She’s Japanese. She’s French. She plays the flute and sings using a throat technique from the south of Japan, mixing it with eccentric electronics. Flute was her first instrument and she grew up on classical music and jazz. Her family situation meant that her childhood was spent travelling around the world and so, while her music has Japanese roots, it is shaped by influences from Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and African encounters.
But it was the nuclear accident at Fukushima in 2011 that marked a turning point in her musical development, pushing her to return to her Japanese roots to gather songs from the Fukushima region and bring them to the wider world. The resulting album was produced by Martin Meissonnier and creates a landscape where melancholy and madness ride on entrancing tunes and pulsing grooves.
Maia Barouh - vocals, flute
Cong Minh Pham - keyboard
Julien Deguines - keyboard
Leo Komawaza - percussion
Anthony Fresneau - drums