[.ca] Okinawa Rough Guide To The Mu

From Amazon.co.uk:
If Paul Fisher's Rough Guide to the Music of Japan was rooted in clubland, his new compilation The Rough Guide to the Music of Okinawa takes us deep into the peasant past. Japan's southernmost archipelago--which the Japanese themselves regard as exotic--is pervaded by music that will strike Western listeners as both congenial and rivetingly strange. Many of the musicians in these excellently chosen tracks are passing on folk styles they learned from their grandparents and the dominant instrument is the sanshin, a three-stringed banjo with a snakeskin soundbox and a much more intimate sound than the shamisen, which is its bigger mainland counterpart. The ballad-singers here really compel you to listen: the greatest--Rinsho Kaderaku--died last year but his son Rinji has the same buttonholing sweetness. Some of the female singers are extraordinary, notably Ritsuki Nakano with her delicate ornamentation and Misako Oshiro with her clean, strong tone. There are some remarkable fusions, including Takashi Hirayasu and Bob Brozman (check out their Nankuru Naisa CD) and an English-American duo who combine traditional Okinawan folk styles with hip-hop, dub and various forms of electronica. --Michael Church

it runs the gamut...that's for sure:
As is the case with all Rough Guide CDs, The Music of Okinawa is a mixed bag of stuff: traditional, pop, modern, fusion, etc. That can be both good and bad. I think it is good in that it gives the listener a good way to explore a lot of turf in a short amount of time with minimal investment. In that sense, they are virtually all 5 star CDs. After a while though, after the "exploration" has worn off and you have a CD to listen to, some of the music is good and some of it bad (or perhaps I should say, some of it suits your tastes, while some it doesn't.) That being said, there is some top notch music on this CD and some that I just don't find too appealing. The CD opens brilliantly with Rinsho Kadekaru's "Koko Kuduchi," a beautiful tune on played on the sanshin and sung by Kadekaru and guest vocalist Seijin Noborikawa. I will definately want to hear more from this guy. The second track is also a big winner. Cheiko Iha & Four Sisters performing "Shimajima Kaisha." It surprised me that I like this one. It is a very sweet sounding tune that I usually don't go for, but the performance it excellent. Other highlights include Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman's "Chon Chon Kijimuna" a tune fusing Okinawan music with guitar. The results could have been disastrous, but this is great. The boppy pop of Akanars' "Go-Go Chinbora" is a ton of fun. Rikki has an amazing voice and the song is a powerful one...definately another person to check out more from. Yasukatsu Ohshima's "Akai Ura" is brilliant as well, a lilting tune with backing chorus. Donto's "Jin Jin" will have you bouncing off the wall. It reminds me a little of the Boredoms, but doing traditional music! Seijin Noborikawa appears later on the compilation his own with a bouncy, joyous tune called "Naritai Bushi." The Suf Champlers close the disc out with some fun Okinawan surf rock. There is some new-agey stuff that I can do without, but for the most part this is a great collection. You may not love it all, but I imagine that regardless of your musical tastes, you will find a few artists that you want to explore further. I know I certainly have.

Great:
This is great it gives a good account of Okinawan music. It is so awsome a must for everyone who is into world music.

Asian Island Music:
Lovely Asian music with a certain island flavour. Like the rest of the Rough Guide series, this CD covers a good spectrum of music, from traditional to various pop styles. Typical instruments used in Okinawan music are the sanshin (a kind of banjo), castanets, recorders, flutes, guitars and taiko drums playing shuffling syncopated rythms. Featured are such diverse talents as Ryukyu Underground, with their ambient drum'n'bass / reggae dub stylings, the Dick Dale influenced Surf Champlers, folk music legends Rinsho Kadekaru and Tetsuhiro Daiku, the wacky pop of Donto and Shisars with their meddley of musical styles pushing Okinawan music to the outer limits. Every song has something to offer to fans of Eastern music, because island music is by nature full of many exotic influences, blown in by all the trade winds. The voices of all the women, from Chieko Iha to Nenes, are beautiful. I'll risk losing my reputation as an objective reviewer by saying that the song "Shimajima Kaisha" by the group Four Sisters, always brings tears to my eyes. Recorders sounding like the warm trade winds, a rolling beat like the waves and sweetly tragic female vocals like cries over the sundering Sea. To round off a nice package,the liner notes by music guru Paul Fisher are excellent.

• Koko Kuduchi - Rinsho Kadekaru, Seijin Noborikawa
• Shimajima Kaisha
• Chon Chon Kijimuna - Bob Brozman, Takashi Hirayasu
• Itta Anma Makaiga - Karabato
• Uranami Bushi
• Jidai No Nagare - Rinsho Kadekaru
• Iwai Bushi
• Warabi Gami - Misako Koja
• Koinaa Yunta - Tetsuhiro Daiku
• Go-Go Chinbora
• Ikunnya Kana-Yoisura
• Akai Ura
• Tinsagu Nu Hana Dub \o#\c - Ryukyu Underground
• Jin Jin \o#\c
• Tida Akara, Nami Kirara
• Naritai Bushi - Seijin Noborikawa
• Umkaji - Nenes
• Toshin Doi - Surf Champlers