Re-release of a legendary Kawachi Ondo LP Tokyo Nagurikomi Live / Kawachi Ondo San-on Kai All Stars, originally released in 1983. This is the album of the first Kawachi Ondo festivals that took place in the Kanto area around Tokyo, performed at 'Shibuya Live In 82' and 'Kinshi-cho Ginsei Gekijo' in July 1982. For people in Tokyo, Kawachi Ondo, from the Kansai region of Osaka, the festival was a revelation, one of the few examples of a tradition that had changed and adapted down the years and now came with a contemporary edge, that simply wasn't there in most other bon dances. This fantastic CD features the original recording of 'Muhonmatsu no Issho' (track 4), not included on the LP and a dub arrangement of Akagi no Komoriuta. CD jacket is the same classic illustration as the original LP by Yosuke Kawamura.

The greatest Kawachi Ondo tunes sung by the leading singers.

Fourth album by the Kawachi Ondo king. this one featuring Yukari Onishi and Shang Shang Typhoon.

Volume three of the kawachi ondo king Kikusuimaru Kawachiya's rare track collection with one bonus track. Taken from throughout Kikusuimaru's varied career.

A very welcome mini album with some of Kikusuimaru's best yet rarest tracks that have been unavailable for a few years. 1. Kanei Gozen Jiai - Naoto Ii (recorded when he was 45) 2. Bob Marley Story '97 (34) 3. Kakin Ondo Freeter Ichidai Otoko - Sieshun Jokyo Version (28) 4. Happy (28) 5. Tatsumono Dukushi (19) 6. Kawachi no Rekishi (9)

Kikusuimaru is a bit of a legend. He's had a colourful career, singing Kawachi ondo music from Kansai, updated with reggae, bhangra and other styles, all delivered with panache and humour. He's hasn't shied away from the axis of evil, having performed in Iraq where he met Saddam Hussein, and North Korea. Trouble is, nearly all of his recordings are unavailable. So, here then, is a very welcome second volume of some of his rare tracks.

Six track mini album from one of the best Japanese vocalists around. Traditional minyo folk songs usually sung by women, given a new interpretation and contemporary twist.

Summer festival music Japanese style. Bon odori, or bon dance, takes place during Obon, a custom and time during which people honour their ancestors. It takes place during the summer, although the exact time varies from region to region. The music and the dance also vary greatly from one region to another. Sometimes people dance in a circular fashion around a yagura, a high wooden stage, such as in Kawachi ondo, while others proceed in a straight line. Some dances use fans, others towels, still more use wooden clappers. A dance can depict a local area and its history. This CD contains Bon odori from throughout Japan, and comes with dance instructions, if you are so inclined.

Chanchiki ostensibly play minyo- or Japanese local folk songs. However, not since the heyday of Takio Ito has minyo sounded this vibrant, this fresh, this...alive. Under the guidance of multi-instrumentalist Tsutom Tanaka, their take of minyo is a wild mix of traditional Japanese sounds and rhythms with rock, jazz, Latin, African, and other elements. The album comes flying out the traps and apart from a couple of welcome rests doesn't really let up, leaving the listener satisfyingly exhausted by the end. Their music is dominated by the sound of the shamisen (lute) Japanese taiko and various other percussion (including the metalic chachinki instrument used in chindon, from which the group takes its name) hayashi backing chanting, great female vocals from Makiko Ikeda and fue (flute) shakuachi (bamboo flute) from Koushi Tsukuda which are all at the core of minyo. These are augmented by electric bass, guitar, more percussion (including by Mari Sekine of Shibasashirazu) tuba (Daisuke Takaoka also of Shibusashirazu) sax (Akira Kitoh of Tokyo Chutei Iki) and trombone. The songs originate from all over Japan from the tsugaru shamisen style from the north, to one of the gentler ballads, Ayagu from Okinawa. Invigorating stuff. 1. Rasshoi!! 2. Yaga 'F' 3. Funakogi-Nagashi-ua 4. Minato no Uta 5. Ayagu 6. Buzah? Nisai? 7. Gondola no Uta 8. Ukikusa Bushi 9. Hounen Mansaku Bon Odori 10. Chug Chug 11. Kodaijin 12. Konpira Fune Fune 13. Arigataya Bushi.

Very very welcome re-release of a classic album from 1991 of goshu ondo singer Tadamaru Sakuragawa. This one a 2 CD set with live recordings from 1992 and 2006. Sakuragawa sings in a style similar to kawachi ondo, classic Japanese folk sounding, and is accompanied by an infectious rhythm, slide guitar and the most catchy refrain on the brilliant opening track Sanose, guaranteed to get the feet moving and worth getting for this track alone. Elsewhere are the plaintive Kuroi Ame and a medley of tunes including the Indonesian classic, Bengawan Solo featuring Okinawan female quartet Nenes. This new, deluxe edition includes a new recording and on Disc 2 a live set from 1992 and one new track from 2006. Essential, and highly recommended.

Kawachi Ondo is one of Japan's most impressive festivals. Kawachi is a southeastern area of Osaka, and Kawachi Ondo was originally sung during the summer bon odori when anscestors are said to return from the world of the dead. The lyrics describe current events and it has been sung since the Edo period. Kawachi Ondo has developed over the years and still young people today enjoy the fast and groovy rhythms. Teppo Miysumaru is a veteran singer of Kawachi Ondo. During the 1960s he appeared in numerous TV commercials and released a string of LPs. He is now chairman of the Kawachi Ondo Association and this wonderful CD is his comeback album. Traditional Kawachi Ondo tends to be based around a few basic melodies and structures and the songs develop in set paterns and last up to 30 minutes or so. Aside to the distinctive vocals are shamisen, taiko drums, electric guitar and hayashi backing vocals. Two tracks : 1.Sakazaki Dewamori Homare no Maki 2.Sakazaki Dewamori Hiren no Maki.

Since the singer Kawachiya Kikusuimaru, there hasn't really been a star of Kawachi Ondo. Narutoya Sumiwaka is probably the best of the current Kawachi Ondo singers. Sumikawa's voice is accompanied by shamisen, taiko, electric guitar, bass and percussion on an album of modern Kawachi Ondo. Four tracks : 1.Yanre Uematsu 2.Katasura Harudanji Doutonbori Jowa 3.Ippon-gatana Dohyo-iri 4.Yanre Uematsu (karaoke).

Amazing compilation album of Kawachi Ondo and Kawachi infulenced songs. Kawachi ondo from the Kansai region is one of Japan's most vibrant summer festivals, the music has always been moderniazed through the years and this CD shows how. From the 60s, 70s,80s and 90s, Kawachi ondo is combined with everything from a 70s disco groove to an 80s dub mix. Other songs are more orthodox Kawachi style and just as brilliant. Compiled from long deleted tapes and EPs. Essential. 1.Miss Hanako / Kawachi no Ossan no Uta (1976) 2.Tatsue Kaneda / Tatsue no Kawachi Ondo (1978) 3.Hideo Murata / Kawachi Yarou (1967) 4.Hikari Azuma / Kawachi Merhen (1965) 5.Hajime Ikoma / Kawachi no Ryu (1982) 6.Ikomaya Kazuo / Higashi-osaka Ondo (1973) 7.Teppo Hiroaki / Owarai Teppo Bushi (1985) 8.Kyoko Kitami / Kawachi Onnabana (1990) 9.Maiko Takigawa / Kawachi Yumedaiko (1994) 10.James Bong / Dub, Shobai Hanjo (1985) 11.Tadao Ono / Nenpou Koiya (1971) 12.Mitsuko Komatsu / Sensen Zukushi (1977) 13.Miyoshiya Hajime / Kawachi Ondo (mamekachi) (1966) 14.Izutsuya Koishimaru / Ninjo Jingi (1989) 15.Toyosato Koshu Ondo Hozonkai / Koshu Ondo (1974) 16.Kawachiya Kikusuimaru / Kawachi Ondo, Ochacha Zukushi - Seiki Matagi Remix (2006)

Summer in Japan means festivals. Not just Glastonbury and their ilk, but dressing up in kimono and going to temples and shrines to listen and dance to traditional music. These dances and songs are called 'ondo' and form the basis of much modern roots music. This fantastic album compiles 20 such updated ondo classics. Listen to Akiko Kanazawa's outrageous Yellow Submarine Ondo. Other tracks include Ken Matsudaira / Matsuken Samba II Ondo, Jiro Sakagami / Tobimasu Ondo, Kiyoshi Atsumi / Tora-san Ondo, Haruo Minami / Rupin Ondo, Sankyu & Teruyo Kasuga / Chikatetsu Ondo, Masako Ohya, Bonny Jacks / Masako-chan Ondo, Akira Ooizumi / UFO Ondo, Tonosama Kings / Hawaii Ondo, Machiko Soga & Susumu Ishikawa / Oba-Q Ondo.

Summer in Japan means bon odori, the dance of the bon festival, when souls of ancestors return from the world of the dead. They form circles and dance to comfort the souls of the dead. These days it is more a form of amusement during the warm summer evenings. This fascinating CD features modern bon odori songs. 18 tracks including Harumi Miyako and even an instruction manual on how to dance the bon odori in your own living room.

There are many great singers around the world, but few who are truly exceptional. Takio Ito would be one of Japan's candidates to be counted among the world's elite. It's about 20 years since Takio Ito first made a splash as part of Japan's burgeoning world music scene with his powerful striking vocals set over a mix of minyo (local folk) with rock, jazz and other world elements. The 9 songs include traditional minyo from northern and central Japan, the Korean standard folk song, Arirang and an Ainu (native Japanese) traditional song. Up to his own brilliant standards.

Meguru Azumino is the daughter of brilliant minyo singer Takio Ito. Like her father she has a fine minyo style singing voice. She obviously absorbed the folk songs she grew up with, and also like her father is interested in progressing traditional songs with new arrangements and instrumentation. The traditional minyo tunes on this album often come with a jazzy feel to them, her vocals surrounded by guitars, piano, keyboards, drums and percussion, but thankfully still manage to sound at their root like a Japanese folk song, due mainly to her excellent voice. She also writes a few of her own songs. The coming of age album for Meguru. Let's hope she can make as big a splash on the minyo music world as her father, and go beyond that to the mainstream. CD comes with English liner notes.

Debut release by the daughter of Takio Ito, four songs and 22 minutes of music. Minyo style vocal accompanied by piano plus more radical club and rock accompaniment helps take minyo toward new territory. Promising.

If you like Takio Ito you'll also like this. Produced and arranged by Takio, with most of his fine band playing , Kakizaki sings Min'yo (folk) songs from mainly northern Japan. She is an exciting new discovery as a young female singer who seems capable of taking min'yo in new directions, as Takio has done almost singlehandedly for the last fifteen years. Despite a big production with 16 musicians, an array of instruments, it still has enough rawness to capture the essence of min'yo without diluting it.

Ringo Oiwake sung originally by the legendary female enka and kayokyoku singer Hibari Misora is one of Japan's best loved songs. On this fine album 13 artists cover Ringo Oiwake including Sandii (techno version) Yoshio Harada, Sojiro (Ocarina), Dozan Fujiwara (shakuhachi), Oscal Cardoso Ocampo (Argentine Tango) and Chie Hanawa (shamisen). Also contains Misora's original version.