Kohsuke Atari was as a teenager a promising singer of traditional Amami island songs. Unfortunately someone at Epic Sony decided he could be a pop star and got him to sing pop tunes, which has been fairly successful in terms of sales, but not for artist credibiity. On this latest album of 12 tracks he is joined by various Japanese pop singers such as Naotaro Moriyama and Kyogo Kawaguchi. Songs include Hana, and Ave Maria. The male version of Hajime Chitose.
We've been waiting for an album like this from Rikki for a while. Rikki has proved herself to be not only a great singer, but a good songwriter with an ear for inventive production. The songs, mostly original are played on sanshin, guitar, bass and percussion with occasional shakuhachi, erhu (Chinese violin) and harmonium. From ballads to mid-tempo to the rousing finale Rikki no Rokucho Bushi.
Price: £18.99
Okinawan island music already has many fans in the west. The music of Amami island is a mixture of Japanese and Okinawan influences sung in a distinctive local style by the island's leading female singer Rikki. With simple arrangements featuring sanshin (lute) Hawaiian guitar, accordion and Brazilian percussion, this beautiful album is a natural mixture of island and world instrumentation with stunning vocals from a world class singer.
The tiny island of Amami lies almost exactly mid point between the mainland of Japan and the subtropical islands of Okinawa, and musically stands at about the half way point too. It's shima uta (island songs) are a little less frenetic than on Okinawa, the local lute, the sanshin looks like the Okinawan one, but is played and tuned like the Japanese shamisen, while it's sung in a highly decorative falsetto style. Although still in her twenties, Rikki has been championed as the savior and future of Amami island music for years, ever since she started winning various Japanese folk competitions from the age of six. Her recorded output however has been patchy. She's always had a stunning voice, pure, expressive, that weaves it's way around a melody. It took working with Japanese maestro producer Makoto Kubota to bring out the best in her on Rikki's self titled third album, before the beautiful simplicity of just her voice, sanshin and guitar on 'Miss You Amami'. Trouble is along the way she's been signed by various majors and given a producer with an apparent blueprint to turn her into a pop star, even providing the voice for the Final Fantasy computer games. This album is the most successful to date in marrying Rikki's strengths with a big yet sympathetic accompaniment and production, courtesy of Hiroaki Sugawara. Rikki's distinctive vocals hover over a relaxed, mostly electronic backing augmented by acoustic guitar and the Brazilian percussion of Marcos Suzano. These mostly traditional tunes however, never lose the essence of their Amami island roots, taking them into unexplored territory. The occasional over long doodling on electric guitar, repetitive programmed rhythms, and a cheesy synth sound or two are rescued just in time by the factor that in the end holds the entire album together. The voice of a world class singer. Price: £18.99
Nami Makioka's last album, Nanka, became a bit of a cult classic after it was played on the BBC last year. This is a welcome follow up, and is in similar vain. She sings traditional songs, plays sanshin, and is accompanied by ukulele, percussion, guitar and other instruments that makes for one of the most interesting Amami modern roots albums of recent years.
Second solo album from another young female exponent of Amami shima uta. Nami is from Kikai Jima in Amami and at the age of sixteen gained top honours in her tradition. Unlike her stablemates Maricamizki, there is no sanshin on this album. Instead her wonderful voice is surrounded by layers of keyboards, mandolin, violin, bouzouki, piano and various percussion in an extremely tasteful way. Songs include Amami standards such as Kurudando, Isokana, Muchakana, Yoisura Bushi, Shumichi Nagahama and Ikyunnya Kana. Highly recommended. Price: £18.99
Fourth album from the young talented Amami Island singer and sanshin player. Atari has been studying 'Higya-bushi', a unique shimauta style from Southern Amami. Here he sings this traditional style with the accompaniment of ukulele, bouzouki, guitar, violin and percussion.
The Amami island female duo seem to have been around for ages, but this is their first full album as opposed to their excellent mini-albums. One of the albums of 2004, with the two women in great voice and playing sanshin, accompanied by acoustic and lapsteel guitars, ukulele, violin, percussion and flute. The songs ebb and flow with Marica and Mizki's strong voices adding piercing, falsetto tones together with their britle, crisp sanshin. The album is recorded with a live feel to it, with little studio effects and no hint of electronic help, being totally acoustic. 12 tracks of beauty and vitality. Price: £18.99
Only six tracks and 24 minutes, but what wonderful music it is. Female duo sing in traditional Amami island falsetto style vocals accompanied by small Balinese gamelan bamboo orchestra, Gamelan Joged Bumbung. The two compliment each other perfectly on songs ranging from slow plaintive ballads to faster tunes, including an instrumental, where Bumbug take centre stage. Wonderful and fascinating.
Mizuki Nakamura and Marica sing Amami shimauta accompanied by ukulele and acoustic guitar. In sound and feel, this album has been compared to Sierra Leone Palm Wine guitar music. Price: £16.99
Young male Amami island singer and sanshin player. On this third album he is accompanied by including guitar, ukulele, tuba and percussion that adds a welcome new dimension to his previous very traditional albums.
Third solo album by one half of the excellent Maricamizuki duo. Traditional Amami island tunes played on twangy sanshin with falsetto vocals by Mizuki with occassional help from Marika. Very nice but lacks a variety with most songs being of similar tempo and structure. Price: £18.99
This may be the first solo album by Marika Yoshihara, but it's more like another excelent Maricamizki release. Marika is joined by Mizuki on nearly all tracks, plus a sumptuous array of instruments including ukulele, bouzouki, guitar, kalimba and percussion. Some of Amami island's best known traditional tunes, Yoisura Bushi, Itokuri Bushi, Kurudando, Hanagoma and eight others. Mainly slow, plaintive and bluesy with some upbeat and accapella songs.
One of the most remarkable success stories in Japanese roots music in recent years. Amami island female vocalist, singing in traditional style sells over 1 million of her first album. The songs and arrangements and instrumentation are fairly regular pop, albeit, cooler than almost anything else that sold this amount in Japan. Big production, and slightly dry, cold sound, but overall an album that oozes quality throughout and comes highly recommended. Price: £18.99
Brilliant new album featuring Ikue Asazaki, veteran traditional singer from Amami, and sitar player Daikichi Yoshida, a veteran of Japan's alternative music scene. Asazaki has one of those immediately arresting voices, that drips with character but often has been set against a new age accompaniment that hasn't always done her justice. Yoshida is probably best known for playing with improv band Psycho Baba, but has played with a host of other musicians including Alaya Vijana (Fuji Rock festival 2006) Keiji Haino, sax player Kazutoki Umezu and Sitar Tah! and has written songs for female singer UA. On this suprising album, Amami celebration songs meets Indian, Indonesian gamelan, Korean and other Asian elements in a decidely experimental, boisterous manner. Other musicians include Akira Sotoyama (drums), Arunangshu Chaudhury (tabla) U-zhaan (tabla) Urotsute Noyako (gamelan) Fuyuki Yamakawa (hoomi-throat singing, igil) Maya (harmonium) Indora (Korean pansori) and Tonchi (steel pan drums). Wild and rather wonderful.
Female singer Ikue Asazaki from Amami island in Japan's deep south, has one of those voices that immediately grabs the attention. Slightly deep, a bit hoarse, obviously that of an old lady (she was born in 1935) that conveys a wealth of emotion. On this mini album she has teamed up with Chinese piano player and arranger Wong Wing Tsan. It verges towards New Age, but Asazaki's voice is an engaging as ever. Six tracks. Price: £13.99
Ikue Asazaki is an elderly lady from Amami island whose voice is full of character, slightly hoarse and sometimes with falsetto. On this album she sings Okinawan and Amami traditional minyo, plus old Japanese songs and lullabies. Excellent.
Veteran female singer from Amami island, who in her twilight years got signed by a major. Her music sometimes borders on the new age / healing, and here collaborations with pianists and guitar players such as Chichi Matsumura from Gontiti continue this theme. Price: £18.99
The three songs on Asazaki's mini-album get re-released onto a full album with six new recordings, and two interludes of voice and soundscape. Asazaki's vocals are accompanied by Akira Takahashi's piano on a kind of Okinawa meets new age piano CD. But don't let that put you off too much. It's actually a pleasant enough listen, designed to soothe the senses rather than stir them. Wonderful Japanese vocalist UA guests on one track adding street cred.
Amami island in the deep south of Japan is home to a vibrant, living, traditional music scene. This compilation provides the evidence with mostly young singers, mostly in the 20s, performing traditional Amami island songs. Some are modern arrangments with ukulele, guitar and percussion as well as the sanshin and the distinctive falsetto style of singing. Artists include Maricamizki (Mizuki Nakamura & Marica Yoshihara), Nami Makioka, Shingo Maeyama (up and coming singer with a great voice), Fumitomo Yagi (singer songwriter from Okinawa based in Kyoto), Banana Maffin (most popular reggae DJ on Amami). 22 tracks. Price: £18.99
Kazuma Tei is a male singer from Tokuno Shima, an island in Kagoshima prefecture in the south of Japan. He plays sanshin, takes inspiration from his own local shima uta (island songs) which he incorporates into his own songs. 5 track mini album.
