5 votes

Umeko Ando - Ihunke (2018)

4 comments

  1. EightRoundsRapid
    Link

    "Ihunke" follows last year’s single “Iuta Upopo” [Pingipung 58, incl. M.RUX Remix] which got showered with overwhelming enthusiasm and was quickly sold out. Originally released in 2000 on CD only, these 16 enchanting Ainu pearls are finally available on vinyl now (2LP + insert w/ liner notes).

    Umeko Ando (1932-2004) was a folk singer from Japan. She was a representative of the Ainu culture on the Hokkaido Island in the north of Japan.

    After over a hundred years of forced assimilation and discriminatory policies, in 2008, the Japanese government finally recognized Ainu as an indigenous people of Japan. These policies eroded the identity and sense of worth of Ainu people, confiscated their homelands, and caused considerable suffering over several generations. Unfortunately, oppression and assimilation in Japan's
    recent history was catastrophic to the ethnic preservation of the Ainu, and their culture suffered extremely as a result. Finding artefacts of Ainu music is rare in the first place, but Ando did quite a lot throughout her life to preserve it. This record is an example of how their music has been passed on through generations in the oppressed, underground Ainu communities. It deserves a huge audience.
    Upcoming remixes by Nicola Cruz, Gama, Dreems, DJ Ground, M.RUX, El Búho, Mark Peters and Andi Otto.

    2 votes
  2. [3]
    cfabbro
    Link
    Fantastic as always ERR. I love the often shrill, discordant sounds of Japanese folk and folk-inspired music. Those qualities, which would normally be regarded as somewhat unpleasant to listen to,...

    Fantastic as always ERR. I love the often shrill, discordant sounds of Japanese folk and folk-inspired music. Those qualities, which would normally be regarded as somewhat unpleasant to listen to, are somehow transformed in to something incredibly meditative for me through Japanese folk and I don't even know why.

    p.s. The autoplay song that followed by Andi Dotto was also pretty awesome:
    https://soundcloud.com/andiotto/the-taste-of-bamboo

    1 vote
    1. [2]
      EightRoundsRapid
      Link Parent
      I'm a sucker for anything with a bit of a squelchy, acid-y 303 line running through it, so I like that. SoundCloud roulette can take you to some interesting places. I got this after the Umeko Ando...

      p.s. The autoplay song that followed by Andi Dotto was also pretty awesome:
      https://soundcloud.com/andiotto/the-taste-of-bamboo

      I'm a sucker for anything with a bit of a squelchy, acid-y 303 line running through it, so I like that. SoundCloud roulette can take you to some interesting places. I got this after the Umeko Ando tracks

      https://soundcloud.com/gate76/sphinx-frieden

      1 vote
      1. cfabbro
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        That has an almost Kraftwerk vibe to it. I dig it. And yeah the sheer breadth of music genres represented on Soundcloud can certainly take you to interesting and unexpected places. It's one of the...

        I got this after the Umeko Ando tracks https://soundcloud.com/gate76/sphinx-frieden

        That has an almost Kraftwerk vibe to it. I dig it. And yeah the sheer breadth of music genres represented on Soundcloud can certainly take you to interesting and unexpected places. It's one of the things I like most about it. Youtube autoplay is great for finding more of the same but Soundcloud autoplay can really surprise you.

        1 vote