This release is compiled from two albums originally recorded and produced by Hatsuo Okuhara between 1970 and 1973 and issued as "Songs of My Homeland: Ikema Folk Song Collection," newly remastered and reissued by Makoto Kubota. Beyond its immense value as documentation of the (musical) culture of Ikema Island, what stands out most is the beauty of ...Read more a living tradition rather than a preserved one, and the sheer force with which the sound itself bears down on the listener. "The richness and brilliance of the content are almost unbelievable. The songs are wonderful, and the singing and the groove of each performance are absolutely first-rate. It's the biggest shock and thrill I've had since first encountering the Marufuku pressing of 'Hai-sai Ojisan' back in the '70s. The songs, playing and singing heard here—distinctive to Miyako, or rather to the Ikema people—were recorded roughly and lo-fi, but the sound and atmosphere that come through are even more astonishing for it." — Makoto Kubota

A recording of Gifu folklore: "Shirotori Odori," "Shirotori Haiden Odori," and "Gujo Odori."
Music that reaches its heights with nothing but voices and wooden geta — there may be nothing else like it anywhere in the world. The vocals are as deep and dark as Kawachi Ondo, and as distant yet near as Ethiopian folk song. Requiem, spirits, stillness ...Read more (Original Japanese text by Shhhhh) and beauty. A sigh... it shines on a midsummer night. Of Makoto Kubota's work, this moved me more than anything since the Minami-jima (South Islands) series! (Original Japanese text by Shhhhh)

The 7-inch single “Ikinya-bushi” by Miyazaki-based singer hou—who has also released the album *Suite ‘Signs of the Sky’*, produced by Daichi of Based On Kyoto/DNA Paradise—has arrived. It was produced by Marron (aka Dubmarronics), who is also the guitarist for Based On Kyoto. The B-side features “Version With Based On Kyoto,” with contributions fro ...Read more (Original Japanese text by Saito)m longtime ally SOFT’s bassist Ucon and drummer Pon2. It brings to mind Marron’s past comment about being hooked on playing in 5/4 time; Daichi handled the production, including Marron’s guitar, synthesizer, and editing. 7-inch. (Original Japanese text by Saito)

Another stunner from EM RECORDS, curated by Riyo Sanmyaku! The A-side is a 1983 recording, while the B-side features a brand-new version recorded by SUGAI KEN — folk-dance ethno-dance at its finest. (Original Japanese text by Saito)

Riyo Sanmyaku × EM Records is back in action! And this time it's Tohoku!! The fifth volume in the folk-song excavation series supervised by Riyo Sanmyaku drops a carpet-bombing Bon dance tune built for the floor: "Nanyatoyara" from Ninohe City in northern Iwate Prefecture!! Who knew the "present progressive form" of Tohoku's oldest Bon dance song c ...Read moreould be this insane!!!!

-info-
From 2019 on, as COVID-19 raged, folk song preservation societies across the country suspended their activities, and Bon dances, recitals, and even practice sessions were called off. As a result, the Riyo × EM folk song excavation releases were forced to pause as well. Precisely because the series is committed to folk music in the here and now, the releases had to stop while the singing stopped during the pandemic. In 2024 the situation gradually improved, and the release plans we'd been nurturing since before COVID have finally come to fruition after all this time.

"Nanyatoyara," released here, is said to be the oldest Bon dance in Tohoku, handed down widely across the region spanning northern Iwate and the former Nanbu domain lands of Aomori. This trance-inducing Bon dance, which relentlessly repeats the single phrase "Nanyatoyara," is known as a "song of mystery," and there are numerous theories about its origins. The famous one is the "Hebrew theory" told alongside the legend of Christ's tomb, but its true source remains unknown. Many Bon dance songs and work songs—"Tanabu Oshimako," "Torajo-sama," "Tenma no Miyoko," and even "Dounan Bon Uta," a signature folk song of Hokkaido—trace their lineage back to this song, making it one of the foundations of Tohoku folk music.

This release collects three versions of "Nanyatoyara" by the Ninohe City Nanyatoyara Preservation Society, active in Ninohe City in northern Iwate: recordings from 2002, 2015, and 2023. The overwhelming, on-the-ground intensity knocks out in one punch the exoticizing lens of the "song of mystery" that has been draped over this music. Carpet-bombing taiko and improvised lyrics that keep on coming make for utterly wild listening. Though they call themselves a "preservation society," the Ninohe City Nanyatoyara Preservation Society powerfully pattanas (improves and develops) Nanyatoyara into a contemporary form, smashing the fixed notion that "folk song = old story"—a fitting first release for the revival of the Riyo × EM folk song excavation series after the pandemic. This is the sound of the real thing!

Note: This release uses the spelling "Nanyatoyara," though it is sometimes written "Nanyadoyara."

= Product specs =
+ Standard jewel case
+ Includes 24-page booklet, with obi
+ Liner notes: Riyo Sanmyaku (English translation included)
+ Package design: Shinsuke Takagi (Soi48)

Mastering: Takuto Kuratani

Recording and mixing of the 2023 version: SUGAI KEN

日本各地のソノシート、コレクションの紹介ブログ、民謡をプレイするDJスタイルなど噂に聞いていた愛知の鈴木33回転正夫のミックスCD。当店でも取り扱い開始しました。「北は北海道、南は沖縄、全国津々浦々のリサイクルショップを渡り」収集したという民謡セレクト。サンプルの視聴音源は本人達がアップしたサウンドクラウドから。全１４曲中５曲がダイジェストになってます。サンプル聴いてもらうとわかるかなと思いますが、エフェクトされた曲や、フィールドレコーディング的なもの、子供達のわらべ唄など、〈Sublime Frequencies〉からのアジアの少数民族録音「Ethnic Minority...」シリーズの感じとも繋がる、アジアの中の日本の音楽、ユニークさ、世界観がある。シンプルに削ぎ落とされたアートワーク、中にはそれぞれの曲にコメント、紹介、解説が記されたインサートシートが添えられています。 (サイトウ)

2014年に発売され完売していた端唄・俗曲の柳家小春と、異才エンジニアAMEPHONE率いるattcによる奇跡のコラボ・シングルがREMIX & REMASTERにて待望の再発売。テニスコーツとも共演してきた柳家小春の三味線、端唄とレゲエ/ロックステディ歌謡なバックが絶妙な「梅は咲いたか」と熊本の民謡「五木の子守唄」をとりあげ、モーラムや、 RBCレコード60sな沖縄のうたを思わせるようなアプローチのB-SIDE。円盤からの7インチ、リイシューストックしています！ (サイトウ)

細野晴臣や久保田麻琴たち沖縄音楽をワールドミュージック的視点でディグした第1世代や、志村けんにも大きな影響を与えた、喜納昌吉と喜納チャンプルーズ による「戦乱で頭がおかしくなった隣人」をコミカルに歌ったと言われるブラックな面もある伝説のデビュー７インチ「ハイサイおじさん / 馬車小引ちゃ」の両面７インチヴァージョン(のちのLPとはバージョンが違います)で収録。現、沖縄在住の内海イズル氏には、「馬車小引ちゃ」の魅力を教えてもらった。名手、大好きな登川誠人の「アッチャメー小」や嘉手苅林昌+山里ゆき子らによる名演など沖縄民謡の素晴らしい世界。 (サイトウ)

EM RECORDS最新作！本当に美しく響く口上！竪琴！島唄！まさに路上の花！A面:竪琴サイド/Ｂ面:三味線サイドとなっています！ (住友)