Last summer, many cool things happened in my little universe.
I hadn’t write about it yet, as I took a break from blogging being busy with composing and recording for my last two albums, but I am back now, and with so many things to share with you.
So on that note, I am happy and proud to tell you that I performed for the second time as a special guest of the Fantasia International Film Festival 2017.
The movie was the North American Premiere of ~JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable Chapter I ~ a Japanese film directed by Takashi Miike and based on the Diamond Is Unbreakable story arc of the manga series JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki.
Wow, the energy and the love flowing in that room… as a crowd of over 1000 people is eagerly waiting for their favourite movie to start… I can’t even start to describe it! There’s nothing else to feel than to be honored and grateful to be standing there in middle of it all.
For as far as I can remember, playing at Fantasia had always been one of my dreams, but living it for real, even the second time around, defies greatly any of its dream versions.
I remember my first performance at Fantasia back in 2015… that night, during line check, I missed a step, fell right on the cement floor, and hurt my left knee and this five mins before I started my live performance. The adrenaline and excitement kept me going all through the show to the point that after the movie screening, I had even forgot it all happened. Gladly my violin stayed safe since I fell directly on my knee protecting it with my heart, lifting both arms high up to the sky. Such a funny image I can picture now! I wish you could see it :p What an adventure it had all been, but I can’t forgot most of it except the vague memory that it was much fun!
This year again… I played before the movie started, you know that time during which people are actually getting seated. The response of my improvised public was pretty amazing.
Unlike last time, I had a little more time to prepared so I added two pieces from Jojo’s anime and put up together a small projection with images taken from my upcoming album (at that time) ~Hotaru’s Road~ mixed with images from the movie and the event. The festival staff had it playing in a loop while I was performing so the nice backdrop made the whole bizarre adventure even more exciting and grandiose.
I prepared a video so that you can see it here remixed with various memories of that night…
♤~ Music in this video is taken from ~Naked Soul~, my anime covers album ~♤
♤~ Get it on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon ~♤
Pictures from the Fantasia 2017 – Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure – Diamond is unbreakable event / by King-Wei Chu, Julie Deslisle Photography, Vincent Fréchett, Robert Del Tredici
I’d like to say thank you to the Japanese Consulate of Montreal and Tokyo. Thanks for choosing me, for your trust, and for all the hard work that it takes to organize such a wonderful event.
A huge thank for the nice welcoming and warmth from the Fantasia staff and organizers. This time again, I felt at home over there and that ~Bizarre Adventure~ night was totally funny, charming, and somehow unforgettable.
Lastly, I also want to thank ~You~ that came there specially to see me, and everyone else that cheered me from the crowd even though they weren’t there for me at all. I’ve received so much love, making this second Fantasia appearance, a night that I will never forget…
Hopefully I’ll be able to go back and perform there once again in a near future 😉
Have a gentle day,
Nika xxx
P.S. I had never watched Jojo’s anime nor read the manga before, but frankly after seeing that live-action movie, my interest peeked and I started to watch the anime (Starting from Season 1 Episode 1 though :p)
P.P.S. I haven’t started to read the manga yet, but apparently it is a masterpiece, so next time I have some free time or while on tour… I just might…
(Watch Jojo’s original Japanese trailer with English subtitles)