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Business News Gigs & Festivals The Great Escape 2014
Japan to hold first ever official European festival showcase at The Great Escape
By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 1 April 2014
Over 400 bands will play the festival side of The Great Escape this May, which is rather a lot, but to help delegates navigate all the talent on offer there is a series of industry partner showcases presenting artists from a specific region. And this year that will include the first ever official showcase from the Japanese industry to take place in Europe, calling it Japan Rising.
Backed by The Foundation For Promotion Of Music Industry And Culture and the Recording Industry Association Of Japan, the event is being co-ordinated by touring firm It Came From Japan, which has previously held unofficial showcases at TGE.
PROMIC’s Kaz Michijima told CMU: “Britain is always a dream country for Japanese artists, and before I joined PROMIC last April, I had heard great stories about The Great Escape. Shortly after I joined I met Daniel Robson from It Came From Japan, and he encouraged me and helped me to send Japanese artists to TGE. We’re delighted that we can send three Japanese artists to perform at TGE, and that we have government support. Each of the three artists are unique, and we hope people in Europe will enjoy their shows!”
Taking place on 10 May from 12-4pm, with free sushi for attendees, bands performing will be Buffalo Daughter (playing their first UK shows for thirteen years), singer-songwriter Mayu Wakisaka, and acoustic rock duo TarO&jirO. All three artists also promoted themselves at Japanese music conference the Tokyo International Music Market in October last year, and will play additional sets beyond the showcase at The Great Escape this May.
The move for the Japanese music industry to look more proactively to promote its artists abroad is a positive one, coming after recent figures from the IFPI showed that the country’s domestic revenues are slipping significantly.
Watch a two part special edition of PROMIC’s weekly YouTube show, announcing the Great Escape showcase here:
Part one
Part two
