Begin (band)

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Begin
General information
origin Ishigaki , Okinawa , Japan
Genre (s) Folk , folk rock
founding 1988
Website www.begin1990.com
Current occupation
Eisyo Higa (比 嘉 栄 昇)
Masaru Shimabukuro (島 袋 優)
Hitoshi Uechi (上 地 等)

Begin (jap. ビ ギ ン) is a band from Ishigaki Island (jap. 石垣島) in the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa . She is under contract with the Amuse agency .

General

Initially Begin played a mixture of blues and folk rock , but at the end of the nineties and beginning of 2000 they remembered their origins from the Ryūkyū Islands and based their way of playing and the choice of instruments accordingly. Since then, you have been considered one of the most successful exporters of Okinawa culture. Despite the fact that the band only landed in the top ten of the Japanese charts once, they are still very well known and loved.

Begin became famous in 1990 with the Japanese talent show Ika-Ten . There they won the final. The first single was "Koishikute" (Japanese 恋 し く て). It came to number 4 in the charts, so far also the highest ranking of the band.

Probably their biggest hit the band landed with the song Shimanchu nu Takara (Japanese. 島 人 ぬ 宝), which means something like "the treasure of the island people" or "the treasure of the people from home". In the Ryūkyū languages, Shima (島) not only means island, but also home , village / town or at home . This title clearly shows the bond between the band and their homeland. The title is not entirely Japanese, but partly in the language of the Ryūkyūs . The Japanese pronunciation would be Shimabito no Takara (島 人 の 宝), or Shima no hito no Takara (島 の 人 の 宝). Almost everyone in Okinawa Prefecture knows the title and can sing it.

At least as famous and catchy is the title Nada Sōsō (涙 そ う そ う). It has been covered several times in various countries in East Asia.

A real hit is the song Ojii Jiman no Orion Biiru (オ ジ ー 自 慢 の オ リ オ ン ビ ー ル), Grandpa's Pride, Orion Beer . Originally it was only supposed to be a promotional song for Orion Beer, a beer brand from Okinawa (with about 50% market share within Okinawa). However, it quickly became an evergreen.

Members

The band members are Eisyo Higa (比 嘉 栄 昇) (vocals); Masaru Shimabukuro (島 袋 優) (guitar & backing vocals) and Hitoshi Uechi (上 地 等) (keyboard & backing vocals). In its 20-year history, the band has always remained in its original line-up.

Ichi-Go-Ichi-E

Ichi-Go-Ichi-E (Japanese. 一 期 一 会) actually stands for "One single meeting in life". Eisyo Higa has coined a new meaning for this: A "child's play" way of playing a relatively cheap, 4-string guitar that he helped to develop, which on the one hand sounds not unlike the Sanshin , but also has the typical sound of a 6-string guitar. The chords can be held with a single finger at a time. And the songs themselves are played with five chords.

In this way, Begin has recorded three albums with different themes (own hits, Japanese / Okinawa classics & western classics). It also contains the lyrics and the "Ichi-Go-Ichi-E" notations for the songs.

Discography

Albums

  • June 23, 1990: (rerelease February 21, 2001)
  • March 27, 1991: GLIDER (rerelease February 21, 2001)
  • November 21, 1991: (rerelease February 21, 2001)
  • December 2nd, 1992: THE ROOTS
  • September 22, 1993: MY HOME TOWN
  • September 1, 1994: Chhaban Night
  • March 25, 1995: Fan Little Pieces
  • October 25, 1995: used
  • October 23, 1996: BEGIN CM COMPILATION Twelve Steps
  • June 21, 1997: (rerelease February 21, 2001)
  • June 24, 1998: Tokyo Ocean　
  • March 25, 1999: BEGIN BALLADS　
  • September 21, 2000: BEGINNING　
  • March 21, 2002: MUSIC FROM BYG　
  • July 14, 2004: Ocean Line
  • July 14, 2004: Reef Line (CD + DVD)
  • February 23, 2005: Forest Green
  • August 5, 2009: 3LDK

Traditional & cover albums

  • July 21, 2000: (BEGINs Island Chant ( ryu .: ShimaUta) - o mo to ta ke o)
  • July 3, 2002: (BEGINs Island Chant ( ryu .: ShimaUta) - o mo to ta ke o 2)
  • July 24, 2003: (BEGINs Ichi-Go-Ichi-E)
  • August 21, 2003: (BEGINs Ichi-Go-Ichi-E, 58 DRIVE)
  • September 25, 2003: (BEGINs Ichi-Go-Ichi-E, DRIVE IN Theater)
  • July 23, 2008: (BEGINs Ichi-Go-Ichi-E 2)

Best of

  • February 21, 2001: BEGIN BEST 1990-2000　
  • February 23, 2005: BEGIN (All Single Collection, 2 CDs)
  • March 7, 2007: Okinawa Full Orchestra
  • March 26, 2008: BEGIN Live Dai Sen Shuu (Collected Works) (Japanese: 大 全集)

See also

Web links