Shunkan is the musical manifestation of Japanese-American Marina Sakimoto, formerly of Los Angeles and now of Invercargill, a city of 50,000 at the southernmost end of New Zealand. True to her Californian roots, Shunkan’s “shoeblaze” atmospherics provide a surrounding in which one can seek comprehension of the cosmos.
Shunkan – our second favourite NZ shoeblazer with our first favourite haircut.
Her first EP, five-track Honey, Milk and Blood, probes the emotional grey between disaffection and anguish. In particular, closing track Wash You Away reuses patterns and melodies from the first track (Dust In Your Eyes) and adds a memorable refrain to complete the sense of inescapable cheerlessness. However, far from leaving the listener unhopeful, the satisfactory pursuit of artistic intention leaves one with a motivational pat on the bum.
Recently, Shunkan has also released another recording, シュンカン I (‘Shunkan One’), which includes two remixes by other artists. Everyone knows that once you’ve had a remix, you’ve made it (or will make it, soon). It happened to David Guetta and Alien Ant Farm*. In other news, Shunkan will shortly be performing two gigs in Dunedin, so if you’re in the South Island of New Zealand, be sure to check her out (especially if you’re in need of consoling from an ended romance).
TOUR DATES
Friday 18 & Saturday 19 July
Chicks Hotel, Dunedin
FIND OUT MORE ON
▲ FACEBOOK ▲ WEBSITE ▲ BANDCAMP
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*Which – for the record – is like 420 times better than the original.
