Mando-pop singer-songwriter Shino (林曉培) has a nearly impossible mission to accomplish. She has to rebuild a career she almost destroyed when she killed a woman in a drunk-driving accident three years ago. Since reaching a settlement with the victim’s family, the rocker, who is best known for her KTV classic Tempting Heart (心動), has been seeking rebirth both in her life and in her music.
This year, Shino independently produced the live album Invincible: Shino and Her Songs (五語倫比- Shino和她的歌兒們) and distributed it through Seed Music. She has also held a mini charity concert titled Pure Love (純愛) for three years in a row.
On Wednesday night, she will perform the second part of The Way We Were Concert (林曉培 — The Way We Were音樂會), subtitled “Time Travel” (時空重遊), in which she will sing her favorite songs from the pub circuit at Legacy Taipei. Part one of the concert was held last Wednesday.
“This is my tribute to pub songs from 1990 to 2000. They are mostly rock songs with a female perspective,” Shino said in a phone interview early this week, explaining that she decided to divide the concert into two parts because there were too many songs to choose from. “I started my career in the pub circuit and I want to celebrate music in this style.”
“Since [experiencing] these dramatic changes in life, I am more sure about rock music than ever,” she said. “Basically, I like music with a folk-based melody and clear rhythm.”
“I’ve been too noisy for too long. It’s time to get back to the basics with understated rather than overbearing music.”
Shino’s time spent mulling over her misfortune has brought about noticeable changes in her music. Invincible: Shino and Her Songs, released in January, is about persistence and survival. On the album she covers songs about redemption such as Debby Boone’s classic You Light Up My Life and Teresa Teng’s (鄧麗君) Slow Walk Through Life’s Journey (漫步人生路).
Shino was baptized as a Christian in August 2007, two months after her car accident, and says she has “always wanted to do a gospel album.”
“I want to present both our human side and God’s message. These are issues I see every day when I make important decisions and judge things.”
In addition to folk music and songs about redemption, Shino has also dabbled in electronic music with Black Swan (to Salander) (黑天鵝(給莎蘭德)), the Taiwan theme song for the crime thriller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
And she’s become an actress, with a supporting role in the Taiwanese blockbuster Cape No. 7 (海角七號) and as the title character last year in the Chinese musical Aunt (阿姨).
Shino plans to release a new album with original material by the end of this year, though she is currently not signed to a major label.
“After all these upheavals, I sometimes have the illusion that [the people in] my audiences are my close friends when I am standing on the stage and watching them,” she said. “They are old friends who will point out to me when I make mistakes.”
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