Media Release
by on March 22, 2004 in media release


MEDIA RELEASE

March 22, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HINODE TAIKO LAUNCHES WEAPONS OF MASS PERCUSSION

Winnipeg, MB — Hinode Taiko, Canada’s best known taiko ensemble, propels two decades of high-energy drumming into the release of their self-titled debut CD at Plug-In Gallery, 286 McDermot, on Sunday, April 18, 2004, 1:00 – 4:00 pm.

Twenty-two years after they first brought the sound of rolling thunder to the Canadian Prairies, the group brings on the big drums with a style described as “pure raw energy and power tempered by precision and focus” (Winnipeg Free Press).

Two decades is a long time in any group’s history. In Hinode’s case, that history includes a lot of drumming, sweat, blisters, meals, miles — and a string of invited performances and accolades that no other taiko ensemble in Canada has achieved. Why the wait? “Taiko is a visual as well as an aural art form,” explains Pamela Okano, the group’s artistic director, who has performed with the group some 20-plus years. “It’s not as though you can just lay down songs the way you perform them on stage. The intensity of the experience has to be translated into something you can see in your mind’s eye — and we wanted to make sure we got it right, for those folks in our audiences who have been asking us for a CD for years.”

Under the guidance of Juno-award winning producer Dan Donahue, the disc runs the gamut of contemporary taiko expression. Nine original tracks range from the galloping excitement of Uma to the inner calm of V, and from the danceability of Yellow Socks and a Blue Bow Tie to the hilariously offbeat catharsis of Stress. “Wherever you start from, it’s not where you end up — every piece takes you to someplace different,” says Okano. Considering Hinode’s music has taken them from Thunder Bay to Tokyo with many stops between, chances are Okano means what she says.

CDs are available at the outlets listed below, and will be available for sale at the release at a special discount.

Tickets cost $7 and are available at:

  • McNally Robinson Booksellers (Grant Park 475-0483; Portage Place 943-8376),
  • Edohei Restaurant (tickets only – 943-0427),
  • Music Trader (Osborne 475-0077),
  • Into The Music (287-8279),
  • Winnipeg Folk Festival Music Store (231-1377)
  • and the Manitoba Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (774-5909).

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