BOOM PAM Kikoetekuru Naminoyouni
Israeli Mediterranean surf rock band Boom Pam’s new EP “Kikoetekuru Naminoyouni” (Like the Waves you Hear) is a four-track collaboration with traditional groups and musicians from the southern Sanriku coast, Tohoku region.
These include the Mitobe Shishi Odori Dance Group of the town of Minamisanriku (Miyagi Prefecture), the Ogatsu-Cho Date no Kurofune Daiko drum group and musician Yukihiko Yotsukura from the city of Ishinomaki (Miyagi Prefecture), Hibiki Orie, a Tsugaru shamisen player from Sendai, Go Arai, violin player for Kiwi & the Papaya Mangoes, and finally Emi Shirasaki, a singer from Yamagata prefecture.
This work was produced as part of the “Israel-Japan Partnership Tohoku Initiative 2021”, a project of the Israeli Embassy in Japan to commemorate the 10-year anniversary and remember the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
So just what is the connection between Boom Pam and Minamisanriku’s entertainment groups, and between Israel and the Tohoku region?
Israel was actually one of the first countries to send medical teams to help some of the affected areas immediately following the Great East Japan Earthquake. The medical team set up a temporary clinic in the town of Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, provided medical care and support over the course of two weeks, and donated all their medical equipment to a local hospital upon returning to Israel.
Then 10 years later, it was Arieh Rosen, former Israeli embassy cultural attaché and director of the project, that brought Minamisanriku’s leading traditional performers and Boom Pam together.
Arieh: “When the Corona virus pandemic began in 2020, all the cultural events we had planned were cancelled. However, I wondered if this could possibly present a new opportunity, if we couldn’t find a new way to work, to create art, collaborating between Israeli and Japanese culture with a strengthened focus on creating a positive impact on the world, and so I started new kinds of projects. Initially it was the short film “Outside” staring Mirai Moriyama directed by writer Etgar Keret and choreographer Inbal Pinto that became an international success. Then, with 2021 marking 10 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake, we went on to produce another short film with music composed by the Israeli Jazz musician Shai Maestro. It was when I remembered the Shishi Odori team from Minamisanriku and the deep ties Israel has with the town and its people.
I was impressed that the Shishi Odori is something where the young people play a central role in trying to make the most of local art and culture in Minamisanriku and to keep its heritage alive. When I thought of which artist could collaborate with them to create something new, Boom Pam immediately sprang to mind. Members Uri Brauner Kinrot and Uzi Ramirez are both extremely talented musicians who have a deep understanding of different types of music, alongside a beautiful sensitivity to people and culture. And above all a passion for collaboration and creation. Finally since they are a “surf rock” band I felt there’s a connection through the sea, which is something so present both for Boom Pam and for the people of Minamisanriku.
The Shishi Odori team too has a very powerful “connection to the sea”, and the whole community lives facing and with the sea. When the earthquake hit, shishi deer heads and sasara ornaments were swept into the sea by the tsunami. However, many of them were rediscovered in the debris left by the tide, having apparently returned home. The people of Minamisanriku are proud of this unique culture which is not even well known within Japan.
The entire project was produced by Nicolas Ribalet, the general producer of Japan’s leading world music festival “Sukiyaki Meets the World”. He played a key role in the whole complicated and delicate process overcoming cultural differences and challenges posed by the pandemic period. In addition, he took the centre stage in selecting the Japanese artists thanks to his strong ties to both Minamisanriku as well as to the Israeli music scene.
Finally, we were all so happy that they were pleased with this new interpretation of their music. I wish for them to take this collaboration out into the world for people to get to know their traditions, to one day perform Shishi Odori’s powerful dance on the beaches of Tel Aviv.”
The Sanriku Shishi Odori’s full name is the “Gyouzan Mitobe Shishi Odori”. Through this dance imitating the movements of a stag, prayers are honouring the dead and asking for prosperity to their descendants and the creation of life. These themes overlap with the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent reconstruction. Combining these two themes together resulted in the first song of the EP, “Onegai Shimasu”. The name was chosen by Uzi, a practitioner of aikido. The message of the song is to “join hands” with the arts and music of Minamisanriku.
The second track “Thoroughfare” features Ogatsu-cho Kurofune daiko, Yukihiko Yotsukura, and Go Arai performing alongside Boom Pam. Ogatsu-cho was also devastated during the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The community center, which was used as Kurofune Daiko’s practice place, was entirely destroyed, musical instruments and costumes were washed away, and it seemed as if the group’s activities had been entirely snuffed out, but with support from people all over the country, they were able to resume. The enka melody in pentatonic scale was Uzi’s idea.
Uzi: “The pentatonic melody is Japanese, but at the same time, it has an Ethiopian feel to it. (Israelis are familiar with Ethiopian music due to the presence of an Ethiopian community that immigrated to the country). When put together with Kurofune daiko’s rhythms, it also sounds like the old Duke Ellington jazz songs.”
The third track “Shpahtel” has an intro and melody played by Hibiki Orie on the Tsugaru shamisen instead of an electric guitar. Boom Pam’s distinctive style is on full display, with Uri and Uzi, two great guitarists, playing sometimes at odds, sometimes together, supported by Yuval “Tuby” Zolotov blowing his brass tuba. Even throwing a Tsugaru shamisen into the mix won’t disrupt this unique sound but only enhance it. You can tell that Uri and the band enjoy supporting Hibiki Orie’s playing as they put together the band’s sound. This song is an example of the so-called “shamisen rock” various Japanese artists have been experimenting with. The song title “shpahtel” is a Hebrew word for a spatula used on construction sites or to make cakes. Uzi chose the name because the wide pick used to play the shamisen looked like a shpahtel.
The 4th track “Kikoetekuru Naminoyouni” is the only vocal song on the EP. The singing is done by Emi Shirasaki who also wrote the beautiful lyrics. She is originally from Sakata, in Yamagata prefecture, and is best known for her time in the band “Shang Shang Typhoon.” As a native of the Tohoku region, the Great East Japan Earthquake stirred up many emotions within her, and drove her to form the band “Tohoku6ken-Roll-Show” with other Tohoku musicians soon after. Since then, she has repeatedly visited the disaster-stricken areas, touching people’s hearts with her actions.
Shirasaki: “I was surprised that Boom Pam or a country as far away as Israel knew and cared about Tohoku. Then, when I heard the demo they sent, the intro was Japanese taiko drums, combined with Boom Pam’s surf sound in the melody, a sound unlike any other. It blew me away! I felt the joy of music for the first time in a long time. So, I wrote lyrics about how, if there was no corona virus, I’d love to meet in person, record, and perform together, but for now we’re stuck making things remotely. But although we can’t meet, can’t see each other, can’t touch each other, we’re still together, we can still share our feelings. No matter how far away we are, our hearts are one.’ I’d love for Tohoku6ken-Roll-Show and Boom Pam to get together some time.”
Uri: “The concept behind the project is very intelligent and meaningful. We received a lot of materials and sound resources, and got to work. But once we got started, we left things to our intuition rather than just the concept, trusting our feelings to just make special, beautiful music.”
Uzi: “To be honest, I didn’t imagine how any of it was going to turn out. We were recording remotely, and the project was delayed at points because of the corona virus situation. And yet we made such a fun piece of music. Usually once we’ve completed something, I can’t bring myself to listen to it for a while, but this is an exception.”
Uri: “The next goal of this project is to go to Minamisanriku and perform live with the Shishi Odori, Emi, and the others. I can’t wait for that day.”
In addition to this EP, the “Israel-Japan Partnership Tohoku Initiative 2021” https://israeru.jp/business/tohoku-initiative2021 has many other works currently in progress, including the Tohoku-Israel Startup Collaboration, the short film “nowhere to go but everywhere” (music by Shai Maestro), the Ishinomaki experience program, the Watari-cho Welfare project, and more.
Salam Unagami
1/24/2022
1-Onegai Shimasu お願いします
(music by Uzi Ramirez)
2-Thoroughfare 道
(music by Uri Brauner Kinrot & Uzi Ramirez)
3-Shpahtel シュパッテル
(music by Uri Brauner Kinrot & Uzi Ramirez)
4-Kikoetekuru Naminoyouni 聞こえてくる波のように
(music by Uri Brauner Kinrot & Uzi Ramirez, Lyrics by Emi Shirasaki)
PARTICIPANTS:
BOOM PAM
Yuval “Tuby” Zolotov – Tuba
Uri Brauner Kinrot – Guitar, Keys, Percussion (track4)
Uzi Ramirez – Guitar, Keys, Percussion (track 4)
Roy Chen – Drums
DIGITAL：
STREAMING:
FROM JAPAN：
Mitobe Deer Dance Preservation Group – Percussions (track 1)
Yukihiko Yotsukura & Ogatsu-Cho Date No Kurofune Daiko – Percussions (tracks 2,3)
Go Arai – Violin (tracks 1,2)
Hibiki Orie – Shamisen (track 3)
Emi Shirasaki – Vocal (track 4)
Produced by the Embassy of Israel in Tokyo, as part of its special project marking the ten-year commemoration of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. The project and the music are dedicated to the people of Tohoku.
Produced by Uri Brauner Kinrot & Uzi Ramirez
Mixed By Uri Brauner Kinrot
Strings arranged by Uzi Ramirez
Project director: Arieh Rosen (Embassy Of Israel in Tokyo)
Executive producer: Nicolas Ribalet (Association Sukiyaki Office)
Co-producer: Shutaro Koiwa (Tateito-Yokoito llc)
Artwork: Mayumi Kudo (Kaminoyama Hachimangu Shrine, Minami Sanriku)
Video: Daisuke Fujii
Photograph: Noam Levinger
CD Design: SundayWorks
WEB Design: Scrum Artworks