Kagemusha Taiko Discography of CDs

Spirit of the Drum is the debut CD album from Kagemusha Taiko. Kagemusha Taiko have been among the pioneers of taiko in the UK since 1998, led by Jonathan Kirby whose original training was with San Jose Taiko in California. The 9 compositions on this album range from energetic foot-tapping pieces to dark, brooding pieces rooted in the music and myths of England. The metal percussion used in SlipJig is a cannon or tekkan. It was given as a gift to Kagemusha Taiko by Grand Master Daihachi Oguchi in 2004. Oguchi said that "taiko is beautiful, but without metal percussion it's like a forest without birdsong." in 1917, a British solider recovered three artillery shell cases from the battlefield of the Somme. Back home, he cut them to different sizes, creating a roughly tuned percussion instrument. It is the sound of these shell cases that can be heard in Beowulf. Designed by Jonathan Kirby, the Kagemusha Taiko logo is a Celtic knot version of the Japanese mitsu tome commonly associated with taiko. Representing earth, sky and people, its circularity symbolises the interconnectedness of all things. Kagemusha Taiko's logo reflects our approach of creating new taiko based on a synthesis of ...