minyo station, the departure for points east and west Minyo Station at Warner Grand Annex San Pedro CA February 20th, 2008
As the world grows smaller and the lines between cultures blur, the arts of our tiny planet have flourished. No group of musicians is more keenly aware of this than the members of Minyo Station. The bland, heartless pop compositions once associated with mixing the sounds of East and West, have dropped away from modern bi-cultural musicians who hear both forms of music natively. The key is understanding both types of music--joining them at their convergence and proudly accentuating their divergence. Minyo Station knows this, not only on an intellectual level, but on a spiritual level as well. Their music carries the spirit of both East and West into the hearts of the listeners, regardless of their own backgrounds.
The musicianship of core members, lead guitarist and arranger Yu Ooka and lead singer Marisa Kosugi, are unparalleled in this still tiny but powerful genre of East meeting West. Together with the fat licks of bass player Nori Iji, and the soft bed of backing vocals by Natsu Summer, they spin a musical web of the traditional and modern, acoustic and electric, centered in the percussion of drummer/Taiko drummer Miles Senzaki. While the arrangements are modern and decidedly Western, the tunes usher the ghosts of generations past, from the mysterious isolated island of feudal Japan. Every song that Minyo Station performs is a traditional folk song of Japan--Minyou--as the form is known in Japanese. As guest performer, Matsutoyo Sato, alluded to in a brief talk with the audience, as you hear these songs, even in their modern context, you can feel the celebration and happiness of previous generations, hundreds of years past.
In addition to the Western instruments, Minyo Station employed 3 shamisen players (Nina Uemura, Matsutoyo Zan, and Loryce Hashimoto) in the Grand Annex concert, who augmented the traditional tunes and vocal styles, in creating an even more surprising, but elegant contrast between old and new. The shamisen is a three string Japanese “guitar” or “banjo,” that has a sound often associated with Japanese traditional music. To counter the decidedly Eastern style of the shamisen, guest jazz musicians Billy Mitchell and Tony White took the stage for the final numbers, along with Taiko player Tom Kurai, to create a real musical party atmosphere in the venue--each player contributing something to make Minyo Station even more eclectic and fascinating.
Guest Dancer Miyuki Matsunaga, creator of the modern fusion dance, the “Geta Dance”, performed as did Bando Hidesomi who demonstrated more traditional dances during the second half of the show. Several numbers in the second half were performed in the traditional style, giving the band members a break and the audience a rare treat of seeing traditional Japanese music and dance performed live. Guest performer and Minyo teacher Matsutoyo Sato was the centerpiece of this segment of the show, demonstrating her singing and shamisen playing prowess. Natsu Summer also stepped to the front to sing several traditional numbers. The segment culminated in a duet featuring the distinguished mother daughter team of Marisa Kosugi and Matsutoyo Sato performing together.
Minyo Station is like no other band you’ve probably ever seen. They may not be what you’d expect to hear on Top 40 radio. But if you’re interested in exploring the world of tradition and creativity through music, Minyo Station is your ticket to ride.
... all about the things we hear - recordings, sounds of nature, or unnatural sounds; sounds of the city, the country or the people, and sometimes the sound of no sound at all.
