One fun aspect of upload an album every day—fun for me, I mean—is that it gives me an excuse to go back and listen to something I haven’t heard in years. Such as today’s album, _Garden_ by shela, whose real name is Megumi Oizumi. In many ways shela epitomizes the late 90’s J-Pop industry, particularly as it relates to the major label avex trax. In the late 90’s the was a surge of models/actresses who attempted to start solo pop music careers, and avex trax was more often than not pulling the strings behind the scenes of those endeavors. Especially with producers like Tetsuya Komuro, who I wrote about when I uploaded [_Sweet 19 Blues_](//www.nyaa.se/?page=view&tid=474946) by Namie Amuro. Something that helped set shela apart from her peers was the fact she actually had prior experience as a musician. A trained saxophonist, she played this instrument and provided the lead vocals for the band FBI from 1997–1999. During this time shela was also doing some fashion modeling. Back in 1993 the then seventeen year-old model Hitomi Furuya began her J-Pop career at avex trax under the direction of Tetsuya Komuro, adopting the moniker ‘hitomi’. Her major success helped shape the 90’s into a decade where modeling was a popular, viable way to start one’s J-Pop career. So that atmosphere in the industry helped shela grab the attention of avex trax. And already being a musician was a nice benefit. It seems bizarre to speak as if musical talent was not the primary factor behind who record companies signed and who they did not, but that’s just how it was back then. And honestly, has the J-Pop industry changed that much since then? I would have to say no. _“RobbyLob, stop rambling and get back to shela.”_ Right, sorry. So in 1999 shela signed with avex trax and began working with producer Tetsuya Komuro. It is common for Japanese pop artist or band to release two or three singles before an album. But in a span of eighteen months shela released five singles: 1\. _White_ 2\. _Red_ 3\. _purple_ 4\. _orange_ 5\. _sepia_ The last one came out six days before shela’s debut album, _COLORLESS._ Personally I thought it was an ok album, nothing spectacular but certainly not bad; I did think the title was funny considering the singles leading up to it, and the fact that the cover art used all five colors named by the preceding singles. However, most of us overlooked the album because we were all paying attention to another J-Pop artist who signed with avex trax the same year as shela: Ayumi Hamasaki. I think it’s safe for me to assume you all know who she is. Hamasaki did not release a studio album the same year as _COLORLESS_ (2001), but nonetheless Hamasaki and some other major names were all topping the charts back then. So I can understand how shela’s debut album came and went unnoticed by most J-Pop fans. Two years later shela released this album, _Garden,_ which to date is her last original studio album. Personally I believe _Garden_ is the better of the two; the music is less of the cookie-cutter mold you find on _COLORLESS._ Two years later shela would release two compilation albums that covered all of her singles, and then she left avex trax to perform with the band ‘sunny-side up’. Later shela would take a hiatus from music, but she returned in 2009, signing with the indie label Rosso Records and releasing the single _Crystal._ However, that comeback was brief. She is technically still signed with the label but shela has not released anything significant since. All of that means shela has a short discography when it comes to studio albums as a solo artist. I thought I owned _COLORLESS_ because I planned to upload both together. But I couldn’t find it, so I guess I never did buy it. Anyways, as I said before, I believe _Garden_ is the better album. As I always, I hope you enjoy today’s album, and please feel free to leave any feedback for requests!