This November, tonkori musician OKI is going on tour in Europe and he will bring his wife Rumiko (vocals and tonkori), son Manaw (drums and tonkori, and bass player Takashi Nakajo (Oko Dub Ainu Band). The tour consists of six shows, starting at Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht.
Oki Kano’s identity, as a part of Japan’s northernmost indigenous people, is central to his person and his art – As Oki Kano states: “I might travel on a Japanese passport, but I am Ainu.” His music, as heard on this year’s Tonkori in the moonlight, celebrates Ainu folk – while blending it with reggae, dub, throat singing, and Irish, African, and Central Asian tradition.
Sometimes OKI will bring his Oki Dub Ainu Band on his tours over the world, where the tonkori will be combined in a band setting with drums, bass, keyboard and dub-wise. In January 2022, OKI released the best-of album Tonkori in the moonlight out through the British label Mais um. Just before he will kick off his European tour, he released a new EP, Kai Kai As To (Rippling Lake), which is a new version of what can be found on his latest album Tonkori in the moonlight.
