GlitchSlapTko

Sorry for the delay, but I just got finished transcribing and translating a long overdue interview with Tujiko Noriko. Thanks for waiting! The English version is below. Let me know what you think. If you need the Japanese version, let me know. Enjoy!
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Tujiko Noriko as interviewed by Robert Duckworth

R: Please say a few words about your propensity for physical self-exhibition.

T: This might sound a little naive or something, but my sexual identity is like, much stronger than my feelings about of who I am as a musican...or even as a Japanese I guess. That's why I 'work it' as much as I do when I'm on stage. (Especially on my homepage with my little 'naughty' pics.)

R: Explain why the following statement is true or false: Since moving to Paris, Tujiko Noriko has been making a careful effort to keep herself poised at a distance far enough away from the various factions of the Parisian laptop "in crowd" in order to prevent herself from being artistically subsumed by them, yet close enough to them to allow herself to utilize them.

T: False. Right from the start, I found myself being cast as a kind of 'Dragon Lady' or at least some kind of Japanese femme fatale by the locals (you boys know who you are, and where you've been), so I just decided to run with it, and look where it's gotten me!

R: As an artist, compare things in general with Mego and Tomlab.

T: I'm really kind of tired of answering this question over and over again. Can't you just refer to my other interviews?

R: On your Tomlab artist's webpage, the following statement may be found in English: "Sorry but this work is protected by JASRAC. Due to the high monthly fees we cannot offer you audio previews here. What's the story?

T: Yeah, that's a really big mess and actually I don't understand it myself. Sorry...But, ummm, buy my CD, OK?

R: Elaborate on your love of doughnuts. What's your favorite kind? Are there any major differences that you've noted between doughnuts in Japan, Europe, and other places? Have you had Krispy Kreme doughnuts from America? By the way, were you aware that Mister Donut is from Boston originally?

T: European doughnuts sort of suck. I like the big, soft, sugary kind from KK in America best of all. Very American, you know? Big and sweet. Everytime I'm on tour there, I just buy a big box of them and sit up in my hotel room and pig out on them. The jelly and cream-filled ones are OK, but they can get sort of icky if you eat too many of them. I really like the Japanese doughnuts too, but it's a different kind of thing. You know, they have so many crazy flavors and stuff, right? Like shrimp doughnuts and stuff like that. Kind of like Japanese pizza. I mean, what's up what that? (Laughs) Mr. Donut? No, I had NO IDEA that Mr. D. was from America. I'd always see that old fart of a white guy's pic hanging over the cash register from when I first started going there when I was living in the Kansai, but I just figured it was...I don't know WHAT I figured it was. I guess I didn't think about it too much. Things always went kind of blury back then after the sugar rush kicked in.

R: A certain review of "From Tokyo to Naiagara" praises Tujiko Noriko the singer by stating that your voice is very expressive. Yet in the same stroke it devalues Tujiko Noriko the lyricist by going on to state that your voice is expressive to the point that what you are actually saying is immaterial. Furthermore the reviewer finds the translation of your lyrics "disappointing." Given this, please comment on the relationship between vocal expressivity and the emotive content of lyrics in your songs in terms of writing and performance. Also, why was "From Tokyo to Niagara" the first of your albums to include English translations? Who is the translator and how did you meet him or her? Are there any plans to go back and have the lyrics to the previous albums translated and made available? How important is it to your for your audience to be able to comprehend your lyrics?

T: I was at this party one time in Paris and there was this German girl who could speak pretty good Japanese, and she kept insisting that my voice as it appears on my CDs is both 'phallic' and 'yannic' but I was kind of wasted, and there was a cute guy there anyway giving me the eye, so I was like, just saying whatever would get her off my back and him into the sack. I still wake up sometimes failing to completely remember that night. What am I saying?!? I mean, when I sing in Japanese, it isn't by mistake...but then again, sometime what I'm feeling somehow seems better in English, so I dunno...My translation? It wasn't bad. The person who did the work is someone that I met here in Paris. She's pretty good. Old stuff? Well, I'd love to go back and have all the old stuff translated in to English, but I'm not looking backwards now, just forwards, so...Honestly, I don't really care if my audience understands my lyrics or not.

R: Which Max/MSP object can't you live without, and why?

T: I like that one with all the little code things and the stuff with the do-dads in it. Definitely!

R: Do you consider the fact that you were employed as a hostess in Ginza and Roppongi during your university days a formative experience in personal and artistic terms? If so, how? Also, one very specific question: What was the most lavish personal gift you received from a patron during this time?

T: Yeah, it was an importat phase for me. I mean, I didn't HAVE to work. My folks were giving me lots of cash and stuff while I was in college. And of course I was going to kind of the Japanese version of an Ivy League school [Waseda], but I guess I just kind of did it for the experience...well, truth be known, the experience and also the free stuff from my customers. But yeah, and I haven't thought about this in years, I suppose that that's what got me interested in people and their stories. Everyone's is different, everyone's is the same. But there are some stories that are like, way, way out there. They were always my favorite. What was the other question? Oh yeah, about gifts? I'd rather not say, but it involved something edible. (Laughs)

R: What's your blood-type?

T: Robert, have you been in Japan too long or something? (Laughs) Ummm...can we go on to the next question, please?

R: Recently, in one of your e-mails, you mentioned someone saying something about a 10 year cycle of people moving to a new city (especially in a foreign country), settling in, becoming restless, and eventually moving on. With this in mind, what do you see yourself doing in 10 years, and where do you see yourself doing it?

T: Right. Well actually, I don't remember sending you that one, sorry! But if I think about it now...hummm...let's see...I dunno, that kind of seems like not ME anymore. I'm totally into living in Paris right now, but...Oh, now hang on a second, actually, forget all of that. It IS true! I'm thinking of moving to Brussels with a friend of mine sometime, but it is just a kind of dream. Please don't think it is because I don't love Paris...I DO. It's just that Paris can be....ummm...sort of confining, know what I mean?

T: What's the most vulgar word or phrase that you know in Japanese? In French? In English?

R: I'll have you not forget that I'm a lady, Robert. You wouldn't ask a lady such a question, would you? FUCK YOU!!!

T: You mentioned once somewhere being influenced by some Japanese music from the 70s and 80s. Which bands/singers were you talking about, and in what way where they an influence on you?

R: Are you more of a miso-ramen, or shoyu-ramen kind of girl?

T: Actually, I prefer miso...but more than ramen, I'm into gyudon. That's why I was so shocked when Yoshinoya's beef bowl got changed! I was really pissed off that day, and I wasn't even in Japan. Remember I sent you that email and I was like, asking you if you had some gyudon on the last day or whatever? I've still got that email saved somewhere. It's all about the 'gyu' over the 'buu' anyway, right?

R: What information can you provide about your upcoming movie project? Please spare no detail.

T: That's actually still in development and I can't really say too much about it. Otherwise I'd probably get a few nasty emails tomorrow which I'd just ignore anyway. Ask me the same question in about 3 months, OK?

R: You implied on your webpage's RADIO link that you had a "mannequin-heart." Assuming that you were actually speaking in earnest, what would be the origin and nature of such a heart ? Do you feel that it would be an asset to you in your aspirations as an actress? Incidentally, if you were suddenly asked by Quentin Tarantino to drop everything and appear in "Kill Bill Vol. 3" as a whip-cracking assassin bitch, would you do it?

T: What's a "mannequin-heart" mean to YOU, Robert?

R: I'm not sure, Tujiko. That's why I'm trying to pin you down on it.

T: Well, let's just say that any kind of emotional 'fashion' is very wearable...dressable and undressable...if you have such a heart. Whatever looks good at a party, you know?

R: Please compare your working relationships with Aki Onda and Hironobu Sasaki. As producers, how do they differ, and how are they similar? Are there any other producers that you'd like to work with in the future?

T: They're both different and I don't really wan't to compare them. Each does something different for me, so...

R: Please list all of the URLs in your browser's history cache from yesterday.

T: That'd take too long, so I'll just give some random stuff, OK? Just a bunch of porn, my homepage's URL, Momus' webpage (I finally found that butt-naked pic of him, but isn't that a Photoshop job?), the Japanese embassy in Paris, some French movie sites, some friends of mine who are doing fashion design in Milan, and also the Porsche corp. website.

R: In the past, you expressed a desire to perform with live musicians at some point in the future. Do you have any concrete plans at the moment? What kind of ensemble do you envisage?

T: I'm not really into her music much, but I could see myself doing something kind of what UA or Shena Ringo has done in the past few years, but with more of a computer thing to it. I dunno...that's the only think that comes to mind right now. The only problem is that I'm sure that all of the musicians would want me to be more strict in rehearsal, but I'm not really like that. I'd just be like, whatever!

R: Recently, your name was mentioned in the the following categorical statement: "...Locquet, Noriko, and So are contributing collectively to an emergent stylistic trend which finds folk musical styles and vocals conjoined to prominent electronic processing treatments." (Stylus Magazine, August 2003) In your mind, does this grouping have any validity at all? If so, please name some other people and or groups that you'd like to see included. If not, please suggest the genere to which you belong. Also, is it just coincidence that two of the three singers mentioned are Japanese and female, or is this somehow a stylistic prerequisite?

T: Yeah, all of that kind of thinking just doesn't interest me. I mean, I'm sure there is someone out there who's trying to get a PHD in figuring out the relationship of Marcus Popp to Japanese women, but...Look, I'm just writing pop music. I don't think you have to be Japanese or female to do that, but I don't think it HURTS to be both! I would like to try being a man for a while, but then again, EVERY girlfriend I have says the same thing, so I mean what does that tell you?

R: Ask yourself a question and answer that question here.

T: No comment? No comment.

BONUS QUESTION

R: Where would you go and what would you do on your dream date?

T: Shopping in Odaiba with my darling!