Thursday, August 23, 2012

Yamada Daiko – Japanese Drum Group

   “Yamada Daiko Densho-kai” is a group who has been playing the Japanese drum in the present Tosayamada-cho, Kami City since 1987. They play with the synthesizer and the drums to create an atypical soundscape. They have been pursuing the depth of sound from the Japanese drums for a long time.
 

  They perform not only in Japan but also internationally, and have only gotten bigger after performing in Libya, Germany, America and other countries. Their original performances attract audiences with their uniqueness that involves eight beats to a bar and pantomime-like comedy using the Japanese drums.
 
   Their performances in Kochi include a regular concert held at Kochi Prefectural Culture Hall (Orange Hall) every March as a summary of its yearly activities, an hour’s “free live” gig at Yamada Daiko Village that starts at 7:00pm on the fourth Sunday of every month (as its name suggests people can enjoy music freely with a 500yen drink), Yamada Festival (held first Saturday every August), Yosakoi Festival and the performance at Hachioji Shrine in Tosayamada-cho on New Year’s Eve, where drums instead of gongs are sounded and visitors can even join in.
 
   In addition they join the “Yosakoi Soran Festival” at Shakotan-cho in Hokkaido which has a sister-city relationship with Kami City. Every June as “Yaren Soran Shakotan-cho & Kami City Team” they perform a concert with Yosakoi dancing. They have also been performing similar shows at Bisei-cho in Okayama every May since 2003.

“Yamada Daiko Densho-kai”
HP: http://yamadadaiko.com/ (Japanese)

Taken from vol.32 PDF

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