-
Amazing Okinawa Minyo Ongaku-mura New Year Concert
Maki from Campus Records recently shared an archive of the Okinawa Minyo Ongaku-mura (in Okinawa City) New Year Concert on YouTube! The concert features the following utasha (musicians): veteran Taba Seishin, Shimabukuro Tatsuya, Matsuda Kazutoshi, Akamaami, and Yui Yui Sisters (Yamakawa Mayumi was unable to attend due to health reasons). Enjoy!
-
New Album from Higa Keiko 3/30
Higa Keiko (Deigo Musume) will be releasing a new album on 3/30 titled “Tenmikachi, Donmikachi, Hiyamikachi”. The album will have a total of 14 tracks with many guest musicians like Maekawa Shuken and Kinjo Keiko among others. It looks to be one of the more interesting new albums to come out this year. We’re unable…
-
Lucy’s “Koi no Yoisura Bushi”
Qwotchee Records catalog release continues with Lucy’s recordings becoming available in digital format. At the time of this writing, her album “Koi no Yoisura Bushi” can only be previewed on Apple Music (assuming this is only for those outside of Uchinaa) so hopefully we’ll be able to stream it soon. The album was originally released…
-
Lucy’s Okinawan Upbeat Music Singles
The Qwotchee Records digital releases continue with a couple of singles from the amazing artist Lucy. The singles are “Hounen Ondo” and “Hiyamikachi Bushi” (not available globally) — note that they’re using the same cover art for both songs but one has a blue overlay (“Hounen Ondo”) and the other a red overlay (“Hiyamikachi Bushi”).…
-
Kucho Girl on YouTube
Allison-sensei started her Kucho Girl YouTube channel about a year ago and has a lot of great content in English for those interested in learning more about classical (koten ongaku) and folk (minyou) music from Uchinaa. If you’re not familiar with the word ‘kucho’, Allison-sensei calls it an Okinawan spike fiddle and it’s one of…
-
Album Artwork for Kamiya Chihiro’s Upcoming Album “Utayui”
Kamiya Chihiro tweeted the album artwork for her upcoming album “Utayui” (August 11 release date). The album is available for pre-order on her website and will hopefully be available later on Apple Music.
-
Miyako Folk Singer Kuniyoshi Genji RIP
It was announced on May 5th Okinawa time that the great Miyako folk singer Kuniyoshi Genji has passed away at the age of 90 on May 4th. Born on June 10, 1930 on Miyako Island, during his childhood he was known for his love of music. At 35 he decided to make his living as…
-
Suzuhana Yuko (Wagakki Band) Plays Asadoya Yunta
Suzuhana Yuko, the vocalist of the Japanese folk rock band Wagakki Band, recently shared on her YouTube channel that she’s a fan of the sanshin and Okinawan folk music. She performs Asadoya Yunta and talks a bit about how she came upon the instrument and her love of Okinawa. In the video’s description, she writes…
-
Okinawan Folk Musician Oshiro Misako RIP
Sad news from Okinawa Times reporting that minyou great Oshiro Misako has passed away. RIP.
-
The OGsband “Chibariyo”
“Chibariyo” from The OGsband (from their YouTube channel) is really catchy. Here’s a short biography of the band via their MySpace Music page: We are 3 Americans that decided to make Okinawa our home. After playing in various cover bands here, we decided to join forces and start an original acoustic band. So far, so…
Karakui 