If you are someone who deals in clearly defined genres, comfort zones, existing expectations, and familiarity, then you might find Shihori to be one of those artists that you can’t put your finger on. And “Invisible Stairway,” her latest single, is the perfect example of why.
I’ve seen the term “J-pop” attached to her music, but that doesn’t even begin to explain what’s going on, and to be honest, I don’t think it’s a beneficial starting point anyway.
Okay, even if we start with such a reference point, other influences, sounds, and styles start emerging and merging from the outset. For a start, there is something almost theatrical about the song, as if it were part of some off-beat, off-kilter, off-off-off-Broadway musical production. It pits Eastern pop sonics against Western grooves, and it has a sort of R&B feel to it. By the time it reaches its logical crescendos as it heads for the finish line, it feels like a soul-rock piece built from neither rock’s traditional sound nor soul’s. See what I mean, such a description hardly helps explain what is going on. (If I were you, I’d stop reading and just play the track!)
Then we have the lyrics, sung in English and full of mysticism, using the idea of the Tarot Deck’s Fool and basing the song around the leap of faith that he represents. And it is that walk into the unknown that is the message here, that you sometimes have to step bravely into new territories to move forward in life.
“Invisible Stairway” is a song built on wonderful contradictions, opposites that are blended so attractively – the Occident meets the Orient, entertainment meets wisdom, established traditions meet future sonics, where genres mix and match and meld and merge and where groove meets enlightenment.
It’s beguiling, it’s bold, it’s beautiful…it’s brilliant!
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