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Nanaironote x i-Dushi
Perhaps one of the best YouTube channels around is Nanaironote who does covers of J-pop songs in Uchinaaguchi (although they use Okinawa Hougen in their music video descriptions) with many of the top musicians from Okinawa. We’ve featured their videos on Karakui before but here’s one featuring our favorite now-on-hiatus duo, i-Dushi, covering J-pop star…
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Nanaironote’s “Sanshin no Hana” Shimakutuba Version
Released a couple of weeks ago, Nanaironote recently did a shimakutuba cover (yup, not hougen), of BEGIN’s “Sanshin no Hana” featuring the talents of Tafuku Mami and Ishimine Airi (who in our opinion has one of the best voices in the industry). A few of the older but more recent Nanaironote covers didn’t quite catch…
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Nema Ui Covers “Shima Uta”
Having just released her first EP “Ui ❤️ Okinawa” on 10/20, VTuber Nema Ui also released a cool cover of The Boom’s “Shima Uta” on her YouTube channel (the song isn’t part of the EP). The 6-track EP is currently available on all streaming platforms.
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Cover of Kiroro’s “Mirai e” by i-Dushi
A hula version of i-Dushi’s “Mirai e” (Kiroro) was recently put together by Insense Music Works on their YouTube channel. The cover song was released with the compilation album “HONEY meets ISLAND CAFE – Sea of Love 5 -” from December 2020. Unfortunately, the album nor the single is available globally so we’ll have to…
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Nanaironote’s “Gurenge” Uchinaaguchi Cover
They really hyped this one making it a YouTube Premiere event and now we can finally see the Uchinaaguchi cover of “Gurenge” from the hit anime series “Demon Slayer“. The shot all in one take music video features the singer Maedo Niina (she’s also a model and radio personality), the amazing Nakamine Yoshimori on sanshin,…
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“Hanamizuki Okinawa Hougen Ver.” is the MV of the Year
If you watch one music video on YouTube, this must be it. The MV is an acoustic cover of the very popular J-pop song Hanamizuki by Hitoto Yō (she’s Japanese and Taiwanese) and matches well with Uchinaa-guchi and Ryūkyū instruments, dance and vocals. (Another version to listen to is from Amami Ōshima’s Minami Kizuki.) The…
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BTS’s Dynamite in Uchinaa-guchi
What better example of Ryukyuan pop culture than this cover of K-pop group BTS‘s super-catchy Dynamite sung in Uchinaa-guchi? The brilliant cover is by Toume Yoshiaki (Usumasa Okinawa) who is an uta-sanshin player, Okinawa shibai actor, and a Ryukyuan Dance performer. Be sure to subscribe to his YouTube channel and follow him on Twitter. I’m…
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BEGIN announces tribute and cover albums, plus more – Tokyograph
Pop group BEGIN celebrated the 20th anniversary of their debut this year, and they have now announced the simultaneous release of two special albums to celebrate that milestone. Titled “BEGIN 20th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL TRIBUTE ALBUM” and “BEGIN 20th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL COVER ALBUM,” the albums are scheduled to go on sale on March 2, 2011. The…
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HIFF 30: 2 Films, 2 Actresses from Okinawa
The Hawaii International Film Festival gets underway from October 14th to the 24th and we’re in for a treat as they’re screening two films that feature actresses from Okinawa. Official Website “Abacus and Sword (武士の家計簿 Bushi no Kakeibo)” (Japan, 2010) stars Yukie Nakama and will be shown on 10/23/10 at 8:45 PM and on 10/24/10…
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THE BOOM to release a special cover album commemorating the band’s 20th anniversary
On July 22, 2009, THE BOOM will commemorate their 20th anniversary with a special cover album that will feature several artists from Okinawa. Known for their song “Shimauta,” THE BOOM has released a number of singles with an Okinawan-sound to them. Titled “THE BOOM 20th SPECIAL COVER ALBUM,” it will feature Kariyushi58, MONGOL800 and BEGIN.…
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