Personnel: Agatsuma (shamisen).
The Tsugaru shamisen is both a traditional Japanese instrument, resembling a lute, and also a style of improvisational folk music with origins in the Tsugaru region of Japan. While Hiromitsu Agatsuma is a master of both, his career trajectory continues to move him further away from a traditional sound and more towards a jazz-fusion style that makes colorful use of his chosen instrument. He employs sharp pizzicato over techno drum samples on "Heartbeat," and, in a slower, mellower mode, on "Tears." "Shami's Groove" is pure funk, while the wistful "A Paper in the Air" blends Japanese traditional folk with shimmering, synthesizer drones. Inventive songwriting and masterful playing have helped Agatsuma achieve mainstream stardom in Japan, and perhaps open-minded US audiences will help him do the same here.