English Japanese
George Kamikawa operates mainly in Melbourne. On the 1st of August, he held a live performance together with Noriko Tadano at a bar in the city called Berth Brown.
In 2001, Kamikawa shifted his music activities first from Japan, and then from New Zealand to Melbourne, where he continues to busker (street performances) as well as play at bars and restaurants. In 2004 he won the Australian Country Music Busking Championships.
Noriko Tadano is a Tsugaru Shamisen player. She has performed all over Australia, and this is not the first time she has been featured in our site. You can read her interview on our site here (in Japanese).
I came to know of these two from their street performances. In front of the Flinders street station I saw a crowd looking on with great interest. When I went to see what they were all looking at, I saw it was a performance by Japanese people.
Somehow that unique harmony from the combination of the guitar and the shamisen has the power to attract people. It’s rare for a street performance to be able to gather such a crowd. After the performance many people bought their album, titled“East West”.
There were quite a crowd at Bertha Brown for the performance. People had found out about it through various means such as hearing Kamikawa and Tadano play on the street, and hearing about them from friends. There were a few Japanese people here and there, but the majority of the audience were locals.
Most of the songs had English lyrics, but there were also some Japanese songs such as the folk songs in Tadano’s solo. There was a wide range of songs from ballads to songs that were more up beat. In between songs George would mix it up with a joke to keep the audience warm.
When Kamikawa started the gig off with a guitar and harmonica number, there were cheers from the audience. There were also gasps of amazement at the speed of his fingers．
Tadano’s shamisen was a sound I hadn’t heard in a very long time. It made me think of Japan. But its sound fell not only on Japanese ears. The local fans also listened to the folk songs with a deep emotional expression.
The song that got the audience most riled up was “Sake Blues”. Even if you don't understand the Japanese lyrics, music is universal. Then when the owner of the bar handed out free drinks, the place suddenly got even more rowdy. The floor quickly became a dance hall as the entire bar sang “Sake sake” as one.
As a Japanese living in Melbourne, I’ll be watching these two in the future. These two people who can attract so many others, and spread so much joy, will not be far from my sight.
George Kamikawa
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/georgekamikawa
Noriko Tadano
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/norikotadano
