Anime Expo 2004
Anime Expo - Tofu Records
by Jonathan Mays,
Representative: Ai Kennedy
The attendance of over 150 people surprised the tofu representative so much that she took a couple of pictures just to prove it had happened.
For the few attendees who didn't already know, Ai mentioned that L'Arc~en~Ciel would be performing at Baltimore's Otakon at the end of the month. She also showed a couple of music videos from the group's latest album, "SMILE," which is now available through tofu's website.
After running through a list of tofu's previous releases (Jpop CD, T.M. Revolution, Neo Soul, X[JAPAN], and Nami Tamaki), Ai noted that Jpop CD 2 and another edition of Japan For Sale are both in the works. Japan For Sale is released by Sony Music Imports, which is technically separate from Tofu Records, but both draw from Sony's pool of Japanese artists.
Most of the panel was devoted to a Q&A period, with audience members requesting future releases of specific artists. Ai reminded people that tofu is essentially limited to Sony artists, so they could not fulfill most of the requests. She did ask people if they'd be interested in a release from the Chemistry duo, but the crowd's response to it was weak.
Although no official "announcements" were made, Ai hinted that music video DVDs were a likely possibility for the future. (Concert DVDs, on the other hand, were not as likely to happen.)
Also of note: tofu is currently renovating their website, and the new version should be online in a month or so.
The attendance of over 150 people surprised the tofu representative so much that she took a couple of pictures just to prove it had happened.
For the few attendees who didn't already know, Ai mentioned that L'Arc~en~Ciel would be performing at Baltimore's Otakon at the end of the month. She also showed a couple of music videos from the group's latest album, "SMILE," which is now available through tofu's website.
After running through a list of tofu's previous releases (Jpop CD, T.M. Revolution, Neo Soul, X[JAPAN], and Nami Tamaki), Ai noted that Jpop CD 2 and another edition of Japan For Sale are both in the works. Japan For Sale is released by Sony Music Imports, which is technically separate from Tofu Records, but both draw from Sony's pool of Japanese artists.
Most of the panel was devoted to a Q&A period, with audience members requesting future releases of specific artists. Ai reminded people that tofu is essentially limited to Sony artists, so they could not fulfill most of the requests. She did ask people if they'd be interested in a release from the Chemistry duo, but the crowd's response to it was weak.
Although no official "announcements" were made, Ai hinted that music video DVDs were a likely possibility for the future. (Concert DVDs, on the other hand, were not as likely to happen.)
Also of note: tofu is currently renovating their website, and the new version should be online in a month or so.
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