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Ayano Uema’s official website is up!
She announced it today on her blog and here it is: uemaayano.com! Filled with a lot of Ayano pics (some of them quite huge but it’s not like we’re complaining), her official website contains information on her schedule, profile, and links to her blog and original goods too. Once again, we see a reference to…
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iPhone app: Cosmovox
No, I’m not cross-posting things from my personal blog here, this really is related to Okinawan pop culture. 😛 That said, I think a picture tells a thousand words so check it out below. Yup, you’ve read it right. Just under “Hirajoshi” is “Okinawa (Ryukyu Onkai [scale])” so what the heck is Cosmovox? It’s a…
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Off the Wall to feature live Okinawan music!!!
Off the Wall Originally uploaded by Champuru Watch, enjoy and listen to live Okinawan music every 1st and 3rd Wednesday night of the month at Off the Wall (Aiea, Hawaii). (From their email newsletter—nifee deebitan to Sandaa-sensei for the tip!): Join us this coming Wednesday, September 17, at OFF THE WALL BAR for LIVE OKINAWAN…
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Ryukyu Beatles, not an insect, rather, it’s the name of an album
Yup, Richie here at Karakui.com is a pretty big fan of The Beatles and it’s pretty cool to see their music redone with an Okinawan twist. The group of this wonderful album are calling themselves “Soul Gakudan” and they’re none other than Toru Yonaha (sanshin, fue), Kazunari Uechi (taiko), Yoko Onaga (koto) and Natsuko Morita…
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Syakari celebrates 10th anniversary with a best of album
Pop group Syakari will be marking their 10th anniversary with their very first best of album titled “10th anniversary BEST~Boku to Iu Na no Chizu~.” The 15-track album will be released on 10/22/08 and retail for ¥2,800. Included is their single (above YouTube clip) “Taiyou no Hito” and the best of album spans their album…
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Stereo Pony to be the next big artist out of Okinawa?
I’ve seen a few of them come and go but can J-rock girl band Stereo Pony be the next big artist out of Okinawa in following the gigantic footsteps of ORANGE RANGE (OR) and HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR (HandMC)? If history is any indication, the answer should be a resounding yes, they can and that’s…
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Akane Murayoshi releases debut album!
A song that I completely fell in love with in 2006 also happened to be the Miuta Taishou Grand Prix winner of that same year: “Miyarabi nu Hana.” The song—sung by upcoming utasaa Akane Murayoshi of Kumejima Town—also performed at the Okinawan Festival in Hawaii in 2006. The album, unsurprisingly titled “Miyarabi nu Hana,” was…
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And the awesome new releases for 2008 keep coming!
Geez, I’m really going to go broke this year what with all these great CD releases in the 2nd half of 2008 and with my mom’s and big bro’s birthdays this month, Xmas and that shiny new iPod nano. But I digress. Coming on 10/10/08, an artist whom I really, really admire, Suekichi Matsuda, will…
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Rinken Teruya’s solo album, “Pause,” available on iTunes
We all know him as the leader of perhaps the greatest recorded O-pop group in history, Rinken Band, and Rinken Teruya is finally recording a solo album. Pre-released in a digital format exclusively at the iTunes Store in August 4th of this year (yeah, I missed it), “Pause” (link opens iTunes Store) is an instrumental,…
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A trio of upcoming singles to look out for
HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR’s “Remember,” marked for a 10/15/08 release, will be the band’s last single featuring their lead singer Maakii—who, after announcing her marriage to DREAMS COME TRUE’s bassist Masato Nakamura this past June, will retire from the band. O-pop duo Yanawarabaa will be releasing their 9th single, “Present,” on 11/5/08. “Present” follows the…
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