A beautiful, then-and-now document of banging Japanese folk traditions featuring one side recorded in 1982, and the same pieces performed in 2017, recorded and mixed by Sugai Ken, whose recent LPs for RVNG Intl are a farther, electronic extension of Japanese tradition

“EM Records is proud to present, following “Yumi Kagura” the second edition of the Japanese folklore music series, directed by Riyo Mountains. Japan has a long tradition of annual pre-harvest summer dance festivals, known as Bon-Odori festivals, which continues to this day. One of the longest-running of these festivals is the Sakai Ishinage Odori festival, taking place in Sakai town, Saitama, north of Tokyo.

Unlike some festivals which function as tourist attractions for domestic and international visitors, this festival is resolutely local, with no professional performers, the music being passed down from generation to generation, played by local men and woman ranging in age from elementary school students to senior citizens. With percussion, massed flutes and vocals, this is a vital, living music, a sort of minimal disco born in the rice fields, agricultural “industrial” music, low-tech hard techno. Available on CD and vinyl, this release features 1982 recordings, plus 2017 versions of the same pieces recorded and mixed by Sugai Ken.”