Oki (musician)
Encyclopedia
, known professionally as OKI, is an Ainu
Japan
ese musician, from Kanagawa Prefecture
. He studied industrial arts
at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
. His father, Bikki Sunazawa, was a renowned wood sculptor. Oki uses the tonkori
, an Ainu stringed instrument, in his performances and mixes traditional Ainu music
with reggae
, dub
and other styles of world music
. He also plays guitar and traditional Ainu percussion instruments.
Oki performs frequently in Japan, and he has also taken part in a number of folk music festivals in other countries. In 2006, he released the album Kíla & Oki with the Irish band, Kíla
. His earlier solo albums include collaborations with the female Ainu singing group Marewrew, who sometimes appear in his live show as well. More recently, he has played with his own Oki Dub Ainu Band, which plays mostly traditional Ainu songs in an electric style which mixes dub
rhythms with tonkori playing. During live concerts, he either plays with the Dub Ainu Band or as a solo acoustic act, singing and playing the tonkori.
Collaborations
Picture book
Television
Ainu people
The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese musician, from Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
. He studied industrial arts
Industrial arts
Industrial Arts is an umbrella term originally conceived in the late 19th century to describe educational programs which featured fabrication of objects in wood and/or metal using a variety of hand, power, or machine tools...
at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
or is one of the oldest and most prestigious art schools in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju, Adachi, Tokyo...
. His father, Bikki Sunazawa, was a renowned wood sculptor. Oki uses the tonkori
Tonkori
The is a plucked string instrument played by the Ainu people of Hokkaidō, northern Japan and Sakhalin. It is unfretted and has between three and five strings, which are not stopped but instead played "open." The instrument is believed to have been developed in the Karafuto region of Sakhalin.The...
, an Ainu stringed instrument, in his performances and mixes traditional Ainu music
Ainu music
Ainu music refers to the musical traditions of the Ainu people of northern Japan.Genres include the oldest, yukar , which is a form of epic poetry, and upopo, in which "the second contrapuntal voice had to imitate the musical formula in the first contrapuntal voice , at an interval much shorter...
with reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
and other styles of world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
. He also plays guitar and traditional Ainu percussion instruments.
Oki performs frequently in Japan, and he has also taken part in a number of folk music festivals in other countries. In 2006, he released the album Kíla & Oki with the Irish band, Kíla
Kíla
Kíla are an Irish folk music/World music group, originally formed in 1987 in the Irish Language secondary school, Coláiste Eoin in Co. Dublin. Kila's blend of Irish traditional music and World Music with a modern rock sensibility is generally credited with breathing new life into contemporary Irish...
. His earlier solo albums include collaborations with the female Ainu singing group Marewrew, who sometimes appear in his live show as well. More recently, he has played with his own Oki Dub Ainu Band, which plays mostly traditional Ainu songs in an electric style which mixes dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
rhythms with tonkori playing. During live concerts, he either plays with the Dub Ainu Band or as a solo acoustic act, singing and playing the tonkori.
Works
Albums, singles- Hankapuy (feat. Umeko AndoUmeko Andois an Ainu singer and mukkuri player. In addition to recording several albums, often with Oki Kano, she is featured posthumously on the Samurai Champloo soundtrack with her song . The episode that featured this song was dedicated in her memory.-External links:...
) March 20, 1999 - Kamuy Kor Nupurpe May 27, 2001
- No-One'S Land June 2, 2002
- Dub Ainu October 17, 2004
- Tonkori May 12, 2005
- "Tóg É Go Bog É" (Single) February 17, 2006 (Kíla and OKI), Greatest hits - February 17, 2006
- Dub Ainu Deluxe July 16, 2006
- Oki Dub Ainu Band December 3, 2006
- "Eternal Dub Serenade" May 30, 2007
- Sakhalin Rock July 14, 2010
- Himalayan Dub April 16, 2011
Collaborations
- IHUNKE - Umeko Ando - May 20, 2001
- UPOPO SANKE - Umeko Ando - December 14, 2003
Picture book
-
- Story - , Illustrations - OKI
Television
- Opening narration for K-tai Investigator 7K-tai Investigator 7is a 2008 Japanese television drama that aired from April 2, 2008 to March 18, 2009. It was a joint collaboration between WIZ and Production I.G. Directed by Takashi Miike, it is described as a science fiction tokusatsu action drama. It was replaced in its time slot by an animated cartoon, Mainichi...