Saturday, August 06, 2005
>> TINGARA
TINGARA’s new album “Kaze no Senritsuâ€? (Melody of the Wind), the group’s sixth, is set to be released on September 21, 2005. To get the word out, they’ve enlisted the ears and fingers of bloggers and have sent out advance copies of the soon-to-be-released album around the world (well, at least you know that I’m here in Hawaii). TINGARA is currently a duo (prior albums listed Gerhen Oshima [Tokyo] as a main member but he still plays sanshin for the group) of Tsugumi (Okinawa) on vocals and Hideo Ishijima (Yokohama) on keyboards (he also handles programming and sound producing which basically means that he’s the guy who sets the mood for the group’s albums).
Some of you may remember the beautiful Tsugumi from her days as the keyboardist for the ultra-popular O-Pop group Rinken Band which she was a part of from 1990 to 1993. Hideo Ishijima is a studio musician who happened to meet Tsugumi through a mutual friend, Okinawan artist/musician Bokunen Naka who also is a songwriter for some of the group’s songs (he has also penned the lyrics for songs from Rinken Band) and most, if not all, of the beautiful artwork for TINGARA’s albums were done by him.
TINGARA’s music is described as “Ryukyu Ambient Soundâ€? and features Southeast Asian influences and a very soft, soothing sound via Tsugumi’s vocals and Hideo’s sound manipulation. Gerhen Oshima’s sanshin playing on a few of the songs adds that Okinawan sound to the group’s songs and instantly gives TINGARA its unique sound. The group’s music makes it perfect to play in the background and I’m sure that people who listen to the healing music genre will fall in love with TINGARA’s sound. One of my favorite songs off of “Kaze no Senritsuâ€? is the seventh track called “Minami no Haruâ€? which can definitely make it onto the top of any adult contemporary singles chart. All of the songs on the album are originals — most penned by Tsugumi — so it’ll be great to one day see the group release an album of Okinawan traditional music with their original sound.
With the release of the group’s first album “TINGARAâ€? (1999) on an indie label, they’ve been able to release a new full album every year on the Victor Entertainment major label beginning with “Sakiyodaâ€? (2001), “Taiyou no Hanaâ€? (2002), “Miruyakanayaâ€? (2003), “Unasakaâ€? (2004), “TINGARA BESTâ€? (2005), and “Kaze no Senritsuâ€? (2005).
If you’re looking for something different, something soothing, something tege (laid back), give TINGARA a listen. The group’s music can be purchased online at one of my favorite stores YesAsia.com or from CDJapan.co.jp (my other favorite). Email me at uzagaku[at]gmail[dot]com is you’re interested in listening to a sample of the group’s music. Incidentally, the group also keeps a blog over here and don’t forget to check out the group’s official website too.
[UPDATE: I mistakenly wrote Hideo Ishijima’s name as Hideo Oshima (I know his last name is Ishijima — my fault for not catching that the first time around). Gomen nasai Ishijima-san!]
[posted with ecto]
iTuned: ��船 from the album “風�旋律� by TINGARAFriday, March 18, 2005
>> Rimi Natsukawa’s Latest Releases
Our favorite female J/O-pop singer, Rimi Natsukawa (who else?), has just released her first collection of singles and her record company (Victor Entertainment) will be releasing a much anticipated live DVD on the 24th of March. Rimi’s single collection is called “Natsukawa Rimi SINGLE COLLECTION Vol.1â€? (ah, the simplicity in naming an album’s title :P) and contains all of her singles from the ridiculously popular “Nada Sou Souâ€? to one of her most recent songs “Kanayo Kanayoâ€? penned by The Boom’s Kazufumi Miyazawa. The collection (VICL-61605) has a total of 14 tracks and is priced at ¥2,800. Now on to the live DVD. “Natsukawa Rimi Concert Tour 2004 ∞ un RIMI ted ∞â€? (VIBL-276) is packed with sixteen songs from her December 17, 2004, concert at the Nakano Sunplaza Hall in Tokyo. Songs included in the live performance are mainly of the O-pop variety but she does include “Asadoya Yuntaâ€? in there too, and the DVD also has her latest single “Kokoro Tsutaeâ€? (2004.12.16) which is not included on the collection of singles album (boo). The live DVD is priced at ¥4,900.
Saturday, December 18, 2004
>> Acoustic Parsha on NHK’s Yume·Ongaku Kan
I know it’s been a while since I last posted an update to the site and I’ll try to get back in an updating groove with today’s entry. Acoustic Parsha will be on NHK’s 30m music show “Yume·Ongaku Kan” (Dream Music Theatre) on 16 December (Japan) and on 20 December (a Monday at 3:30p HST) here in the U.S. for digital cable subscribers of TV Japan. What sets this show apart from the other Japanese music shows is that the artists appearing on it (usually two and in this episode Acoustic Parsha will be performing with J-Rock singer YAIDA “Yaiko” Hitomi) will do a cover song and perform each others’ song(s). [via Parsha cluB Fan Blog]
>> Rimi Winds Up Nationwide Tour
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
>> Rimi’s Nada Sou Sou 123 weeks on the Oricon Single Chart
Congratulations to NATSUKAWA Rimi for having her song, “Nada Sou Sou” (released as a single in 2001), on the Oricon (Japan’s version of America’s Billboard magazine) Single Chart for 123 weeks! She now holds the number four spot — number two for solo female singers — with NAKAJIMA Miyuki’s “Chijou no Hoshi” at the top spot with 181 weeks.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
>> BEGIN’s Video Message from Honolulu
A video message of BEGIN’s recent concert in Honolulu has been posted on their official website (www.begin1990.com). Here’s how to get there since the site is only in Japanese (btw, if there’s enough people who’ll ask me for it, I’ll translate [or if anyone wants to volunteer I’ll happily upload it to this site] the message and provide a text-based transcript of the group’s dialogue):
- Visit www.begin1990.com. (You’ll need Macromedia Flash Player 6 or higher to view the site.)
- Hover your mouse or trackpad over the final link on the menu and it’ll read ‘SPECIAL’. Click on that link.
- You should now be in a window that’s giving you a choice between two connection speeds: Broad and Narrow band. (You’ll need Windows Media Player 9 or higher to view the video.)
- Click on your connection speed and the video will begin buffering momentarily. Enjoy!
(Nifee to Isaac Hokama for the link.)
Sunday, September 19, 2004
>> BEGIN at the 2004 Okinawan Festival in Honolulu
Behind-the-scene look at BEGIN’s guitar tech tuning the Ichigo-Ichie (pictured is the ‘Artist Model’). The Ichigo-Ichie is an instrument that was produced by the group in conjunction with K. Yairi guitars. A less expensive (about half the price of the artist model) called the ‘Nirai’ model is also being sold.
My vantage point from behind the stage at the Nidaime Teishinkai Hawaii Shibu tent gave full view of the screen and freedom from the 1000+ spectators on the opposite side of the stage.
And the crowd goes wild!
The band had the crowd on their feet for the songs “Kariyushi no Yoru” and “Ojii Jiman no Orion Biiru [Beer]” with several close-ups of a fan (implanted?) wearing a promotional t-shirt for the latter song during its time on stage. They performed all of their hit songs (i.e., from their two shimauta albums) and the song that first brought them in the J-pop radar, “Koishikute”. Not surprisingly, the encore song was “Nada Sou Sou” with the crowd chanting — instead of ‘encore …’ or ‘hana hou …’ — ‘nada sou sou, nada sou sou, nada sou sou’.
I personally think that this was one of the best Okinawan Festivals since the year with the fireworks off of Waikiki Beach. The outdoor stage was one of the best we (local performing arts groups) may ever get to use for the festival, and if not for the blaring sun, it would’ve been perfect in the daytime too.
This stage is hot. I mean really hot.
I’m sure that the group made many new fans here in Hawaii and I’ve already received several inquiries as to where people can go to buy their albums. Places to go to in Honolulu are Bookoff or Hakubundo. On the web, I highly recommend CDJapan.co.jp or YesAsia.com.
Related Entry: A Closer Look at BEGIN
Thursday, September 16, 2004
>> Sing Along with BEGIN Part 1
Here’s Part 1 (although I can’t promise there’ll be a Part 2 in time for the BEGIN concert) of my Sing Along with BEGIN feature. Today I have the romaji to two (technically three if you count in the alternative version of “Nada Sou Sou”) of the group’s popular songs. I’m also including a link to a printable version so that you’ll be able to take it with you on the road. :)
“NADA SOU SOU”
(LYRICS: MORIYAMA Yoko; MUSIC & ARRANGEMENT: BEGIN)
FURUI ARUBAMU MEGURI, ARIGATOUTTE TSUBUYAITA
ITSUMO ITSUMO MUNE NO NAKA, HAGEMASHITE KURERU HITO YO
HARE WATARU HI MO, AME NO HI MO, UKABU ANO EGAO
OMOIDE TOOKU ASETE MO OMOKAGE SAGASHITE, YOMIGAERU HI WA, NADA SOU SOU
ICHIBAN HOSHI NI INORU, SORE GA WATASHI NO KUSE NI NARI
YUUGURE NI MIAGERU SORA, KOKORO IPPAI ANATA SAGASU
KANASHIMI NI MO, YOROKOBI NI MO, OMOU ANO EGAO
ANATA NO BASHO KARA WATASHI GA MIETARA, KITTO ITSUKA, AERU TO SHINJI, IKITE YUKU
HARE WATARU HI MO, AME NO HI MO, UKABU ANO EGAO
OMOIDE TOOKU ASETE MO SAMISHIKUTE, KOISHIKUTE, KIMI E NO OMOI, NADA SOU SOU
AITAKUTE, AITAKUTE, KIMI E NO OMOI, NADA SOU SOU
“SHIMANUCHU NU TAKARA”
(LYRICS, MUSIC & ARRANGEMENT: BEGIN)
BOKU GA UMARETA KONO SHIMA NO SORA WO BOKU WA DOREKURAI SHITTERUN DAROU?
KAGAYAKU HOSHI MO NAGARERU KUMO MO NAMAE WO KIKARETEMO WAKARANAI
DEMO DARE YORI DARE YORI MO SHITTEIRU
KANASHII TOKI MO URESHII TOKI MO NANDO MO MIAGETEITA KONO SORA WO…
KYOUKASHO NI KAITE ARU KOTO DAKEJA WAKARANAI
TAISETSU NA MONO GA KITTO KOKO NI ARUHAZUSA
SORE GA SHIMANCHU NU TAKARA
BOKU GA UMARETA KONO SHIMA NO UMI WO BOKU WA DOREKURAI SHITTERUN DAROU?
KEGARETEKU SANGO MO HETTEIKU SAKANA MO DOUSHITARA II NO KA WAKARANAI
DEMO DARE YORI DARE YORI MO SHITTEIRU
SUNA NI MAMIRETE NAMI NI YURARETE SUKOSHIZUTSU KAWATTEYUKU KONO UMI WO…
TEREBI DE WA UTSUSENAI RAJIO DEMO NAGASENAI
TAISETSU NA MONO GA KITTO KOKO NI ARUHAZUSA
SORE GA SHIMANCHU NU TAKARA
BOKU GA UMARETA KONO SHIMA NO UTA WO BOKU WA DOREKURAI SHITTERUN DAROU?
TUBARAAMA MO DENSAA BUSHI MO KOTOBA NO IMI SAE WAKARANAI
DEMO, DARE YORI DARE YORI MO SHITTEIRU
IWAI NO YORU MO MATSURI NO ASA MO DOKO KARA KA KIKOETE KURU KONO UTA WO…
ITSU NO HI KA KONO SHIMA WO HANARETEKU
SONO HI MADE TAISETSU NA MONO WO MOTTO FUKAKU SHITTEITAI
SORE GA SHIMANCHU NU TAKARA
“NADA SOU SOU (SANSHIN UCHINAAGUCHI VERSION)”
(LYRICS: MORIYAMA Yoko; MUSIC & ARRANGEMENT: BEGIN)
NACHIKASHI ARUBAMU MIKUTI, KAFUUSHI DOONDI KUTUBA KAKI
ICHIN ICHIMADIN CHIMU NU UCHI, KUKURU KA KYURU ANU FITU YU
HARI WATARU HI N, AMI NU HI N, UKABU ANU CHURASA
NACHIKASA YA TUUKU, UMUYOONATIN UMUKAJI TU MI TI, KAJI TACHURU HI YA, NADA SOU SOU
ICHIBAN FUSHI NI NIGAYUN, KURI GA WA NU NARE NA TI
YUMANGI NU SURA MIAGITI, CHIMU FUKURA MACHI, UNJUTUMEYUN
NACHIKASA TI N, FUKURASHA TI N, UMUI YA ANU CHURASA
UNJU NU BASU KARA WASHIGATA
MIRARI RI BA, KANAJI ICHIKA, AYURUNDI SHINJI, IKITI N KA
HARI WATARU HI N, AMI NU HI N, UKABU ANU CHURASA
NACHIKASA YA TUUKU, UMUYOONATIN SABISHISA NU, KUISHISA NU, UMUI YA MASATI, NADA SOU SOU
AIBUSA NU, AIBUSA NU, UMUI YA MASATI, NADA SOU SOU
As a bonus for reading this far into this entry, I have three of these songs encoded in AAC available in my public folder for a limited time due to space constraints.
For more info on the group read this post: A Closer Look at BEGIN.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
>> BEGIN’s 15th Anniversary Gigs
BEGIN will commemorate their 15th year in showbiz with special concerts beginning next year (the group’s debut year is 1990 if you haven’t been keeping track). They will perform at the Nippon Budokan (a dream venue for any musician) in Tokyo on March 17, 2005, and follow that up with a performance on March 21, at the Osaka-Jo Hall. Way to go guys! [via Yahoo! News Geinoukai]
>> BEGIN1990
The watch/countdown for BEGIN is well, beginning. ;)
They launched their brand-spanking new Official Website (it’s called BEGIN 1990 because that’s the year they debuted on Teichiku) today (which according to Japan time equals yesterday) and it’s totally interactive so check it out!
Look Further:
Official Production Company Website
Official Record Label Website
Sunday, July 11, 2004
>> A Closer Look at BEGIN
BEGIN (ビギン) is comprised of three members who are all from Ishigaki Island (石垣島) and friends since grammar school. The trio have been nicknamed as the “Takeuma no Tomo (竹馬の友)” group. The members are: Eishou (also written as Eisho) Higa (比嘉荣昇) on vocals, sanshin, guitar (b. 7/15/1968), Masaru Shimabukuro (島袋 優) on guitar, chorus, ichigo-ichie (b. 9/23/1968), and Hitoshi Uechi (上地 等) on keyboards, chorus (b. 6/23/1968).
THEIR first noted appearance as a group took place in 1988 when they performed for a friend’s wedding party and was discovered by an owner of a live house (nightclub) who invited the group to regularly perform on stage. In 1989, the group appeared on the TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System which is one of Japan’s major TV stations) show “Heisei Meibutsu TV Ikasu Bando Tengoku” (『平成名物TVいかすバンド天国』).
THE group’s real (as in their recording) debut took place in 1990 with the release of their Teichiku Entertainment, Inc. single “Koishikute” (『恋しくて』 CARC-36 and rereleased in 2003 as a maxi-single TECN-10901), which was used as an image song for Nissan Motors. “Koishikute” is still one of their most well-known songs and one that I love singing whenever I go karaoke. ;) It should be noted that they debuted as a band whose style was more bluesy rather than the shimauta (which came almost 10 years later) that they’re currently known for and they can be categorized as J-pop music.
BEGIN’s “comeback” arrived in the year 2000 — 10 years after their debut — with cameos on the hit NHK morning drama serial “Churasan” (『ちゅらさん』 due to the popularity of the show, a third series has been added that will air this year). It could be said that they were in the right place at the right time because the year 2000 also marked their entrance in the shimauta genre of music with their album release “Begin no Shimauta: Omototakeo” (『ビギンの島唄 オモトタケオ』 TECN-20647) and more importantly, the release of the song “Nada Sou Sou” (『涙そうそう』 TECN-12613 which was covered by Hawaiian music recording artist Keali´i Reichel on his album “Ke´alaokamaile”).
“Nada Sou Sou” would also launch the career of fellow Ishigaki islander Rimi Natsukawa (夏川りみ, 30) who released the song (VICL-35238) in March of 2001. The song became a hit throughout Japan and she would later perform on NHK’s annual Kouhaku Utagassen (『紅白歌合戦』Red & White Songfest) which is known for only inviting the year’s most popular artists. The lyricist for the song, folk singer Ryoko Moriyama (森山良子, the music was composed by the group), would also release the song as a b-side to her single “Satoukibi Batake” (『さとうきび畑』MUCD-5003) in December of 2001. (Her son Naotaro has become a famous J-pop singer with his single “Sakura”, so that song seems to bring fortune for all of the parties involved with it.)
2002 saw their shimauta-inspired song “Shimanchu nu Takara” (『島人ぬ宝』TECN-12877) featured as the image song for NHK Okinawa’s “Okinawa Hondo Fukki 30-shuunen (沖縄本土復帰三十周年)” and later in the same year the group would make their first appearance in NHK’s Kouhaku.
IN 2003, the group took a large step as musicians with the release of the Ichigo-Ichie (一五一会), a hybrid between a sanshin and a guitar, made by established Japanese guitar maker Yairi Guitars. The philosophy behind the instrument is to make it very simple so that anyone can learn to play it without any prior knowledge of music. The body of the four-stringed instrument has a very unusual shape and I’m sure that Masaru (and Eisho) will be performing with it at the festival.
SINCE their debut with Teichiku in 1990, the group has released 8 singles, 11 maxi-singles, 11 original albums, 2 shimauta albums, and 1 best of album. In 1992, the group left Teichiku for BMG Funhouse and recorded 3 singles and 3 albums before returning to the Teichiku label in 1997. Currently, they belong to Imperial Records (part of the Teichiku Entertainment, Inc. group) and will be releasing a CD+DVD this month called “Reef Line” (TECI-1068, July 14th), and a maxi-single called “Chikai” (『誓い』TECI-65) on August 11th.
ALSO performing with BEGIN at this year’s Okinawa Festival in Honolulu, will be the Shisars. I’ll have more about the female duo in a future entry.
Sunday, November 30, 2003
>> New albums from Yukito Ara and Acoustic Parsha
November saw the release of two new albums related to my favorite O-pop group, Parsha cluB. The first is Acoustic Parsha’s “Natsupana” (11/28) which is their second album and contains a total of nine tracks including the ever popular, Asadoya Yunta.
Acoustic Parsha’s “Natsupana”
Also a second album is Yukito Ara’s solo work “Gekkou” (11/19) which features Parsha cluB’s regular taiko/percussionist Sunday (he was also on the first solo album) and Maki Shida (also on taiko), daughter of Okinawan dance master Fusako Shida. “Gekkou” contains 9 tracks of Yaeyama minyou.
Yukito Ara’s “Gekkou”
Sunday, June 29, 2003
>> Pics from Banda Tontonmi’s recent studio session
Tiemi from Brazil’s Banda Tontonmi sent me some pics of their recent studio session for their upcoming CD album.
![[Banda Tontonmi Image]](http://pop.internet-okinawa.com/blog/images/banda_tontonmi-1.jpg)
(pictured from l-r: Cristiane, Harumi & Tiemi)
![[Banda Tontonmi Image]](http://pop.internet-okinawa.com/blog/images/banda_tontonmi-2.jpg)
(pictured from l-r: Fábio & Harumi)
![[Banda Tontonmi Image]](http://pop.internet-okinawa.com/blog/images/banda_tontonmi-3.jpg)
(pictured: Fábio)
Nifee for the pics Tiemi and I can’t wait to listen to your group’s new album!
Saturday, June 14, 2003
>> Begin’s new single “Sono Toki Umareta Mono”
Begin, the group we all love from Yaeyama, will be releasing a new single called “Sono Toki Umareta Mono” on Wednesday, June 18.
![[album cover image]](http://pop.internet-okinawa.com/blog/images/begin-sonotoki.jpg)
“Sono Toki Umareta Mono”
The song is being used as the image song for Okinawa Denryoku’s 30th anniversary. The single includes a second song called “SMILE” as well as an instrumental version of each song. The song is along the line of “Shimanuchu nu Takara”, a hit song for the group from 2002 (so it’s a ballad with very inspiring lyrics, and good too!). The group’s official label site has a Flash movie available with a preview of the song as well as its lyrics. The group’s official site is through their management company Amuse. Email to the group can be sent through their label’s site Teichiku.
Monday, April 21, 2003
>> Parsha cluB to perform during Golden Week
My favorite O-Pop band Parsha cluB will be holding a live concert during the Golden Week holiday at CLUB D-SET on Thursday, May 1st. Doors will open at 8:00 pm with the concert to start at 9:00 pm. If you find yourself in Okinawa during this time, they’re a band you must see.
For ticket information contact:
CLUB D-SET
Kumoji, Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Phone: 098-861-8110 (Okinawa number)
