When Australian musician Tal Wilkenfeld randomly asked a fellow coffee shop patron for translation help, we don’t think this was quite what she was expecting.
Tal Wilkenfeld gained international fame after playing bass alongside artists such as Eric Clapton, Toto, Herbie Hancock and Jeff Beck, with whom she toured during her last visit to Japan in 2009. This time she’s back to debut with her very own band, appropriately named the Tal Wilkenfeld Band, and is scheduled to perform a number of shows in Tokyo and Osaka.
In order to promote her November and December performances, Wilkenfeld uploaded a humorous promotional video of her and a Japanese translator, which quickly became a hot topic among netizens.
Most viewers in Japan and abroad saw the humor in the video and praised it for its originally, with some even volunteering to translate for Wilkenfeld should a future need arise. On the other hand, a handful of netizens took the video rather seriously and accused the video of being insensitive and even “racist”, for some reason.
One thing everyone seemed to agree on, however, is how amazing the artist’s hair is.
While it goes without saying the stereotype that all Japanese people can’t speak English is an unfair one, in Japan it’s also highly unlikely in you’ll find many fluent English speakers just chilling at your neighborhood Starbucks. Heck, sometimes even professional companies have trouble finding translation help.
Wilkenfeld promises Japanese concert-goers that she’ll be performing all-new material at her upcoming gigs, so we recommend anyone interested check out Billboard Live for more details and ticket reservations.
Source: YouTube/Tal Wilkenfeld via Yurukuyaru
Feature/top image: YouTube/Tal Wilkenfeld
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