Noriko Tadano

Tadano moved to Melbourne, Australia in 2004, spending time as a Japanese assistant language teacher,[7] as well as busking on the street and performing on the shamisen at open mic nights.[6] Tadano saw her work as an opportunity to share Japanese culture with others, and to give people the opportunity to see a traditional Japanese instrument.[6]

Through performing on the streets and playing at local events, Tadano subsequently met and collaborated with local musicians, such as taiko drummer Toshi Sakamoto (founder of the Wadaiko Rindo taiko group)[8][9] and blues musician George Kamikawa.[10][11]

Tadano also taught shamisen, and in 2005 pioneered Australia's first shamisen group, called 'Shamys', which performed at a variety of events and festivals in Victoria, Australia.[12][13]

In 2008, Noriko independently released her solo album Staircase to the Moon.[14] The name was inspired by the natural phenomenon caused by the rising of a full moon reflecting off the exposed mudflats at extremely low tide, to create a beautiful optical illusion of a stairway reaching to the moon. Noriko encountered this during a trip to Broome, Western Australia when playing a show at the Shinju Matsuri.[15]

Determined to challenge herself musically and develop beyond live performance, Noriko composed music for the 2008 documentary Angel of the Wind, which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival. The film was directed by Tahir Cambis,[16] who also directed Exile in Sarajevo, which won an International Emmy award in 1998.[17] A number of musicians including Nick Cave, Pizzicato Five, Robin Cuming, and Jadranka Stojaković were also involved in composing music for the film.

Tadano was awarded the Head Judge's Special Award (審査員長特別賞) at the Hirosaki Tsugaru Shamisen World Cup in 2009,[18][19] and in the same year performed solo at the Japan Australia Music Goodwill Mission Xmas Concert at the Sydney Opera House.[20][21]

She collaborated with Gerry Hale in 2009 performing at La Mama Theatre as part of The Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival as well as a number of other shows around Melbourne.[22]

Noriko performed at WOMADelaide 2010,[23] playing a solo show and two duo shows with George Kamikawa, as well as being invited on the main stage to be part of the All Star Gala on the final day. The Gala was conducted by Ross Daly, with Tadano sharing the stage with musicians such as Mariem Hassan, Besh o droM, Lepistö & Lehti and Xavier Rudd.[24]

Tadano appeared on the popular Australian music quiz show 'Spicks and Specks' in 2010, closing the show with a performance with Dave Faulkner, lead singer of the band Hoodoo Gurus.[25]

Tadano performed with Old Man River at the East Brunswick Club in Melbourne on July 15, 2011[26] and performed with George Kamikawa at the 5th World Summit on Art and Culture held in Melbourne in the same year.[27]

Tadano also performed solo at the Australasian World Music Expo (AWME) 2011, held in Melbourne.[28]

In 2012, Noriko teamed up with George Kamikawa to perform on season 6 of the Australia's Got Talent TV show. Their performances were praised by the judges, Dannii Minogue and Kyle Sandilands, with Brian McFadden stating that Noriko was like a "female Japanese Slash",[29] comparing Tadano's shamisen playing to the legendary Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash. George & Noriko secured the most public votes to progress to the finals.[11][30][31]

George & Noriko performed all over Australia[32] and received a standing ovation for an impromptu collaboration with the legendary Australian musician Chris Wilson at the 2012 Blue Mountain Music Festival in Katoomba.[33]

In 2014, Tadano composed the music live on stage for the theater production Everyman and the Pole Dancers, directed by Lech Mackiewicz in collaboration with the theatre company Shinjuku Ryozanpaku and Auto Da Fe.[34] The production toured Australia and Japan and a book was also published by Currency Press.[35]

In 2010 and again in 2016, Tadano supported the heavy metal band Twelve Foot Ninja at iconic Melbourne live music venues such as the Corner Hotel and Ding Dong Lounge,[36][37] and had a cameo in the 2015 'One Hand Killing' music video.[38]

To celebrate International Women's Day 2016, Tadano composed and performed music for the Book of Daughters concert series presented by Jolt Arts. The series included a number of Australian artists as well as Yoshimio (a.k.a. Yoshimi P-We of Boredoms, OOIOO and Free Kitten) on drum kit, electronics and vocals.[39][40]

In mid-2016, Noriko toured Japan with George Kamikawa, playing shows in Tokyo, Chiba and Mie prefecture.[41]

Being referred to as "one of Australia's most highly-demanded artists",[42] Tadano began to develop a greater presence in Japan, and appeared on the popular Japanese TV Tokyo program, Sekai Naze Soko ni? Nihonjin in 2018. The program provided an insight into Tadano's personal life in Australia as well as her musical career.[43]

Having previously performed with legendary jazz musician Bob Sedergreen, Tadano was invited to join his son Steve Sedergreen and numerous other musicians to rework The Far East Suite for the 2018 Stonnington Jazz Festival in Melbourne.[44]

Tadano has continued to perform at many Australian festivals in both solo and collaborative performances,[45] at festivals including Woodford Folk Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival, Caloundra music festival, Airlie Beach Festival of Music[46] and the National Folk Festival, as well as international festivals such as CubaDupa (New Zealand), Powell Street Festival (Canada) and Lang Schwenninger Kulturnacht (Germany).

In February 2019, Tadano supported Nai Palm, lead singer of three time Grammy-nominated Hiatus Kaiyote[47] at The Curtin, Melbourne.[48]

Tadano was commissioned to develop an original audio guide score to the highly successful Japan Supernatural exhibition held at the Art Gallery of NSW in 2020. Featuring works by Japanese artists past and present, from historical master Hokusai to superstar Takashi Murakami. Utilizing voice, shamisen and the kokyū, with Toshi Sakamoto on taiko drums, the music was designed to respond to the themes of the exhibition and was referred to as a "cinematic experience for the ears", with over 40,000 visitors attending.[49] An app was created available through the Apple app store[50] and the project was a finalist in the 2020 GLAMi awards.[51]

In 2020, Tadano was interviewed by the Japanese TV Asahi program Beat Takeshi's TV Tackle, hosted by Takeshi Kitano. Tadano discussed the impact that COVID-19 has had on Australia and the live music industry.[52]

In December 2021, Tadano performed at the Japanaroo concert in Sydney Town Hall, collaborating with digeridoo player William Barton and sharing the stage with performers including Kamahl.[53]

In 2021, Tadano wrote, directed and produced a solo theatre show titled Yasha's Lullaby as her first foray into acting.[54]

In 2022, Tadano worked with Nexus Arts and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra on 'Flood of Fire', an artist-led community-building project drawing on the cultural heritage of a wide spectrum of communities living in South Australia.[55]

In June 2023, Tadano collaborated with the Australian String Quartet (ASQ) for multiple live shows. In partnership with Nexus Arts, the project was described as “a bridging between two worlds—that of the traditional Japanese shamisen and that of the string quartet”. [56]

The quartet performed pieces including works by Caroline Shaw with Tadano performing original compositions “producing some striking sounds with her virtuosic approach to the shamisen. Her playing is exuberant and uninhibited”. The collaborative pieces performed with the ASQ “culminated with ‘Vertigo’, a frenetic piece with the energy of a rock/pop song”. [57] [58]

In July 2023, Tadano toured Europe performing in Germany with Berlin based Iki Iki Taiko [59]as well as debut shows at the Japan Paris Expo 2023. Japan Expo is a convention on Japanese popular culture and is the largest of its kind in the world, taking place in Paris, France. [60] [61]

Noriko Tadano - Yasha's Lullaby

• Staircase to the Moon (2008)

• Global Carnival - Various Artists (2008)

• East West (2010)
• Howlin' Sun (2016)