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Rie Fu received a warm reception from the audience throughout however with such a short set list filling less than half an hour it was inevitable that the audience felt rather disappointed, after the last song everyone chanted "more! more!" almost immediately after the audience called out "Life is Like a Boat" as their last request, an obvious favourite and well known song to the audience being the theme song for the anime Bleach; of course, how could Rie Fu end the show without performing another obvious favourite?

Seeing that the audience was all so eager to see her perform the song, Rie Fu happily agreed, however being unprepared for the request she made a few small mistakes on the guitar towards the end, the audience of course forgave her upon her sweet smile as she explained that she usually plays the song on the piano rather than the guitar.
Regardless of the minor hiccup I felt she managed the song quite well and I was glad to see the performance of another familiar track from her album, though I couldn't help thinking that it would have been even more perfect it she had performed "Decay" from her debut hit single which she became known for initially, may be another time with a slightly longer slot?

Having spoken to a few people on the night I found that they were attracted to the event mainly because of Rie Fu's scheduled performance, and on that note I can be sure to say that almost no one would be disappointed, although it was short she handled it very well, it was a very pleasant performance, it would be great to see her continue playing in the UK and I would love to see her perform with the piano too one day.

Junkie and I interviewed Rie Fu that night to find out more about her music and the inspirations the UK has given her during her studies in Fine Art here in London.

Rie Fu Interview by yuki melodies and Junkie with a Monkey

yuki: Its great to be able to have this opportunity to interview you today on behalf of Jpop.com, I understand that you are here in London mainly for your studies in Fine Art is that correct?

Rie Fu: Yes

yuki: what attracted you to come to London for your studies?

Rie Fu: The atmosphere of London and how art is really close to every day life, it gives a lot of opportunities for young art students to exhibit their work too, its not something you can get in Japan.

yuki: So is art something you always wanted to do?

Rie Fu: Yes, art was my initial dream, though I started to write music art had came first.

Junkie: I see that you've been continuing with your music activities here in the UK, how many times have you performed here now?

Rie Fu: Around six or seven times, its about once in two months.

yuki: So do you plan to do more performances in the time to come?

Rie Fu: Yes, definitely!

yuki: Judging by the turn out from the gigs you've had so far does it appear that you have much recognition here from the UK audience?

Rie Fu: It would be really weird if English people already knew me but some people came from other places in England to see my performances but they were Japanese people.
Its really rather relaxing in the UK because nobody probably knows me, so there is no pressure and its a really good challenge for me.  

yuki: Do you have any plans on may be releasing material in the UK or the US later?

Rie Fu: Well I'd like to, I have all the songs, I'm recording for a new album next year, and I have a lot of songs coming up. I have recorded a few songs in London with the musicians here, if there is an opportunity to release in the UK or the US I would be more than happy. 

Junkie: The animes Bleach and Gundam Wing gave you a lot of exposure in Japan and in the West as well, how did you become to do those theme songs?

Rie Fu: It was through the record company but it was a really good opportunity, I think animation is a really international thing that the Japanese culture has, its really amazing how music can be delivered to people around the world through animation. But I wasn't really into animation before I did the songs now I realise how much power and influence animation has.

yuki: You've recently collaborated with m-flo, what was it like to work with them?

Rie Fu: It was fun, they are pretty big in Japan, I was imagining they were like celebrity kind of people but they were really laid back and down to earth so it made a really relaxing vibe in the recording process. They gave me the track without any song and I just wrote it here in London and I sent it back through e-mail so a mix of the feelings I got in London was in that song.

Junkie: Who would you most like to do a duet or collaborate with next?

Rie Fu: Well i did a collaboration before with a songwriter in London called Suzie Hugg that was really great and I want to continue doing that.
I don't have a specific person that I want to collaborate with, I want to do it in a really natural way, not for business, it could be someone not known in Japan, anyone, just as long as there is a passion for music.

yuki: Who inspires or influences your music writing?

Rie Fu: I've been a big fan of Jonie Mitchell and Carole King the singer-songwriters from the 70s' in America, even now I listen to them. 

Junkie: Has the image and life in London given you much inspiration in your song writing?

Rie Fu: Yeah definitely its a great inspiration, recently I've been writing songs about memories, experiences and dreams; because I'm studying Fine Art in college, there are a lot of similar themes in the paintings I do and the influences inspired by even artists in art, so I guess the art side is really a big influence to my music as well.

yuki: It must be quite hard to promote in Japan and do your studies in the UK as well, how do you handle it?

Rie Fu: Well actually my college has a lot of holidays in the Summer its almost a four months holiday and I have Winter holiday and Spring break, its about six months altogether so half of the time I'm in Japan.
Its a really well balanced process because while I'm here I can be really free to write songs and not be stressed about all the music business. When I'm in Japan I just record the music to make it into a proper track and promote it so its a really good balance.

Junkie: Out of all the songs you've released do you have a personal favourite?

Rie Fu: The song that was used for Gundam, "I Wanna Go To A Place", at first I thought of it as just a theme song for an animation but now that it has become the song that was known here through the animation and spread more than I expected I became to have special feelings for it and so it has become one of my favourite songs.

yuki: So what are your upcoming plans?

Rie Fu: I'm going back to Japan in mid-December to do recording and working on my next album and I'll keep on releasing songs and keep on doing what I'm doing now!

yuki: Great! Thank you for your time with Jpop.com, it was a great pleasure to meet you.

Rie Fu: My Pleasure.

Junkie: We wish you the best of luck with your studies here and look forward to hearing more of your music!

Rie Fu: Thank you!


Interviwer's thoughts:
Rie Fu was a lovely person to talk to, it was great to have had the opportunity to speak to her, by her answers to our questions it was evident that she was truly passionate about her music, she seems quite happy to be in London where she can concentrate creatively in her art and music free from any stress or pressure she may have had to deal with daily whilst in Japan being a growing successful artist that she is clearly becoming. Keep it up Rie Fu!


Rie Fu official site: http://www.riefu.com


Photos and text by yuki melodies