Yoshida Brothers
Encyclopedia
The Yoshida Kyōdai are Japanese musicians and have released several albums under the Domo Records
internationally as the Yoshida Brothers.
They are a pair of brothers and performers of the traditional Japanese music style of Tsugaru-jamisen
which originated in northern Japan. They debuted in 1999 in Japan as a duo playing the shamisen
. 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-jamisen
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 Nintendo
's Wii
video game console that began airing in North America in November 2006 feature the Yoshida Brothers song, "Kodo (Inside the Sun Remix)."
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-shamisen
style; from about 1989 they studied the Tsugaru-jamisen
style under Takashi Sasaki.
, which consists of 20 remade tracks from the original The Nightmare Before Christmas
, 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)
Domo Records
Domo 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-jamisen
Tsugaru-jamisen
Tsugaru-Shamisen 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 shamisen
Shamisen
The , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...
. 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-jamisen
Tsugaru-jamisen
Tsugaru-Shamisen 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 Nintendo
Nintendo
is 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 Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. 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 the two others...
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 HokkaidōHokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway 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-shamisen
Min'yo
is 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-jamisen
Tsugaru-jamisen
Tsugaru-Shamisen 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 IIYoshida 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 IIIYoshida Brothers IIIYoshida Brothers III is the third full length studio Album by Japanese shamisen artists the Yoshida Brothers.-Track listing:# "Erghen Diado"# "Passion"# "Canon"# "Hit Song"# "Overland Blues"# "Cherry Blossoms in Winter'"# "By This River"# "Morricone"...
(2006) - PrismPrism (Yoshida Brothers album)-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
- Personnel :1. "Overture"2. "Opening"3. "This Is Halloween"4. "Jack's Lament"- Personnel :1. "Overture": Produced by DeVotchKa: Mixed by Greg Macrae2. "Opening": Produced by Danny Elfman: Narration recorded and mixed by Noah Snyder...
, which consists of 20 remade tracks from the original The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas, often promoted as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, is a 1993 stop motion musical 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...
, 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)
Other appearances
- "Renovation" (with Akira Inoue) from the album Spectacle. (2009) by Daishi DanceDaishi Dance-Summary:Daishi Dance performs in the heart of Sapporo, creating melodious house mixes that feature vocals conveying grief and discontent, and using three turn tables in a hybrid DJ style....