The inside story of a Shamisen Player’s obsession with the music of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu—PART TWO
(Be sure to read part 1 first!)
By now March had turned into April and within a fairly short time there was to arrive at my doorstep a gathering of Shamisen players all from Bachido eager to meet and play Shamisen together as well as to prepare for the up and coming tournament to be held in Hirosaki City, about a three hour drive from my place. Immediately my imagination began to kick into gear, “With all these Shamisen players here in one place at one time what a great opportunity to create ensemble versions of Kyary’s music!”
In between rehearsals of Kita no Hibiki, our tai Kai piece I managed to convince members to play Kyary No March
As well as Ninjari ban ban!
And boy did we play Ninjari ban ban!
We played it in my living room,
In the bathtub,
In an abandoned theme park in Asamushi,
And even in an airplane cockpit!
Our final Ninjari Ban Ban was played in Tokyo at Shamisen Katoh’s Chitoshan Live House where we were joined by the lovely Linda Caplan on Koto
And so with the conclusion of the Spring events and the returning of all my Shamisen friends to their various homes around the world I decided it might be time to close the book on Shamisen arrangements of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. It had been a fun experience but I had now covered just about every one of her songs that I cared to cover.
The next day I woke up and walked to the local Circle K to grab a cup of coffee. Suddenly something caught my attention. Playing over the speakers within the store was a new song. A song I had never heard before. The squeaky female vocals and child-like slurring of popular Japanese expressions had at that point become as familiar to me as my own voice. It was Invader Invader! A new Kyary song! Before long I came to realize that there was soon to be released a brand new album from KPP called Nanda Collection.
It was useless to fight it at that point. Before it was even released I knew in every cell in my body that I would be covering the entire album on Shamisen. So much for closing the book on Kyary covers!
And so it came to pass. Ladies and gentlemen in the order that they appear on the CD, I present to you the entire album Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Nanda collection arranged and performed on Japanese Shamisen by Bachido member Kevin Kmetz
(Nanda Collection)
(Ninjari ban ban)
(Kimi ni 100%)
(Super Scooter Happy)
(Invader Invader)
(Mi)
(Fashion Monster)
(Saigo no Ice Cream)
(Noriko to Norio)
(Furisodeshon)
(Kura Kura)
(Otona na Kokomo)
In conclusion I’d have to say that creating my own personal Shamisen practice regimen out of the music of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu has been one of the most enjoyable and enlightening projects I have ever taken upon myself. In terms of being a musician there are always new horizons to explore. Yet even with the enormous variety of genres available to us today It is easy to fall into a pattern of sticking only with what is comfortable or familiar. My career as a Professional Shamisen player had placed me in the progressive/fusion category where I prided myself on combining the sonic quality of Japanese Shamisen with a variety of modern music. Jpop, however was the last style I would have ever imagined myself exploring with such enthusiasm! I’ve often reflected on the whole experience by imagining what my reaction would have been one year ago if someone had come up to me and said “Within the year you are going to become obsessed with the music of a particular female Jpop artist!” I probably would have just considered it to be a joke. “Jpop??.. Yeah, right! Like that’s going to happen!”
FIN.
About the author
Kevin Kmetz has played Tsugaru Shamisen since the start of this century and is considered a ground-breaking new artist. His unique blend of East and West cultures brought him to the attention of record labels in both Japan and the U.S. such as Mimicry, The End records and EMI Japan. He’s been featured in over fifteen releases which include three solo albums. Kevin has collaborated and worked with some of today’s top artists including Taiko master Hidano Shuichi, Kamancha virtuoso Imamyar Hasanov and Michael Jackson’s guitarist Jennifer Batten. He is the highest ranking foreigner to play Tsugaru Shamisen having won the second place award at The Kanagi all nation tournament in both 2006 and 2007. Kevin is currently a featured member of the international world music group Monsters of Shamisen. He is also the inspiration for the first brand of premium shamisen coffee, “Creamy Kevin.”