Emiko Shimabukuro: Ryu-Ka

In recent times Emiko Shimabukuro has been known primarily as the fourth member of Unaigumi, the group whose 2015 album Unaijima saw her join three of the original Nenes women to create a kind of super Nenes. Shimabukuro may have been the least known addition to the group for many listeners but, in fact, her pedigree as a top Okinawan singer and sanshin player goes way back.

Born in Yomitan on Okinawa’s main island, Shimabukuro has been the recipient of several music awards, and her first album came out on cassette in 1995. At long last she is now about to release a new solo album Ryu-Ka. For this she is joined by several musicians, most notably Kazutoshi Matsuda (vocals, sanshin), Tatsuya Shimabukuro (vocals, sanshin, Ryukyu koto), and Taichiro Naga (guitar, piano, keyboards). Akane Murayoshi and others also lend a hand.

From time to time, I’ve been known to grumble at some of the overlong albums released in Okinawa that could have done with a bit more editing. Well, the 15-track Ryu-Ka adds up to 71 minutes, but in this case every moment is essential and none of it could or should be trimmed down. The mix of shimauta and more traditional songs is just right, so are the choices of songs, and above all the wonderful singing of Emiko Shimabukuro.

Based on this album alone it’s no stretch to include Shimabukuro’s name alongside some of the great female singers of Okinawa such as Misako Oshiro, Yuki Yamazato, and of course Unaigumi member Misako Koja who herself came up with a very impressive solo album last year.

Things get off to a great start with the classic shimauta sound of ‘Kui nu Hanaori’ and then some superb singing on the slower ‘Agarijo’. The familiar ‘Shimajimakaisha’ is here in a warm version of the song popularised by the original Nenes, and right next to it is Sadao China’s ‘Umukaji’. There are both lively and slower songs, one with piano accompaniment only, another with piano and strings. The album concludes with a hauntingly simple sanshin and vocal performance of Teihan China’s ‘Kataumui’.

Overall, the album isn’t political or particularly groundbreaking in the way that Misako Koja’s was last year. It isn’t aiming for that. Instead, it’s almost a textbook example of how to make a straightforwardly cracking Okinawan album. The vocals are always foregrounded but the contributions of other musicians, with instrumentation as well as additional vocals, all add up to create some lovely results. It’s also clear that a great deal of thought went into some of these arrangements.

Even though a few of the songs are very familiar from their association with other singers and musicians, Shimabukuro somehow makes them her own too with these fine versions. Right from the outset, listening to this album we know we are in the presence of another great Okinawan voice. It’s already one of my favourite albums of the year.

Ryu-Ka will be released on CD by Campus Records on 19^th May.

https://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/campus-r-store/30ncd-97.html

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