Ihunke (vinyl)

LP Track list

1. Pekanpe Uk 05:19
2. Ihunke 03:37
3. Hutare Chui 02:20
4. Rewrew 03:20
5. Iyomante Upopo 05:55
6. Mukkuri 1 02:33
7. Yaisama 02:36
8. Mukkuri 2 03:07
9. Saraba - Iya Ko Ko 06:02
10. Sarorun Rimse 03:09
11. Battaki 04:22
12. Kusuep Kamuy 00:47
13. Herutun Rutun 03:11
14. Chup Kawa Kamuy Ran 04:33
15. Hekuri Sarari 03:06
16. Atuy So Kata (extended version) 03:51

Umeko Ando (1932-2004) was a folk singer from Japan. She was a representative of the Ainu culture on the Hokkaido Island in the north of Japan. “Ihunke” was her first album which was recorded with the Ainu musician and dub producer Oki Kano in 2000.

The 16 Ainu songs on “Ihunke” are delicate, natural gems. They are built on Oki Kano’s Tonkori patterns (a 5-string harp), over which Umeko Ando develops her repetitive, mantric vocals, often in a call-response manner. Oki Kano is one of very few professional Tonkori players who performs worldwide with his Oki Dub Ainu Band. The songs possess a mystical energy – when crows call accurately with Ando’s brittle voice in the first song, it seems like natural powers join in with her music. Her voice sounds like animals of the sky and the forest.

Umeko Ando: Vocals, Mukkuri
Oki: Tonkori
Rekpo: Vocals

Recorded at Chikar Studio in 2000 (Ainu, Japan)
Engineer: Taku Takahashi
Mixed and produced by OKI
Licensed to Pingipung from Chikar Studio 2018