While chatting with a friend from Texas on Teams last night, he introduced me to a very unique music band. When I watched their performance on YouTube, I thought, "Wow!" They were definitely unlike anyone I’d seen before. So today, I'd love to share them with you.

The band is called Mitsune, and they're based on Berlin, with members from Japan, Australia, and Greece. They mainly use a Japanese instrument, tsugaru-shamisen, a stringed instrument shaped like a guitar, which you can play with a powerful sound by striking the strings with a plectrum. The members wear outfits that look like anime costumes and play Japanese folk songs. Their sound blends traditional Japanese folk with modern, more Westernized music. The video clip which Matt shared, and most Japanese people would recognize their original versions, sounded totally new.

Since I always dream of creating unique art, which nobody never see before by blending Western art with Japanese traditional art in my porcelain panting, their style truly inspired me. I thought I'd love to become like them! They are so good at blending Japanese traditional music with Western style, but the music still sounds very Japanese. I never imagined that the Western instruments like double bass and percussion would have matched the Japanese instrument, tsugaru-shamisen. It made me realize I need more creative brainstorming like that.

If you are curious about their performance, click here.

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