In Focus: Umeko Ando 7th March 2025

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THE EARLY BIRD SHOW w/ GEM&I

This melody brings back a memory as i open my eyes quiet are the skies my mornings breathe in tune A journal of songs that lift my spirit and open my heart. Singing them on repeat. From Darija to Mandarin, join me in singing along to my favorite tracks—both those with lyrics and the instrumental ones.

NTS JOY MIX W/ SEIMEI

I'm Seimei from TREKKIE TRAX, Tokyo-based label. In this mix, you can listen to Techno, Bass Music, etc, including our songs, that I play as a DJ. Even now, injustice is still rampant around the world today, but I hope you will not give up. I was saved by music and I want to save someone else too.

Folk

Traditional folk music from Umeko Ando, the singer and musician from the Aino community – a small and often oppressed indigenous group residing in Northern Japan and Southeastern Russia. Ando's vocals are accompanied by traditional Aino percussion, and her own playing on the mukkuri, a traditional Japanese plucked instrument.

Aino rose to prominence at a late age, following her appearance on Hokkaido musician Oki Kano's second album "Hankapuy". She then released several solo albums, before her passing in 2004, aged 71.