News & Events
We have a very exciting update in the Waves of Harmony soundscape - we're honored to be joined by immensely talented performers of Biwa, Sho, and Gidayu Shamisen!
Recently we've been preparing an arrangement of the beautiful Irish folk song Maid of Culmore. The melody and lyrics makes this song perfect for the delicate and sensitive arrangements I like to have for Waves of Harmony.
Many thanks to the The Japan-America Society of Georgia (or JASG as the cool kids say) for spreading the word about the Waves of Harmony project, and a wholehearted shout-out to the executive director Yoshi Domoto! He's been immensely encouraging and supportive with providing great ideas for creating a stronger campaign for Waves of Harmony. It's really inspired me to set up a much stronger web presence so the project can be proudly shared around. Capital gratitude!
With our arrangement of 'Hyuga Kobiki Uta' nearing completion, it's time to layer on some final countertenor vocals.
Although shamisen is my main instrument now, my family and I started out in Folk and Bluegrass. From that background, I fell in love with Appalachian folk music in my early teens (around the time I picked up shamisen), which led to a love of world folk music (including Japanese traditional musics, which I later pursued more intently). In any case, one of my favorite folk songs was St. James Hospital, a haunting ballad I heard from Doc Watson.
Aided by Reigen Fujii as trusty recording engineer, Masters of Minyo Abe Kinzaburou-san and his wife 根本麻耶-san just finished recording incredible vocals for our two World arrangements of Kokiriko Bushi and Hyuga Kobiki Uta!
