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Community: Congratulations to Kenton Odo, June Nakama and Calvin Nakama
There’s a nice story by Steve Murray on Midweek.com (‘SHAMISEN’) on the accomplishments of three musicians from Hawaii who are “the first foreigners to earn a master’s certificate in the Okinawan shamisen.” Definitely worth a read. All three musicians will be performing in Hawaii on Tuesday, November 27 as part of the 14th annual TOBE!…
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YouTube: U-DOU & PLATY
I first heard about U-DOU & PLATY a while ago but never really gave them a look until they were featured on NHK’s wonderful English-language music program J-MELO (its current VJ is J-pop singer melody.). Their music is a champloo (mix) of Okinawan folk music and J-reggae (dancehall) and I if may add, quite infectious.…
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Music: Toru Yonaha’s 3rd album ‘Utage’ 12/19 release!
Still waiting to see the album cover but that’s beside the point as we finally have a release date for Toru Yonaha’s much-anticipated 3rd solo album: 12/19/07. Titled ‘Utage’ (Party), the album will feature collaborations with artists like Masamune Kusano (from the J-rock band Spitz), Kyogo Kawaguchi (J-pop), Naomi Tamura (J-pop), Kiyosaku (of the punk…
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Announcement: Chimugukuru: The Soul of Okinawan Dance
Ryusei Honryu Ryuko Kai Presents Chimugukuru The Soul of Okinawan Dance Dance performance from the school of Kaishu Toguchi Mitsuko Ryubu Kenkyusho and guest dancers from Okinawa Date: December 1, 2007 (Saturday) Time: 2:00 p.m. Hawaii Okinawa Center Admission: Free (Complimentary tickets available) You know the drill by now, if you’re interested in tickets contact…
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Announcement: TOBE! Uta Sanshin 2007 in Hawaii
On Tuesday, November 27, Ryukyu Koten Afuso Ryu Ongaku Kenkyu Choichi Kai and Afuso Ryu Gensei Kai Hawaii Shibu will present the 14th annual TOBE! Uta Sanshin 2007 in Hawaii and Afuso Ryu Gensei Kai 80th Anniversary Commemorative Performance. The evening show will be held at the Hawaii Theatre and will be the only performance…
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H&MC announces singles collection – Tokyograph
H&MC announces singles collection – Tokyograph: Rock sextet HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR has announced the release of their first best album, which goes on sale December 26. Titled ’10 COLOR SINGLES,’ the album is a collection of their ten singles released so far, from their debut hit ‘PRIDE’ to their latest song ‘Dreams.’ The album…
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Tokyograph: hiro gets first stage role in “Mozart!”
hiro gets first stage role in “Mozart!”: “A production of the musical ‘Mozart!’ will run from November 19 to December 2 at Tokyo’s Imperial Garden Theater. It stars a double cast of Yoshio Inoue and singer-songwriter Akinori Nakagawa as Mozart, while singer and former SPEED member hiro plays the role of his wife Constanze. This…
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Music: iTunes Plus (DRM-free) tracks available for select Okinawan artists
Great news! If you’ve been holding off purchasing that Seijin Noborikawa album because it was DRM’d (not to mention that it was also previously available at 128 kbps) now is the time to purchase it. I’ll have to do a more comprehensive search (the tracks I’ve found so far are from Respect Record) for other…
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Music: Gackt’s catalog available at iTunes Store
Whoa. 39 listings of albums, EPs and singles from one of J-rock’s top musicians, Gackt is available at the iTunes Store. Personally, I’d recommend checking out “The Seventh Night – Unplugged” and his singles “Returner” and “Redemption.” Learn more about Gackt at gekka_no_nekko’s wonderful blog over here.
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Music: Teresa Bright’s ‘Hawaiinawa’ a fusion of island music from Hawaii and Okinawa
With yours truly being from Hawaii with ties to Okinawa (Japan and China too), it’s really great to see an album that brings both cultures together and Teresa Bright’s latest album “Hawaiinawa” does just that. From a Honolulu Advertiser interview with the singer (by Derek Paiva): At the beginning of the project, Bright chose to…
Karakui 