Tsugaru-shamisen (Tune 2) by Shibata Siblings

This was the second and the longer one of the two tunes I recorded of the Shibata Siblings, who graciously played at the opening reception at ISC2009, Sendai, Japan in the evening of Aug.4, 2009. They were so impressive; the audience was stunned.

Shibata siblings have been playing the traditional Japanese instrument since 2002. With 3 shamisens they express themselves in a creative way, and their tunes are very original. They challenged all-Japan shamisen competition and won the championship 26 times, in individual and group competitions.

The shamisen (Japanese: 三味線, literally "three flavor strings") is a three-stringed musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. Tsugaru-shamisen　(津軽三味線) is a genre of shamisen music originating in Aomori prefecture in the northernmost area of the Japanese island of Honshū. It is played on a large shamisen with thicker strings than for most other styles, since it is traditionally played outdoor (from door-to-door, in fact) in the mountainous area. Tsugaru-shamisen is easy to recognize by its percussive quality (the plectrum striking the body of the instrument on each stroke) and the lilt of the rhythms performed.

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[markmsock1]

Awesome performers. Love their original compositions. Saw them live in Japan, I was blown away. Jimi Hendrix would have loved to jam with them. Mark