Music Far East

Music Far East

What do African, Asian and East European music have in common? Well, being less well known is a good guess. — • — Looking outside of the beaten Anglo-Saxon tracks, myself I have mostly turned eastwards. Hence the headline above. Not that Ethiopian, Japanese and Russian pop music share many characteristics, but for the most part they're different. And that's a quality in itself, exciting the curious parts of me. I've shamelessly used travels abroad, fellow co-workers and friends to find new things. And then there's always the stuff you discover when you're suddenly caught off-guard.
AVTOGRAF *Formed:* 1979 (Moscow, USSR) Members (1989): Artur Berkut, Sergey Mazayev, Aleksandr Sitkovetskiy, Leonid Gutkin, Viktor Mikhalin, Ruslan Valonen My discovery: 1990 Progressive rock group that came to prominence via the fabled Tbilisi rock festival in 1980. Delivered cassette albums and later on vinyl releases on the "national" Melodiya label. Eventually recorded an album or two in the US, with meager success. Still a legendary band in Russia, with a fan-base livening up for the group's 25-year celebration. The total output during the group's heyday was actually quite limited, with some of their best music put on the "Kamennyy kray" ("Stony land") album. This 1989 release was produced in Los Angeles - courtesy of glasnost and perestroika - and featuring Michael McDonald on backing vocals.		ETHNIX *Formed:* 1985 (Israel) Members (1992): Ze'ev Nechama, Tamir Kalinsi etc. My discovery: c. 1996 Catchy, hard-driving pop music with hebrew rhythms. With a longevity unheard of in Israeli pop band history.
		Hamelmal ABATE My discovery: late '90s One of the best singers from the horn of Africa. Known to some as the Queen of Ethiopian pop. With lots of brass and steady rhythms typical of this genre.
Edyta BARTOSIEWICZ *Born:* 1973 (Poland) First album: 1994 My discovery: 2001 A major Polish rock artist (comparable with the likes of Melissa Etheridge) with star status in early and mid-90s. Not much recent news, apart from her activities writing songs for fellow rock and pop musicians.	Kasia KOWALSKA *Born:* 1973 (Poland) First album: 1994 My discovery: 2001 Came to notoriety through the Eurovision Song Contest and has become the leading lady of the Polish rock scene. Has found time to act in movies in between albums.	Kaiti (Katy) GARBI Born: 1963 (Greece) First album: (1986) My discovery: 2001 One of the leading ladies of Greek pop (together with Anna Vissi), whose releases since the early 90s all have gathered gold, platinum or multi-platinum status. The electro-pop "Evaisthisies" (1997) cemented her status as super-chic as well.
Katerina TOPAZI *First album:* 1996 My discovery: 2001 With her fourth album, the Salonika-born Topazi hit hard upon the Greek music scene. "Paramythi mou mikró" (2001) featured a heavier sound and song selection (often composed by her husband Khristos Dantis), perfectly matching her powerful vocals and sending the title track and more up the national charts.	TATU (t.A.T.u) *Formed:* 2000 (Moscow, USSR) Members: Yulia Volkova and Lena Katina My discovery: 2002 Musical project of Russian entrepreneur Ivan Shapovalov was wildly popular in Russia and most of Europe during a year or two. Energetic rock and suggestive videos were mixed with a lot of hype around the young duo's lesbian identity (or not). Western edition of debut album was produced by Trevor Horn, with a history involving yet another scandal-clad media item - Frankie Goes to Hollywood.	VARIUS MANX *Formed:* (1990) Members (1997): Robert Janson, Anita Lipnicka, Rafal Kokot, Michal Marciniak, Pawel Marciniak, Slawek Romanowski My discovery: 2002 Melodic pop with much lyrical qualities and a touch of progressive rock. A popular group centered around Robert Janson as the main composer. Has more than a tendency for releasing albums beginning with an E...
HAMASAKI Ayumi Born: 1978 (Fukuoka, Japan) First album: 1995 My discovery: 2003 A hard-hitting Japanese pop icon, with Led Zeppelin amongst her musical influences. A heavily-promoted pop-rock artist since early on, Ayu (as she is known among her fans) fills concert halls and arenas back in Japan and throughout Eastern and South-Eastern Asia. Her often extravagant music videos and high profile inside Japanese showbiz makes her a kind of Japanese equivalent of Madonna.	SHIINA Ringo (née Yumiko) *Born:* 1978 (Fukuoka pref., Japan) First album: 1999 My discovery: 2003 Japan's "punk princess", SHIINA Ringo mixes a lot of humour and a lot of dash and odd visuals in her music, as well as in her multiform videos. Lately she joined the group Tokyo Jihen, whose music is even more energetic.	KINO *Formed:* 1981 (Leningrad, USSR) Disbanded: 1990 Members (1989): Viktor Tsoi, Yuriy Kasparyan, Igor' Tikhomirov and Georgiy Gur'yanov. My discovery: 2003 Once the musical superstars in a changing nation, whose music sounded like American alternative rock à la Cure. Not honey-combing life in the Soviet Union in their lyrics, they gathered an almost Beatlemaniac following with the new generation. When leading man Viktor Tsoi died from a car accident in 1990, it only served to enhance the legend.
KANNO Yōko Born: 1964 (Miyagi pref., Japan) First album: (1986) My discovery: 2003 A much lauded film score composer among the anime fans of West and East, KANNO Youko has collaborated with a number of conductors and orchestras. She's a gifted pianist herself, and her scope of composing includes classical genres as well as jazz and various ethno-cultural themes.	HIRASAWA Susumu Born: 1954 (Tokyo, Japan) First solo album: 1989 My discovery: 2004 Debuted with techo-pop group P-Model in 1979. Since 1989 he has pursued a solo career as a composer of often instrumental music, renowned for its poetic and "vocal" qualities. He has scored for numerous TV documentaries and successful anime series. And now and then resurfaced with P-Model.	Achinoam NINI (NOA) *Born:* 1969 (Israel) First album: 1991 My discovery: 2004 Born in Israel with a Yemenite-Judaean parentage, she moved to the US at age 2. In her late teens love brought her back to Israel, where she finally settled. A pop singer with crystal-clear vocals, she has nurtured _two_ successful careers in music - one singing in Hebrew (with her given name) and one in English (performing as Noa).