Far Side Music

At the beginning of her solo concerts, Aragaki Mutsumi, invites her audience to journey with her into another world of Okinawan music. It’s a trip to her Okinawa, evoked by the sound of her expert sanshin playing, the broad expression of her voice and mesmerising atmosphere, created by natural and electronic soundscapes with visual enhancement from films, photos and paintings, integrating these elements into a unique avant-garde performance.

Mutsumi studied sanshin and the island’s classical art of singing under the school of two great masters of Okinawan traditions, Fukuhara Chouki and Fukuhara Kyouko.

Her mission now is to integrate the deep soul of Okinawan music into a contemporary setting without, as she says, ‘losing its scent’. Aragaki Mutsumi is a guardian of her roots and a bold experimenter in one.

Biography;

ARAGAKI Mutsumi / Okinawan classic vocal, vocal, sanshin, electronics, audio-visual, soundscapes, photos, paintings

She progressively integrates the deep groove and soul of Okinawan traditional music with contemporary sounds and visuals, and to create a unique avant-garde music. She was selected as WOMEX2021 Official Showcase Artist, the 6th from Japan, and the 1st solo artist from Okinawa. She released her first solo album “Another World Of Okinawan Music”, which garnered positive reviews from around the world. It was selected by BBC Music Magazine as “The best world music recording released in 2021 so far”. She performs in a solo setting, traditional music with electronics, as well as performing collaboratively with Jazz musicians.

Media: Songlines Magazine, fRoots Magazine, BBC Music Magazine, WIRE Radio, Far Side Radio (UK), NHK World J-MELO (Japan)

Festivals: Hidden Kingdom World Music Festival 2021(online, Bhutan), Camera Japan 2019 Japanese Film Festival (Netherlands), Nippon Connection 2019 Japanese Film Festival (Germany), Earth Day Tokyo 2019, Bangkok Theater Festival 2018 (Thailand), New Narratives Film Festival 2016 (Taiwan), Jazz in Nanjo 2020 (Okinawa), Trans Asia Music Meeting (Okinawa). She participated in Asia Music Summit 2020 (online, Canada) as one of the musician panelists.