Shamisen fusion
Posted by japanstats on 2009 May 23日 Saturday
More a note to myself than anything but I have a soft spot for genre crossing music… when done right (they can go awry very easily).
And Tsugaru-jamisen is an awesome traditional Japanese instrument that’s often played up tempo with passion, so it can meld nicely with modern instruments and sounds.
Itanji (異端侍) – I gotta check these guys out soon in Tokyo
Musashi (六三四) – I have one of their albums, and should own more, trad-prog-rock done to perfection
Yoshida Brothers (吉田兄弟) – One of the first big stars in the world of modern Tsugaru-jamisen fusion
Japan, Hockey, Baseball, etc. 
Shamisen fusion said
[…] Original post by simoncurrie […]
Deanna said
I can’t remember, do you listen to HY? They’re from Okinawa and play rock music but do often work traditional Okinawan stuff into it, and one of the guys actually plays a mean shamisen. One of my favorite songs of theirs has a really cool shamisen line underlying it – Street Story.
simoncurrie said
Yeah, I have one of their albums too, fun band! I love it when Okinawan trad is mixed in as well (but I guess that’ll be a whole another post). And that would be the sanshin (snake skin) instead of the shamisen (cat skin), btw, being Okinawa and all 😛
Jeremy Brahm said
If you think that is cool, this will surprise you.
His name is Byron Jones, I’ve known him for over 15 years, but he plays the shamisen and sings Okinawa songs.
Jeremy Brahm said
Article from 2001 on him.
http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=3554