Okinawa, Japan 沖縄日本

ハイサイ! イチャリバチョデ! よろしくおねがいします。きょ-ねん那覇市にすんでいましたとにほんごちょっとべんきょしました。

In 2011-2012 I lived in Naha (那覇市), the main city of Okinawa Prefecture (沖縄県) in Japan (日本).

Nat da Hatt and I recorded a track for our duo album ネオン列車の風景 Neon Train Landscapes there – our version of a traditional shima uta (island song)

As you can hear, the music of Okinawa is quite distinct from that of mainland Japan. It uses a different scale, and the sanshin is a distinctive instrument.

Special thanks to the staff and students of Naha Kokusai and Naha Kogyo senior high schools – Nifei daebiru!

Continue reading →

Kyushu, Japan 九州日本

Videos from a solo trip across Kyushu (in March 2012, on holiday from work in Okinawa). Accompanied by Japanese music such as koto, shakuhachi, yokagura and hip-hop, recorded live.

Four videos –

1) from sugi (Japanese cedar) forest with 3000-year-old trees on Yakushima Island,

2) heading north via Kumamoto and its castle, to

3) a yokagura dance performance reenacting the legend of how the sun goddess returned to the world in Takachiho,

4) to the city of Fukuoka (score by Dave Black & Nat da Hatt – free download)