After the Tohoku earthquake followed by tsunami and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, ex-Afrirampo drummer PIKA☆ declared that we need two things.
First, we should communicate and try to understand each other better. And second, we should pay more attention the sun. It gives us energy, but if we also have sun in our hearts, we can make a better future.
For this purpose, she started Taiyo 33 Osaka – an event whose name means that the sun shines – and now released a solo album “Ryu no Sumika” (龍の棲家), or “Dragon’s Cave”.
She sings and plays guitar and drums on this fantastic theatrical record blending Japanese folk, world music and avant-garde rock.
On the album, PIKA☆ is accompanied by Hiromichi Sakamoto (坂本弘道) on cello and electronics, Mitsuru Nasuno (ナスノミツル) on bass, and Tatsuhisa Yamamoto (山本達久) on drums. But she also has many guest players including Yoshihide Otomo (大友良英) on drums, Eiko Ishibashi(石橋英子) on piano, the singer Tabito Nanao (七尾旅人), while her Afrirampo’s partner ONI does poetry reading.
The famous Yellow Magic Orchestra member Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本龍一) called PIKA☆ a goddess, a Venus. It might be not a concidence that both Ryuichi’s name and the title of PIKA☆’s album include the kanji character for dragon: Ryu – 龍. Actually, it seems natural, and could promise a great future for the artist.
