Asian folk music has become a rich source for progressive club music. Hang out in one of Tokyo's happening nightspots and one is apt to hear break beats ping-ponging past Indian sitars or fluttering around Balinese gamelan. But when it comes to Okinawan min'yo or traditional music, there hasn't been much room on the dance floor.
It would seem an obvious combination. Okinawan music has already taken its place in the world music pantheon and has found its way into the work of folksy rockers Soul Flower Union and the more ambient realm of Yellow Magic Orchestra.
The pluck of the jamisen and the boom of the taiko haven't been lost on foreign club artists either. Talvin Singh's collaboration with the Nenes on his last album "OK" hinted at the potency of such crosscultural (or in Singh's case, multicultural) pollination. Among Japanese dance artists, however, the use of Okinawan music has been limited to a few remixes and the occasional inclusion of an Okinawan-flavored cut in a live set.