic music, which is already it's own sub-culture. Therefore the fans are more intense. Soil and Pimp make club jazz. It's the same thing.

But Shiina is "only" a rock and pop artist. They come a dime a dozen. There is less of a rabid sub-culture.

I think the only chance we would have gotten for Shiina in the West would be when Sakuran came out and if it was submitted to any international film festivals, she may have shown up.

You really can't compare her to Utada or Ayumi. Both are far more famous than Shiina, and Utada in particular was born in the US.

Even though Shiina does have an attachment to London, I don't think that will ever manifest in a concert.

[ShadyNook]

Her new self might want to settle down and be semi-creative from time to time. Her new excuse will be that she's past her prime. lol

[Scribble R]

It does make sense that she’s not popular enough or novelty enough. Damn my short-sighted enthusiasm :-(

Originally Posted by ShadyNook

Her new self might want to settle down and be semi-creative
from time to time.

I interpreted it like this, too. And making music from behind the scenes as she’s been doing lately. I wouldn’t mind another soundtrack.

On the subject of Cornelius and SR’s new self, ShiinaXRingo album titled "asymmetry" please.

[deadgrandma]

Originally Posted by Scribble R

Also I hear that she's just been traveling the world (including a trip to London).

Most likely seen it before, but just in case...

[s3r3nity]

I guess that makes sense, she's kind of right smack dab in the middle of "super edgy niche music" and "pop rock"- she wouldn't fit in in a small club venue and she wouldnt' be able to fill an arena. Sucks.

But wait, when was she in London? It wasn't this summer was it? If she was here and I missed her I'm going to go crazy.

[Scribble R]

Ya, she was in London last month I think. :-P
I wonder if anyone recognised her (including Japanese tourists)

She went to France after.

[matan-san]

where have you read that she was in London and France?

[thefro]

The obvious first baby step would be to gradually release her albums digitally on ITunes/Amazon in Europe & the US and maybe do an e-mail interview with the help of a translator with some hipster blogs, etc. to promote that. KZK especially would be well-received.

If that goes ok, follow it up with a new album with a majority of English lyrics & tour. There's obviously lots of venues sized in-between a small club and an arena. She doesn't have to "conquer" the West but she can have fun, see the world, etc, and be in front of an audience that's going to accept more edginess in her music than the mainstream Japanese music audience. Although I think she'd do pretty well if she collaborated with the right folks over her because one thing she can do is write a heckuva song.

I don't think she'd want to go that far since any "World Tour" would be way more dates than anything she's done in Japan, but who knows. She's certainly not too old by Western standards.