Soul Flower Union

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The 1999 live album High Tide & Moonlight Bash

Soul Flower Union, also known as SFU, is a Japanese musical group that incorporates Asian styles and world music styles into a rock and roll band. They are known for their blend of psychedelic, rock, Okinawan music, Celtic music, chindon (a kind of Japanese street music), swing jazz, as well as Japanese, Chinese and Korean folk musics. Most of their songs are written and performed in Japanese, although they are fond of using phrases from a number of other languages, including English, French, Italian, Korean, Arabic and Ainu (the language of the native people of Hokkaido, Japan).

1 History
2 Members
3 Discography
4 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Beginning

Soul Flower Union was formed in 1993 in Osaka. Two members from two different punk bands, Mescaline Drive and Newest Model, joined together to form Soul Flower Union. Takashi Nakagawa was from the group Newest Model and brought the "punk" to the group. From Mescaline Drive was Hideko Itami who brought the glam rock to the Soul Flower Union. Other members of both bands also participated in the original lineup of Soul Flower Union.

[edit] Events

SFU have played in front of numerous crowds, with as many as 60,000 people. After the Kobe earthquake in 1995 the group began to play in the streets of the city in order to cheer people up with their music and played about 50 or 60 times during this event. Because they were in the streets they were forced to go "unplugged" and play acoustic versions of their songs, The drums were exchanged for the Korean janggu drum and they also used clarinets, chindon drums, and the accordion as well as putting Okinawan sanshins in place of the electric guitars. This acoustic unit was named Soul Flower Mononoke Summit and is still active as a side project of SFU.

During this time the song 'Mangetsu no Yube' was written (and co-written by Hiroshi Yamaguchi of the group Heatwave) for the victims of the earthquake. Since the earthquake the group has been a huge hit at summer festivals around the area. They also founded a charity fund, The Soul Flower Earthquake Fund, in order to help with the elderly and handicap victims of the earthquake.

Soul Flower Union was the first Japanese band to play in South Korea following a lifting of a band on Japanese music in the late 1990s. Soul Flower Mononoke Summit has played in a number of unusual places, including North Korea, East Timor, and Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. They have also toured in more ordinary places like Taiwan and France.

[edit] Politics

SFU and Soul Flower Mononoke Summit are extremely political bands, and have supported a number of causes in Japan and around the world, with a special focus on the rights of minority peoples and on anti-war activity. In Japan, they have supported the Okinawan, Ainu, Korean, Chinese, and Buraku people. They have covered a number of songs from the cultures of those minority groups. Their 2001 album "Screwball Comedy" included a song called "No to Ieru Otoko" ("The Man Who Can Say No) that taunted the nationalist governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, who once wrote a book called "The Japan That Can Say No."

Worldwide, they have been strong supporters of East Timorese independence. They have visited East Timor and played concerts there, and their 2005 album, Lorosae Mon Amour, was dedicated to East Timor. They have also supported the cause of Palestinian independence, and have played in a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan. Recent albums have contained songs sharply critical of the Iraq war. Another recent cause that they have been active in has been the anti-US base movement in Okinawan.

Despite the strong political influence, SFU also writes love songs, humorous songs, and philosophical songs.

[edit] Influences

Tradition plays a key role in the music of Soul Flower Union. When America won the war many people looked to American culture, and turned away from their own tradition. Many Japanese people no longer recognize the traditional music from Japan, but SFU is trying to bring that back to the people with a new style which sets them apart from the other bands. They claim their influences are from the people of the Japanese Islands and the Okinawan Islands as well as many other cultures found in Japan, including the Ainu (the native people of Hokkaido, Japan), Korea, and China. They are also influenced by a variety of world music, including Celtic, reggae, Arabic music, and swing jazz.

[edit] Members

There are six official members of Soul Flower Union, although they often have regular guests who help them perform on tours. Nakagawa Takashi is the leader of the group who does vocals, guitar, and sanshin. Kawamura Hiroshi also plays guitar, Okuno Shinya is on keyboards, while Kohki plays the drums for the band and Jigen plays the bass. Founding member Itami Hideko sings "hayashi" call-and-response vocals and plays various kinds of Japanese percussion, although she often does not appear in the band's live concerts anymore. Their most common live guest musicians include Kamimura Mihoko (backing vocals and "hayashi") former member Utsumi Yoko (backing vocals, lead vocals and Japanese percussion instruments) and Hino Nobuko (sax, clarinet). In the past, clarinet player and Chin-Don musician Okuma Wataru was a frequent collaborator and sometimes member of SFU, and he still plays in Soul Flower Mononoke Summit. Violinist Keisuke Ota also frequently appeared in Soul Flower Union's past albums and live shows. SFU have also collaborated with and been produced by Dónal Lunny who currently is married to Itami Hideko. Dónal is an Irish trad/folk bouzouki player. He has helped strengthen the band's focus on traditional Okinawan music, and has also been a major force in their strong Irish/Celtic influence.

Soul Flower Mononoke Summit has a somewhat different membership from Soul Flower Union nowadays, including some members that longer play in SFU, as follows: Nakagawa Takashi (lead vocals, sanshin), Itami Hideko (backing vocals, hayashi, taiko, other Japanese percussion instruments), Okuno Shinya (accordion), Kawamura Hiroshi (bass), Utsumi Yoko (backing vocals, hayashi, taiko, other Japanese percussion instruments), Okuma Wataru (clarinet), Hino Nobuko (sax, clarinet), and Nakamura Natsuki (Okinawan taiko, backing vocals, lead vocals, hayashi, and sanshin).

[edit] Discography

The group has produced a total of 12 original albums as well as one live album and three best-of compilations. Sony produced their first two albums but when their third album came around Sony refused to produce it because of controversial lyric content, which criticized the Japanese government for its response to the earthquake, and for ignoring the plight of ethnic minorities affected by the earthquake.^{[citation needed]}

Soul Flower Mononoke Summit has released three albums.