Interview with Yano Akiko

Yung-Hsiang Kao's report from The Japan Times (11.04.2008) :

Known mainly for her unique, versatile voice on her renditions of jazz and pop tunes, Yano has been collaborating with Kyoto-based electronic artist and producer Rei Harakami (see side bar) for the last four years in a duo called Yanokami. She first encountered Harakami in 2002.

"There's a Japanese band called Quruli and they have a single arranged by him called 'Bara no Hana,' " Yano says during a brief trip to Tokyo following a Yanokami performance in Singapore. "When I listened to it, I was blown away. So new. Very organic. It was something that I'd never heard of.

"You know, I've been in the music business for over 30 years. It's pretty rare to have an impression like that — to find music that is 'new' in its true sense."

See Yanokami Live "Night Train Home" at YouTube.