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| Yoshida Brothers: new album on Domo Records It has been said that the fervor with which The Yoshida Brothers play the ancient Japanese three-stringed, banjo- like acoustic tsugaru shamisen can be likened to the fiery passion displayed by Jimi Hendrix on electric guitar. Ryoichiro and Kenichi Yoshida have achieved rock star status at home in Japan, and their modern reinvention of the age-old musical art of the shamisen is steadily gaining them a global fan base. The equally exotic and accessible III, the Yoshida Brothers' third albumto be released in the United States, is set for a March 21 street date on Domo Records. The sonically dynamic disc takes the Brothers' pioneering East-meets-West fusion of tsugaru shamisen and jazz, rock, pop, folk, blues, world idioms to new heights under the guidance of celebrated, veteran rock-pop producer and musician Tony Berg. Berg's extensive production credits include Nickel Creek, Michael Penn, Lisa Loeb, Squeeze, Van Morrison, The Replacements, Charlie Sexton, Nancy Griffith, Pete Yorn and many more top artists. "When I first saw the Yoshida Brothers play a show in Santa Monica, " recalls Berg, "I was blown away, knocked out. Not just by their virtuosity, but by their wholehearted commitment to the world that their music seems toevoke. It was very inspiring." While most of Berg's work has been in the rock/pop realm, he has long had an affinity for music from all corners of the globe, and has played on and produced various projects in affiliation with Peter Gabriel's internationally diverse Real World label. His deep background and vast musical knowledge uniquely positioned Berg to have the vision to orchestrate the rich pan-cultural tapestry of the Yoshidas' artistry. Following an extensive 2005 pre-production phase fleshing out pieces that Ryoichiro and Kenichi had brought to the U.S. to record, Berg began introducing some less traditionally Japanese selections into III's repertoire. Among such stand-outs is the Yoshida Brothers' revelatory version of the Brian Eno song "By This River." "Besides being a sublime and exquisite piece whose pentatonic rhythm lends itself beautifully to shamisen, " says Berg, "it has a brilliant lyric." The only song on the album to feature vocals, the track spotlights former Remy Zero lead singer Cinjin Tate, whose brother Shelby sits in on keyboards. Tapping into an equally stellar composition from further afield, theYoshida Brothers' also interpret composer Peter Lionder's "Erghen Diado, " popularized internationally by the Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir on their 1990 album Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares. GRAMMY-winning musicologist/producer Marcel Cellier, best known for his work with world music icon Zamfir, arranged the track, architecting a bold soundscape with strings, bass and drums. "It's a difficult piece to play, " says Berg, adding, "I felt that out Led Zeppelin-like treatment would really complement the Yoshida Brothers' take on it." Another dramatic cover is the Brothers' spare and elegant version of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Oh My Love, " a track that is as ethereal as "Erghen Diado" is muscular. Ryoichiro says that Berg picked the composition -- an essential East-meets-West fusion of its own -- because, "he thought the Japanese-like melody would work well with the Shamisen." Berg agrees, calling the song, "most beautiful." Other highlighted tracks include the high-energy "Hit Song, " co-written by acclaimed rock producer Mitchell Froom, who also plays keyboards on the cut, which has the Yoshidas' signature shamisens leading a full string section. Another favorite is the atmospheric and also lushly orchestrated "Passion, " whose background talent includes Latin guitar master Oscar Castro Neves. Tony Berg plays steel string guitar and percussion on the rapturously cinematic track, and the producer also lends his multi-instrumental talents on several other of III's songs. The earliest roots of the Yoshida Brothers' tsugaru shamisen sound are found in a more than five centuries-old genre first created in remote, rural northern Japan by itinerant street buskers. Its recent popular revival is largely attributed to the Yoshida Brothers success, though, as noted by online music portal jukeboxalive.com wrote, "with the exception of their instruments, they are anything but traditional." It is Ryoichiro and Kenichi's reverence for the history of shamisen, however, that has given their mastery of the art form the needed authenticity for their hugely effective translation of it into a compelling, contemporary music phenomenon -- both as performers and composers. On the heels of four hit albums in Japan and an auspicious 2003 U.S. debut with their self-titled Domo Records album, the Yoshida Brothers are poised for a breakthrough with III. The album, where the soul of Japan meets the heart of progressive rock, was tracked almost completely at the legendary San Fernando Valley-based recording studio Sound City, where, Tony Berg notes, "thousands of great records have been done." That spirit lives in III. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |