Chiyomi Yamada & Baobab - Songs Of My Land (2024) [Hi-Res]

An album between worlds - ancient Japanese folklore, modern European folk-pop, sometimes even with a distinctly Celtic touch: That's the first collaboration between singer Chiyomi Yamada and the Japanese folk band Baobab. Originally a classically trained soprano, the exceptional artist has been experimenting with traditional Japanese sounds and the combination of Far Eastern and Western sound aesthetics for many years. On this album, she returns to her roots both musically and spiritually: "Songs of my land" is a tribute to the ancient Japanese folk song, to the mysterious Shinto spirituality and to the people who have been celebrating life and love on this land with their songs for thousands of years.

The fresh, sometimes unconventional, but always harmonious sounds of Baobab, led by siblings Maika and Mirai Matsumoto, dress the old melodies in catchy folk-pop songs and bring them into the 21st century with a sense of elegant Japanese lightness.

The album was recorded and mixed by German producer Jonas Niederstadt, who has made a name for himself working on international crossover projects (Michel Godard, Emily D'Angelo and others).

Chiyomi Yamada: vocals
maika: vocals, fiddles, viola, rebec
Mirai Matsumoto: guitars, kokle, citole, vocals
Naoya Wada: bass, flutes, gittern
Tsuyoshi Maeda: taiko, shinobue, suzu
Yosuke Watanabe: drums, percussion