Los Angeles, CA - The Yoshida Brothers, Japan's young masters of the ancient tsugaru-shamisen, are back with a new album, Prism. The aptly-named release reflects their long-standing commitment to traditional Japanese folk music, refracted through modern musical sensibilities, incorporating elements of pop, rock, and world music sounds.
On Prism, the Yoshida Brothers have collaborated with some notable talents, such as Southern California singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop, who wrote the Celtic-tinged "One Long River" and David Baerwald, the singer-songwriter who provided the whimsical track "Mr. Nagano's Foolish Proposal." And "Summer Day" marks a collaboration with keyboardist and producer Mitchell Froom (writer of the Yoshida Brothers' "Hit Song") with additional songwriting contributions from drummer Matt Chamberlain (Tori Amos, Edie Brickell) and Phantom Planet vocalist Alex Greenwald.
These album stand-outs fit comfortably alongside more traditional examples of Japanese folk like "Hu Jin" and "Aiya," plus the Brothers' inspired cover of "The National Anthem" from Radiohead's Kid A. The album's final track, "End of the World," was featured on the soundtrack to the Mark Wahlberg/Joaquin Phoenix film, We Own the Night, further enhancing the Yoshida Brothers' profile in America.
In their relatively short professional lives, the Yoshida Brothers have had quite an impact on the modern music landscape. The Hokkaido-born brothers Ryoichiro and Kenichi Yoshida have become recognized masters of their signature instrument, the tsugaru-shamisen. Originating in China in the 16th Century, the three-stringed instrument found its way to Japan through traveling folk musicians and became an integral element of Japanese classical music. The Yoshida Brothers have now taken the tsugaru-shamisen further than any other modern musician, practically reinventing its sound, leading to a musical style both firmly rooted in the traditions of the past and boldly looking forward to the future.
In another recording and marriage of modern and traditional sounds, Prism is evidence that the Yoshida Brothers continue to push boundaries in their pursuit of musical exploration, constantly redefining the sound of the shamisen and how it can be fused into new, unique soundscapes.
Comments
"The Yoshida Brothers have changed the image of the music. They're changing the perception of what these players dress like, how they handle themselves onstage. They're more like pop musicians. They look at the shamisen in a different way, but they're very aware of the tradition it comes out of. They're absolutely top-notch players."
-Ethnomusicologist Michael Peluse
"The [Yoshida Brothers] approach has less to do with upholding traditions than exploring new ones."
-Interview Magazine
"Buoyed by the success of their new album and recent US tour, the Yoshida Brothers are hoping to take their traditional instruments to a higher plane."
-J Select
"When I first saw the Yoshida Brothers play a show in Santa Monica I was blown away, knocked out. Not just by their virtuosity, but by their wholehearted commitment to the world that their music seems to evoke."
-Producer Tony Berg
"The brothers embrace tradition, playing standards from the shamisen repertoire. But they also expand on it. In their own compositions, they riff on themes from the old songs, incorporating other instruments and elements from jazz, classical, flamenco, rock, the blues even techno. The music is high energy, and it is highly improvisational."
-The Boston Globe
"The Japanese-Banjo players establish a sensational new music style."
-Rafu Shimpo
"In the world of global music, it is hard to make a bigger splash than the arrival of the Yoshida Brothers, a Jaoanese musical duo that has taken their own country, and now the world, by storm. The duo also provides an example of how music, though it can bend, does not break with tradition. The history and tradition that echoes through their sound proves that even the most global music is rooted in local soil"
-The Globalist
"Their set, like a shredding heavy-meal solo- was all about speed and twang. They played fast unisons that would have ruthlessly revealed any mistakes; they played solos that stayed close to the tunes and built pitiless crescendos. It was music of pure sinew."
-Jon Parales, New York Times
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