Minyo Crusaders Explained

Minyo Crusaders
Background:	group_or_band
Origin:	Tokyo City, Tokyo, Japan
Current Members:	Fready Tsukamoto（vocals） Meg（vocals, pianica） Katsumi Tanaka（guitar） Moe（keys） Koichiro Osawa（sax） Sono（timbales） Mutsumi Kobayashi (bongos and percussions） Irochi（congas）
Past Members:	DADDY U（b） Yamauchi Stephan（tp） Shoji Ishiguro（b）

Minyo Crusaders (Japanese: 民謡クルセイダーズ) is a Japanese musical group that reworks traditional Japanese folk songs (min'yō) with arrangements inspired by various international music genres, including Caribbean, Latin and African music. The group was co-founded by Katsumi Tanaka and Freddie Tsukamoto, with the goal of reviving min'yō as a "music for the people".^{[1] [2]}

They released their first album, Echoes of Japan in 2017 on P-Vine Records.^[3] In the album the Minyo Crusaders attempt to bring back Min'yo back to its 'common man' origins, going against the recent trend that Min'yo at-large had of appealing to the upper classes despite its working class roots.^[4] The album was later reissued on Mais Um in 2019.^[5]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details
Echoes of Japan (エコーズ・オブ・ジャパン)	Released: 6 December 2017 Label: P-Vine Records Formats: CD, vinyl, digital download
Live at Le Guess Who?	Released: 9 July 2021 Label: Mais Um Discos Formats: digital download

EPs

Notes and References

1. Web site: Romero . Angel . 1 June 2019 . Artist Profiles: Minyo Crusaders . World Music Central . 14 February 2020 .
2. News: Houghton . Edwin . 15 May 2019 . Minyo Crusaders Armor Japanese Folk Music for the Post-Modern Age . . 14 February 2020 .
3. Web site: Echoes Of Japan = エコーズ・オブ・ジャパン . . 14 February 2020.
4. Web site: Wiser . Danny . 19 March 2021 . JAPAN: Echoes of Japan - Minyo Crusaders . 15 October 2023 . 200worldalbums.com . en.
5. News: Spencer . Neil . 28 April 2019 . Minyo Crusaders: Echoes of Japan review – unlikely fusion's great grooves . . 14 February 2020 .