Search - Various Artists :: Rough Guide to Okinawa

It runs the gamut...that's for sure

Moses Alexander | Alabama, USA | 11/19/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Asian Island Music

Ralf Dudat | 2 / 41 Doveton Avenue Eumemmerring Victoria Au | 05/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

COOL SONGS REALLY CATCHY

Ralf Dudat | 02/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I LOVE THIS CD!!! Especially the nostalgic songs, it makes me feel as if im right there in the Okinawa Islands. and the sounds of the Sanshin (Okinawan lute) VERY LOVELY. I recommend this CD to anyone who is a World Music or East Asian Music Freak (like me!)"