The instrumental rock group The Shamisenists are confirmed to perform at Motocultor Festival, a French music festival that features a variety of rock and metal acts. The festival, which will be held in Brittany, northwest of France, is slated to run from August 18 through August 21. At the festival, more than 100 bands will play over the course of four days. The Shamisenists will perform on Friday 19 August on the main stage of the festival, starting the show at 15:55. In addition to the performance at this festival, the rock group has added an extra show in France, on Monday 22 August at Le Barailleur in Vannes.
Put two Tsugaru shamisen players and a drummer together and you have the instrumental group The Shamisenists, led by Jack, a traditionally trained shamisen player. The group furthermore consists of Yuji, the world’s first bass shamisen player who covers the bass lines while Kyohei holds down the drum beats.
The Shamisenists effortlessly switch from psychedelic rock, jazz, funk, fuzzy heavy metal-inspired riffs, Indian scales, and Japanese traditional songs. The Shamisenists began performing under their current moniker in 2021 after formerly going by the name THE SYAMISENIST since the start of 2012.
It has been a few years since the trio performed in Europe, as they have been touring through the United Kingdom in 2020, just before the world became aware of the pandemic, in February and March. The group has published three albums so far; the most recent, 【re:tokyo】, conveys a message of ‘regeneration’ and ‘destruction’ for Tokyo, a metropolis that has entered a new era of the 2020s. Their most recent release is their single, SAKURA, released last spring.
A new album appears to be in the works, scheduled to be released on the American label COLOR RED, music label of The New Mastersounds leader and guitarist Eddie Roberts. The rock group ran a successful crowdfunding effort earlier this year for this upcoming album.
