On Sept. 15, the singer surprised supporters at L.A’s Telegram Ballroom with a free and mystery-filled one-night-only presentation of her “Aiko In Wanderland Experience.” It was an interactive and intimate show full of surprises, but no cameras. She said she wanted the focus on her music with no distractions.
“This is like a therapy session,” she told her fans, who lined up for hours outside the venue. “Thank you for being my therapists.”
http://www.mtv.com/news/2273414/jhen...nd-experience/
Video Clip:
https://instagram.com/p/7rqaPupU_8/
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“I wandered into this little tea house, there was a little stage and a tea setup and I ended up doing a little singing,” Aiko said between sips of an herbal tea that promised focus and energy. “I wanted that experience," she continued. "I wanted people to be able to wander and discover -- that’s not something you’d normally experience at a show.”
Using her affinity for Disney’s take on “Alice in Wonderland” (she sings an "Alice" tune on an upcoming Disney compilation) as a backdrop, she built her own entire production around a high concept show that folded in mystery, theatrics and innovative visuals. She also tracked down production company ImageNation -- which built the tea house she fell in love with at Lightning in a Bottle -- to set up a similar structure, which they built in under 10 hours.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...916-story.html
NEW MUSIC:
Aiko is a bit more forthcoming about new material. She closed the show with a dark introspective single titled “Still.”
After riding a wave that included her first radio smash, a slot at Coachella, a well-received EP and debut album, plus three Grammy nominations, the 27-year-old is hard at work on the follow-up to last year’s “Souled Out.” She’s been playing around in the studio, freestyling verses -- instead of working out melodies and lyrics -- and just seeing what flows.
Known for her deeply personal narratives, she mentions her childhood, relationship with her father, death of her brother and raising her daughter amid a new level of popularity -- she winces at the word “famous” -- and depression as throughlines for her new music since it's what's currently weighing heaviest on her mind.
She’s even having a larger hand in producing. “It’s a little ambitious,” she says. “But it’s worth it to me.”
“It’s really just me exposing myself. There’s a lot of things happening in my life that I’m not afraid to talk about. There's no holding back,” she said.
Clip of "Still" :
https://twitter.com/_gcalvillo/statu...45001756839936
More Pics & Video:
https://instagram.com/explore/tags/aikoinwanderland/
SO INNOVATIVE...SO JHENE. I love her.
