Tetsuhiro Daiku: Blue Yaima

Blue Yaima is the latest release from one of the great singers of these islands, Tetsuhiro Daiku. It comes not long after his previous album Agi in which he sang Yaeyama traditional songs as part of a series of recordings going back a number of years. The release of Agi slipped out almost unnoticed but this new album has been promoted by his record company as a “masterpiece” because it has been produced by the highly-regarded Japanese musician Makoto Kubota whose many activities have included his innovative Blue Asia world music project.

One of Kubota’s most recent adventures was the album Sketches of Myahk for which he travelled to the Miyako Islands to record and play with local singers, subsequently adding electric guitar, keyboards and beats to the mix in order to revitalise some traditional Miyako songs. This was generally considered a great success though on subsequent listens some of the recordings seem just a little too busy and cluttered. With Daiku’s album a similar experiment with Yaeyama songs could reasonably have been expected. However, the addition of Kubota has not produced any startling results and Blue Yaima as a whole is not especially different from much of Daiku’s previous work.

Daiku sings and plays sanshin on most tracks and is joined by his wife Naeko for some of the vocals. Kubota meanwhile adds some guitar, bass, keyboards, backing vocals and beats. The recordings were made in Tokyo, Yokohama and Okinawa. Unusually, Kubota’s presence is neither distracting nor is it particularly effective and for the most part Daiku is in the driving seat singing and playing in his usual way.

Kubota’s presence isn’t always evident either. On one song just percussion accompanies Daiku’s voice and on ‘Rokucho Bushi’ there’s just sanshin and taiko. ‘Maguro ni Iwashi’ features some rather heavy-handed drumming and electric guitar but only on ‘Yaeyama Otome no Kazoe Uta’ does Kubota’s contribution, though still relatively restrained, add something really worthwhile to the song. The pulsating rhythm behind Tetsuhiro and Naeko’s alternating vocals makes it one of the most successful tracks. There is also the inevitable ‘Asadoya Yunta’ but it’s very welcome here as Daiku does it so well.

Perhaps the most surprising thing – especially about an album entitled Blue Yaima – is that not all the songs are from Yaeyama or even from Okinawa. There are two songs from mainland Japan and one from Ogasawara, and two others are poems by Okinawan poet Yamanokuchi Baku set to music by Japanese musician Wataru Takada. In the past Daiku has often recorded Japanese songs so this in itself is not a great surprise but on an album which advertises itself as being from the heart of Yaeyama it’s a bit odd. To these ears, the Japanese songs are the weakest part of the album.

So this is not a groundbreaking release in any way and Daiku has made more surprising and rewarding albums in the past. Nevertheless it’s another to add to his long catalogue of recordings; it does contain some good songs and performances; and, of course, nothing Daiku does is ever less than interesting. Just don’t expect a masterpiece.

Blue Yaima is out now on Tuff Beats.

Mika Yonamine: Aisho no Uta

This is a four track mini-album (or maxi-single?) released by singer and sanshin player Mika Yonamine who was born in Osaka and now lives in Okinawa. In 2006 she won the Kyoen no Shimauta contest when she was just 17 and this is her debut CD.

Yonamine sings so beautifully and with such nuanced emotion that it comes as a bit of a surprise to discover that this is her first recording. Her sanshin is joined now and then by keyboards and guitars, but only to add a few touches and it never descends into the tackiness of some other shimauta performances.

The first song ‘Harumachibana’ was written by Heikou Miyagi who also writes another of the songs, ‘Shin Nageki no Koi’, on which he and Yonamine share the vocals. The one traditional track is a lovely version of ‘Nakuni’ which then runs straight into ‘Yanbaru Timatu’.

There can be no doubt that Okinawan music is still in a healthy state when there are young singers like this around. Yonamine is excellent on this short set of generally slower songs. A whole album like this might be too one-paced but at around 20 minutes there are no doubts whatever about this one. It’s simply superb.

Aisho no Uta is released on Mika Yonamine’s own label. (MIKA-01)

Mongol 800: Good Morning Okinawa

Okinawan trio Mongol 800 have been celebrating their 15^th anniversary this year. The guitar, bass and drums indie band released a Best compilation in January and have since made a new CD Good Morning Okinawa which is their sixth full length album. Mongol 800 began as high school students in Okinawa and went on to have big commercial success with their second album Message which has sold 3 million copies. While their music is a lot more rock than roots there are always strong indications of their island background in their lyrics, and concerns about Okinawan issues run throughout the new album.

Good Morning Okinawa begins with that most traditional of Okinawan openers ‘Kagiyade-Fuu’ which starts sedately and then dissolves into a very different rock arrangement. The title track then urges Okinawans to take action to realize their island dreams and change the world. ‘Rise and Shine’ is another good song which shows off their typically bright, powerful and upbeat melodies. But the outstanding song is ‘Bougainbilly’ which outlines the plight of Okinawa’s beautiful nature constantly under threat from occupation by American military bases and notes with irony the contradiction of trying to make peace with helicopters and weapons.

The exotic tropical island scene on the front cover contrasts with a similar picture on the back, but this time the view is obscured by the barbed wire and fence of a military base. Several songs are sung in a mixture of Japanese and English and two tracks – the love songs ‘Forget Me Not’ and ‘Tomorrow’ – are entirely in English. With the exception of the opening melody, all songs are written by members of the band who arranged and produced the album. The bulk of the songwriting is by main vocalist and bass player Kiyosaku Uezu. Toru Yonaha joins them on some tracks and plays sanshin, fue and sanba.

Good Morning Okinawa is another fine example of the kind of guitar based rock for which Mongol 800 are well-known. Not everything works equally well but the best songs sound fresh and strong. They are currently touring Japan in support of the album. Further details, including a biography and discography with English translations, are available at their website:

http://www.mongol800.jp

Good Morning Okinawa is released by Highwave.

Lucy: Koi no Yoisura Bushi

A new CD by Okinawan-Peruvian singer Lucy is always welcome and her third offering has just been released. This one is a mini-album containing five songs plus an instrumental version of the title track. The title song ‘Koi no Yoisura Bushi’ was written by Hitoshi Kume and Lucy’s performance of it won the Miuta Taisho Grand Prix. This is an annual contest begun in 1990 and sponsored by Radio Okinawa in which the best newly composed shimauta of each year is chosen.

‘Koi no Yoisura Bushi’ is a fine successor to the list of winners and Lucy’s singing is impeccable as ever on this lively song. On these recordings she sings and plays sanshin and is joined by Nao on taiko and mentor Shizuko Oshiro on sanshin. There are also contributions from koto, fue and hayashi. The result is a set of songs which have more of a classical feel to them despite most being shimauta rather than traditional minyo. One song was written by Oshiro who also arranges the music for the second song ‘Koi ji Makura’.

By far the longest track here is the ten minute ‘Yaeyama Sodachi’ and this is followed by the traditional ‘Tsuki nu Mapiroma Bushi’ which is another song from the Yaeyama Islands whose songs are often very different from those of Okinawa’s main island. It’s good to hear Yaeyama songs sung by Lucy as she has a real sensitivity for them and manages to convey their emotions in just the right way. The recording is also very much a team effort with each musician playing a vital part in the overall sound. The production is by Masahiro Takara.

Lucy continues to develop as a singer and musician and has now made three quite different albums, each one equally rewarding in its own way. She appears to be at home on both modern and traditional songs from all parts of the Ryukyu Islands and her grounding in classical Ryukyu music is particularly evident on the new CD. The next full-length album will no doubt be another departure but in the meantime this is an excellent release.

Koi no Yoisura Bushi is released on Qwotchee Records.

Rakita: Flying Rock

Flying Rock is the debut album of the young singer, guitarist and songwriter known as Rakita who is based in Okinawa. All but one of the ten songs on the album were written by Rakita and he is joined on several tracks by other musicians on guitar, bass, percussion and synthesizer. Some of the CDs come with an additional DVD of the song ‘Furimukeba’ which is also included on the album.

Rakita will be 23 this year. He was born in New York and grew up in Shonan, Kanagawa before moving to Okinawa. His father is the late singer Donto and his mother Sachiho was a member of the Japanese band Zelda and is currently part of the Okinawa-based trio Amana. Not surprisingly, Rakita grew up in a very musical family who also travelled around the world. When he was 18 he formed a funk band and released an album but Flying Rock is his first solo effort.

It’s hard to listen to this album without being reminded of Rakita’s father Donto whose premature death in 2000 at the age of 37 occurred after he had moved to Okinawa and was making some of the most interesting and exciting rock music with strong influences from Okinawa and Indonesia.

There is something of the spirit of Donto in much of the sound and songwriting here. Despite its title, this isn’t just full on rock but is more varied in its style and execution. The musicians let rip on one or two tracks but there is an almost equal amount of quieter reflection with just Rakita’s vocal and acoustic guitar on songs such as ‘Toumeiningen’. Overall this is a good start and something that Donto himself would have been pleased with.

Flying Rock is released on the Tokyo label Tuff Beats.

Hatoma Family: Yaninju no Hibiki

Here’s one that slipped through the net when it came out last year. The Hatoma Family are based in Ishigaki. Their best known member is Kanako Hatoma who was a teenage protégée of Sadao China who produced both of her solo albums. Her parents Takashi and Chiyoko run the Bashofu club in Ishigaki (featured elsewhere on this blog) and are both fine singers and sanshin players. Also musically active is Kanako’s brother Yoshiaki who joins them for this album. There are also contributions from cover stars Aki-oba (Takashi’s mother) and Yoshiko-oba (Chiyoko’s mother), guitarist, arranger and producer Shunsuke Suzuki from Tochigi, and Keiji Tsujikawa on fue.

The album contains mainly traditional songs from the Yaeyama Islands and also a few originals sung and played by various combinations of the family members. ‘Haisai Haisai Oba-san’ is a lively comic song written and sung by Takashi with vocal help from Chiyoko and Kanako with typical shimauta-style backing. Chiyoko revisits her roots with a version of the traditional ‘Yonaguni Elegy’ and there are performances of Yaeyama songs from the islands of Kurushima and Hatoma-jima.

The one instrumental track is Suzuki’s ‘Akagawara to Sora’ on which Kanako whistles the tune. It ought to be completely out of place here but for some reason it sounds light, breezy and fun. Kanako’s brother Yoshiaki takes over vocal duties for his original song ‘Kaeru Basho’ which is one of the album’s highlights, and Kanako’s vocal and sanshin blend perfectly with Suzuki’s guitar for a lovely version of ‘Tsuki nu Kaisha’. It all ends with a ‘bonus’ live version of the song ‘Bashofu’ recorded at their home venue of the same name.

The album contains nothing startlingly new but is simply an hour in the warm and friendly company of the Hatoma Family. They play the music they know and they do it extremely well while also inviting us to have a listen to one or two oddities and originals. It’s an enjoyable hour and is time very well spent.

Yaninju no Hibiki is released on the Hatoma Family’s own label.

Satoru Shimoji: Myahk

Satoru Shimoji has had a long career in music. A large part of this was spent as a rock musician in Tokyo with the band Rebecca. Some years ago he returned to his native island of Miyako and rediscovered his roots. He became more involved in Okinawan music and opened his own recording studio. His album Ryugu no Shima (The Peaceful Island) was a successful dip into island music with a strong dose of pop. Since then he has been involved with the Blue Asia album Sketches of Myahk and has recorded with fellow Miyako islander Isamu Shimoji. Now there’s a new solo album of mainly traditional Miyako songs, many with new words and arrangements.

Myahk is not an album that will be to everyone’s liking. Shimoji takes lots of liberties with the old songs and has a taste for sweeping productions – piano and strings are generally favoured to the sanshin – but for the most part it’s very successful and is definitely his most interesting and adventurous release to date. The recordings were made at his studio on Miyako as well as in Saitama and California. Production was by Goh Hotoda with Philippe Saisse responsible for the piano, bass, synthesizer, percussion and orchestrations.

The album opens very simply with the traditional ‘Neeri~Pray’ – just a vocal and the sound of waves on the shore. The lovely ‘Uyakennaure’ then adds piano and violin to Shimoji’s voice which is joined by women singers in call and response mode. ‘Kanasha’ is sung in the Miyako language and in the sleeve notes (which are in English as well as Japanese) Shimoji writes that he wanted to protect this endangered language through music and that “coming back after 15 years of Tokyo life” he decided to write the song for his parents who gave birth to him on this precious island.

Other songs have themes of prayer and thanks and tell stories from Miyako history. Two in particular are outstanding: ‘Wooninu-shoo’ is a sad evocative duet featuring singer-songwriter Nokko (also a former member of the band Rebecca), while the seven minute version of the famous traditional song ‘Tougani Ayagu’ works better than anyone could have expected with its sanshin and lush orchestral backing. There are sparse arrangements as well as orchestral ones but primarily it’s Shimoji’s strong singing and the beautifully melodic songs which capture the feeling of Miyako and make this album so enjoyable.

Myahk is released on Lagoon Music Entertainment.

Hajime Nakasone: Uta nu Itu

Okinawan singer and sanshin player Hajime Nakasone has just released a new album Uta nu Itu (Thread of Songs). For many listeners this will be the first encounter with Nakasone’s recordings but, in fact, he made a debut album Achamegwa some thirteen years ago. At that time he was a 12 year old schoolboy. The debut came about as the result of Nakasone winning a competition to make an album produced by Rinken Teruya and it is Teruya who is also the executive producer of this new album.

On Uta nu Itu Nakasone sticks fairly closely to the traditional material he grew up with – he began learning songs and sanshin from his grandfather at the age of three. The arrangements here are mostly the standard ones with Nakasone singing and accompanying himself on sanshin, shimadaiko, and horagai (conch) though he is joined on hayashi by Tink Tink member Seira Ganaha on one track.

The album opens with two of the most familiar of Okinawan traditional songs, ‘Umi nu Chinbora~Akayama Bushi’ and ‘Nakuni’. There is also a good version of ‘Shimajiri Kuduchi’ and there are performances of songs written by Teihan China (‘Jyotankaa’) and Choki Fukuhara (‘Munushiri Bushi’). As a ‘bonus track’ Nakasone includes ‘Kabira Bushi’ a vocal duet with grandfather Seikou Nakasone who also plays sanshin.

Hajime Nakasone has been a regular performer at Aiko Yohen’s club Nantahama in Koza which is where I first came across him. For some years he has been under the wing of the veteran Seijin Noborikawa and at times it seemed as if he was almost becoming a carbon copy of his mentor. Although there is nothing exceptionally different about any of these recordings it is good to listen to him branching out and discovering his own style on this album.

Uta nu Itu is released on Marunaka Records.

Sakishima Meeting: Tome Dome

Sakishima Meeting is a duo comprising Yukito Ara from Ishigaki Island and Isamu Shimoji from Miyako Island. Both singers are well-known solo artists but they also enjoy playing together and this is not the first time they have recorded as a duo. This latest release is the single ‘Tome Dome’ (pronounced ‘Tumi Dumi’ in Okinawan) and it’s the theme song for the new movie Karakara.

The film by Claude Gagnon is a Canada-Japan co-production set in Okinawa and has already been featured several times on this blog (not least because I was involved in a small acting role). But without bias it should be clear to any listener that Ara has done a fine job with the vocal and sanshin on this quietly atmospheric song which he co-wrote with Shimoji especially for the film. The CD also includes an English translation of the lyrics.

As well as the theme song there are three instrumental tracks on the CD. One of these is ‘Tome Dome’ and the others are the movie’s opening theme ‘Akigumu’ and trailer theme ‘Yurafa’. The musicians accompanying Ara’s sanshin and Shimoji’s guitar are Isao Nishikawa (acoustic bass) and Yuuko Sato (piano) and their music captures the mood of Karakara perfectly. The CD is released by Arize.

A reminder for those in Japan, the movie will be on general release in Okinawa from 12th January 2013 and at venues throughout mainland Japan from 19th January. The official website is at: http://www.bitters.co.jp/karakara/

Chihiro Kamiya: Utaui

Utaui is the latest album from Chihiro Kamiya who is originally from the tiny Okinawa island of Tsuken. She comes from a musical family and her uncle Koichi has been a well-known traditional singer and sanshin player for many years. Up to now Kamiya has preferred to go her own way and has made albums with a strong pop and rock agenda. This time it’s a very different matter and she has made an album almost equally balanced between the traditional and the modern.

The album begins with the Yaeyama song ‘Tsuki nu Kaisha’, played here in a jazzy arrangement which introduces piano and drums to Kamiya’s vocal and sanshin. This good start continues with the Scottish folk song ‘The Water is Wide’ which is given new words by Kamiya and is called here ‘Michi Shirube~Water is Wide’. There is also a version of the popular shimauta ‘Hiyamikachi Bushi’ and there are four traditional songs from Okinawa – ‘Kehitori Bushi’, ‘Achamegwa’, ‘Monashiri Bushi’ and, best of all, a lovely version of ‘Hamachidori’.

As well as the older songs there are five new compositions either written or co-written by Kamiya. The best of these is ‘Coral Song’ which begins quietly as a waltz and then builds towards an anthemic chorus. The two musicians who co-produced the album with Kamiya and also accompanied her on the studio recordings are Tetsuya Kanegawa (guitar, banjo) and Don Kubota (bass, guitar, percussion, drums, keyboards, mandolin). Kamiya herself sings and plays sanshin throughout.

Utaui isn’t perfect but it’s definitely the best album that Kamiya has made so far. Now 30, she continues to challenge herself and has come up with a solid piece of work which finally shows off her best qualities. She seems comfortable with these songs and her singing is never less than superb.

Utaui is released on Sinpil Records.