The
Yoshida Kyōdai (吉田兄弟) are Japanese musicians and have released several albums under the
Domo RecordsDomo Records is an independent record label in Los Angeles, California. Domo Records was established in 1993 by Ei'ichi Naito, a record producer and engineer...
internationally as the
Yoshida Brothers.
They are a pair of brothers and performers of the traditional Japanese music style of
Tsugaru-jamisenTsugaru-jamisen is a genre of shamisen music originating in Aomori prefecture in the northernmost area of the Japanese island of Honshū. It is today performed throughout Japan, though associations with the Tsugaru area of Aomori remain strong....
which originated in northern Japan. They debuted in 1999 in Japan as a duo playing the
shamisenThe shamisen or samisen , also called sangen is a three-stringed musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi...
. Their first album sold over 100,000 copies and made them minor celebrities in Japan, a fact that surprised the Yoshida Brothers themselves.
The
Yoshida Kyōdai (吉田兄弟) are Japanese musicians and have released several albums under the
Domo RecordsDomo Records is an independent record label in Los Angeles, California. Domo Records was established in 1993 by Ei'ichi Naito, a record producer and engineer...
internationally as the
Yoshida Brothers.
They are a pair of brothers and performers of the traditional Japanese music style of
Tsugaru-jamisenTsugaru-jamisen is a genre of shamisen music originating in Aomori prefecture in the northernmost area of the Japanese island of Honshū. It is today performed throughout Japan, though associations with the Tsugaru area of Aomori remain strong....
which originated in northern Japan. They debuted in 1999 in Japan as a duo playing the
shamisenThe shamisen or samisen , also called sangen is a three-stringed musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi...
. Their first album sold over 100,000 copies and made them minor celebrities in Japan, a fact that surprised the Yoshida Brothers themselves. They have since attracted an international audience.
Their music has been a fusion of the rapid and percussive
Tsugaru-jamisenTsugaru-jamisen is a genre of shamisen music originating in Aomori prefecture in the northernmost area of the Japanese island of Honshū. It is today performed throughout Japan, though associations with the Tsugaru area of Aomori remain strong....
style along with Western and other regional musical influences. In addition to performing songs that are only on the shamisen, they also use modern instruments such as drums and synthesizers.
The commercials for the
Nintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel...
's
WiiThe is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of both...
video game console that began airing in North America in
November 2006 feature the Yoshida Brothers song, "Kodo (Inside the Sun Remix)."
Members
and were born in Noboribetsu in
Hokkaidō, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island and the largest, northernmost of its 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshū, although the two islands are connected by the underwater Seikan Tunnel...
Prefecture, Japan. The two brothers have played the shamisen from a very young age. They both began to study and play the shamisen from five years of age under Koka Adachi, learning the
Minyō-shamisenis a genre of traditional Japanese music. The term is a translation of the German word "Volkslied" and has only been in use during the twentieth century...
style; from about 1989 they studied the
Tsugaru-jamisenTsugaru-jamisen is a genre of shamisen music originating in Aomori prefecture in the northernmost area of the Japanese island of Honshū. It is today performed throughout Japan, though associations with the Tsugaru area of Aomori remain strong....
style under Takashi Sasaki.
International albums
- Yoshida Brothers (2003)
- Yoshida Brothers II
-Track listing:# "Frontier"# "Gales of Wind"# "Mirage"# "Lullaby of Takeda"# "Kodo"# "Indigo'"# "Kagero"# "Evening Calm"# "Nikata"# "Old/New "Modern" Third Movement"# "Arigato"# "Kodo "-External links:***...
(2004)
- Yoshida Brothers III
-Track listing:# "Erghen Diado"# "Passion"# "Canon"# "Hit Song"# "Overland Blues"# "Cherry Blossoms in Winter'"# "By This River"# "Morricone"# "Oh My Love"# "Tsugaru Jinku"# "My Heart Holds"# "Tsugaru Jongara Bushi"-External links:**...
(2006)
- Prism
-Track listing:* Titles in brackets are as they appear on the Japanese release track list.# The National Anthem# Seven# One Long River# Red Bird # Mr. Nagano's Foolish Proposal# Hujin # Akita Obako # Summer Day...
(2009)
2007 - Hishou
- Prelude Hishou
- Ibuki
- Kodo
- Ringo Bushi
- Ajigasawa
- Yasaburo
- Panorama
- Tsugaru Yosare
- Time of Sand
- Tsugaru Aiya
- Modern
- Dual
- Tsugaru Jongara
- Postlude Hishou
2008 - Best of Yoshida Brothers - Tsugaru Shamisen
- Storm
- Kodo (Hishou version)
- Overland Blues
- A Hill With No Name
- Modern (Hishou Version)
- Saiun
- Passion
- My Heart Holds
- Blooming
- Cherry Blossoms in Winter
- Kodo (Inside The Sun Remix)
- Rising
- Morricone
Nightmare Revisited
The 2008 Disney album,
Nightmare RevisitedNightmare Revisited is a cover album of songs from the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas. It was released on September 30, 2008 by Walt Disney Records. In addition to the album's eighteen covers are two re-recordings by original composer Danny Elfman, of the "Opening" and "Closing" tracks...
, which consists of 20 remade tracks from the original
The Nightmare Before ChristmasTim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is a 1993 stop motion fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to "Christmas Town". Danny Elfman wrote the film score and provided...
, featured the Yoshida Brothers' remake of the track "Nabbed". The song kept true to the Yoshida Brothers' Shamisen style yet contained added electronic elements.
12.
Nabbed (7:35)
Japanese albums
- Ibuki (1999)
- Move (2000)
- Soulful (2002)
- Frontier (2003) (a.k.a. Yoshida Brothers 2005)
- Renaissance (2004)
External links
Yoshida Brothers: Official web site Yoshida Brothers Official MySpace Domo Music Group - Yoshida Brothers' Record Company