No News Is Good News?

It's an objective comment. So, should I expect some crazy Hikki fans to blow themselves up on my front lawn now?

Hikki is a very slow producing JPop artist. This is a fact. Look at how many new albums come up by other top artists?

She takes two years to push together a new album. ... I don't really mind waiting that long, but I would have preferred to get a new album every year.

Amaterasu wrote:

It's an objective comment. So, should I expect some crazy Hikki fans to blow themselves up on my front lawn now?

Hikki is a very slow producing JPop artist. This is a fact. Look at how many new albums come up by other top artists?

She takes two years to push together a new album. ... I don't really mind waiting that long, but I would have preferred to get a new album every year.

Not many others write and produce everything singlehandedly, the only singer-songwriter-producer I can think of that does that and manages about an album a year is Noriyuki Makihara, and he's a real anomaly. Look at when Shiina Ringo was a solo performer and didn't have a band to share in some of the writing, she had a three year gap between her second and third albums. I think considering what Hikaru does, she is really quite speedy. It's been 10 years since her debut and since then she's released 7 studio albums with another one in the near future, that's bloody good work if you ask me.

Well, Hikaru is still slow regardless of her reasons for being so.

I don't believe that she works alone though. As she mentioned in her interview in Musica, she no longer believes the neccessity for doing 'everything' for herself, and now knows the value of entrusting most of her work to other musicians. While I know that she does a lot of work for her songs, she doesn't produce and arrange them single handedly. Her father and other producers as well as a fellow that appears often, Kawano Kei (arranger) appears in her album credits often.

My point is, given Hikaru's speed (2 years / album), I highly doubt that she's pumping out her next English work in the next year. Last time she did that, it subtantially delayed her Japanese work. She seems to do one project at a time. Heart Station was 'just' released, so I think that she'd be on song #4 on her English album, and this is a very generous estimate.

It'll be a little while, I think.

She said that in her interview around the time of Flavor Of Life, and she still ended up arranging/producing the entirety of Heart Station singlehandedly, the only exceptions being Boku Wa Kuma and FoL Ballad. No doubt English album #3 will have more collaborations but I wonder just how many. I won't be surprised either way.

Ugh!!U guys dont know the reasons,Do u?..Being a Artist is not about composing songs..not matter how slow they are..they are still an artist..

Hey Think about it..
Utada needs her own free time..She is a girl too..Girls love shopping up and hang out etc..so it doesnt really matter how fast she compose her songs..

but 1 thing is true..her songs are the best..


Coming to my second point,if u are composing a song faster than any1 in this world..what is the point if ur song stinks ..Quality of a song beats the rate of composing a song..

I agree whole-heartedly, David.

It's best to wait for a good thing than to have something that's rushed and becomes ho-hum. Nonetheless, I'm not saying "Hikaru sucks because she's slow." it's just a standing point. I don't think that anyone can disagree with that.

Well.. from that interview that Sano posted up, it seem as though she will entrust the arrangement and production of future songs to others. I believe that this point is moreso underlined when it comes to the English album. Perhaps this one will be more made for the masses and not so unique. She's already shown her 'colours' strongly in her Exodus CD debut, so I'm thinking that she'll pull back some and let some others handle her next English release.

Rather Hazy has made me curious. I'll have a glance at the insert booklet of HEART STATION when I have a chance today. I wonder if she did follow through with that. I'm doubtful about the 'single handedly' thing though. Her dad's always been there as a producer, hasn't he?

Amaterasu wrote:

I agree whole-heartedly, David.

It's best to wait for a good thing than to have something that's rushed and becomes ho-hum. Nonetheless, I'm not saying "Hikaru sucks because she's slow." it's just a standing point. I don't think that anyone can disagree with that.

Well.. from that interview that Sano posted up, it seem as though she will entrust the arrangement and production of future songs to others. I believe that this point is moreso underlined when it comes to the English album. Perhaps this one will be more made for the masses and not so unique. She's already shown her 'colours' strongly in her Exodus CD debut, so I'm thinking that she'll pull back some and let some others handle her next English release.

Rather Hazy has made me curious. I'll have a glance at the insert booklet of HEART STATION when I have a chance today. I wonder if she did follow through with that. I'm doubtful about the 'single handedly' thing though. Her dad's always been there as a producer, hasn't he?

I think in Japan, "producer" means more of what in the West is an "executive producer" (although I'm still a tiny bit unclear). But for example, if you look at any Ayumi Hamasaki CD it'll say "produced by Max Matsuura" when I doubt he even knows how to use a mixing console or anything like that. In this respect, all of Utada's Japanese albums have been produced by, in addition to her, Akira Miyake and Teruzane Utada. If you read the individual song credits though I don't think either of their names come up at all, for any purpose that has to do with any aspect of the creation or recording of the songs. Since Dareka, you still see other names in the credits that have to do with recording or instrument playing etc. but seldomly will it say that the song was arranged by anyone other than Hikaru.

Please let the Master take her time and create an awesome album for all of us to enjoy and cherish.
Let's not rush her because as my granddaddy used to say: "haste makes waste".

You can't rush genius.

Yes, this is true, but everyone needs to keep in mind that Hikki hinted that she was working on songs and lyrics DURING HEART STATION. Originally, Prisoner was English which means she must've been working on or completed another English song DURING HEART STATION. She specifically said in a blog item that she was working on both her Japanese and English albums at the same time, HEART STATION, of course, taking priority. She also specifically mentioned in a blog a few weeks ago that she was working on lyrics, which means, since she traditionally works on lyrics AFTER she creates the melody and harmony, she must be hashing out a lot of songs rather quickly for her pace.

...
I don't know who I'm arguing or opposing, but those thoughts came to mind as I read some posts. She's definitely working relatively hard on this album, and when I say hard, I mean she's doing it relatively quickly in comparison with her own pace.
Question is: good or bad?

DaAmainator wrote:

...
I don't know who I'm arguing or opposing, but those thoughts came to mind as I read some posts. She's definitely working relatively hard on this album, and when I say hard, I mean she's doing it relatively quickly in comparison with her own pace.
Question is: good or bad?

Hard, good.
Quickly, bad.
I think that she needs a year in order to really understand the best way to break through the U.S. market, and maybe change her style more.
And with more time, she can have more opinions from other people to make the best CD possible.
I want an instant love album, not a grower. 8D
But that doesn't mean I don't love Exodus.

Maybe grower = no chance of attention in the US.
I hope she will create something fresher than what she's done for the last 4 years. Not mainstream, but her works just need some oomph to attract the Americans.

I no longer have any interest in mainstream US music market though, as all the albums have either been bling-bling macho, booty sellouts, R&B club-banger or emo/faux punk. Not mentioning the niche for metalheads.
How Utada (yeah, exactly Utada ) surprises us with her turns and twists in music will be a wonder I think. But it might hit or miss the spot as for Americans.

If only Kuma Chang could have been a spokesperson for the sake of Hikki's fans