Traditional island sounds
It's hard not to like the vocal musings of Japan's next big star, Atari Kousuke. His 'island song' singing style sets him apart from the rest of the J-pop pack.
Atari comes from Amami Oshima, one of the Ryukyu Islands, a chain of Japanese islands south of the main archipelago, of which Okinawa is one.
While Atari was in high school, he became a fan of Japanese folk singer Hajime Chitose, another Amami Oshima native, and began to teach himself to sing in the same style.
The local folk songs of the Amami Islands are called shimauta - shima means 'island' in Japanese, so shimauta is 'island song'. In the Amami dialect shima means 'community', adding to the idea of folk music. Singers of this style are called utasha, which means 'singer', and sing in a falsetto voice.
While at Ryukyu University studying social anthropology, Atari continued to sing shimauta and in 2000 won the best new artist prize at the Amami Minyo Taisho (Amami Folk Song Awards).
Later that year he became the overall champion in the Amami Rengo Taikai (Amami Consortium Contest), an event hosted by the Japan Folk Song Association.
Between 2000 and 2006, Atari released a number of indie albums that saw him transition from singing traditional shimauta to songs with jazz elements and finally, on his last mini-album Materia, to more modern pop tracks, garnering him the number five spot on Japan's indie charts.
Atari's debut single Sore Zore Ni was released by Epic Records in March 2006 - in August that year, Andy Lau's album Voice featured a Cantonese cover of that track, called Beautiful Woman To Come.
Atari released his first full-length album Yurai Bana in July last year. It debuted at number seven on the Oricon charts. A Taiwanese version of the album was released soon after.
Atari's songs have also been used in movies and anime, both in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.
For example, Tane wo Maku Hibi (The Days When Seeds are Scattered) was used as a theme song for the anime Bleach and Natsu Yuzora is the theme song for new anime Natsume Yujin Cho. Yasokyoku Nocturne, from his Taiwanese album Hua Jian Dao, was used in the film Lust, Caution, which stars Hong Kong's Tony Leung Chi-wai.
Atari has a remarkable voice. It's incredibly mellow and smooth, and combined with his unusual musical style, makes him a one-of-a-kind performer.
If you're tired of the same old J-pop and want to hear something truly original, give Atari a listen. With the plethora of cookie cutter singers on offer, you can't fail to appreciate this man who offers something completely different.
