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Veteran Amami utasha Ikue Asazaki
We often focus on the new singers from Amami-Oshima like Rikki Nakano, Chitose Hajime, Kosuke Atari, and Minami Kizuki, leaving out the traditional singers. So, better late than never, no? Ikue Asazaki is a veteran utasha (now in her 70s) who has been singing Amami shimauta since picking it up from her father and regarded…
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Ayano Uema posts images on her blog from her Kansai tour
Utasaa Ayano Uema’s blog entry on her recent Kansai tour is filled with both candid and on-stage images. The first of the trio of concerts took place at Live House MAXA in Matsuzaka City, Mie Prefecture (yes, it’s where the famous Matsuzaka beef is from), and was filmed live by the city’s TV station. To…
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ういずあす – the trio formerly known as ‘wiz-us’
Waiting for me in my inbox this morning was an email from Mark about a group from Okinawa named ういずあす. At first I didn’t recognize the group but upon further research (ah, googling how I love thee) I found that the trio formerly went by the name “wiz-us” (which is how the current name is…
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Minami Kizuki’s amazing debut single “Aitsumugi”
We’re always on the lookout for new artists to listen to and we’re happy to announce the debut of 19 year-old Minami Kizuki (城南海—interesting how it’s read, no?) who released her first single, “Aitsumugi,” on January 7, 2009. Upon listening to the single, one will definitely think of Chitose Hajime (oh, forgot to mention that…
Karakui 