Kapiw & Apappo

Ainu songs from Japan

Kapiw & Apappo - "seagull" and "flower" in the Ainu language - are among the most important voices of a culture that few people outside Japan really know. The Ainu are considered the indigenous people of northern Japan, whose traditions, rituals and songs are deeply connected to nature. Music played a central role in their everyday life: it accompanied work and festivals, was used for healing, storytelling and contact with the numerous nature spirits that, according to Ainu belief, live in humans, animals, plants and even in rivers or the wind.

Growing up in the Ainu seaside village of Kotan, the two sisters learnt the songs of their people from their grandmother - a rare form of oral transmission that forms the basis of their artistic work today. Their concerts are characterised by traditional Upopo songs, short, often circular melodies that oscillate between everyday life and spirituality. Some songs accompany playful throat-singing competitions, others are rhythmic work songs, while others are prayer songs that ask for luck while hunting or protection from evil spirits.

The sound world of Kapiw & Apappo is as simple as it is impressive:
The bright, soft singing is carried by the tonkori, an archaic harp lute from the north, and the mukkuri, a Jew's harp whose vibrating sound leads into the spiritual dimension of Ainu music. This combination creates meditative, intimate moments, but also lively rhythms - always carried by a deep honesty and cultural rootedness.

Kapiw & Apappo have been performing regularly in Japan since 2012, have been guests at numerous festivals and are now recognised as important representatives of contemporary Ainu music in the traditional style. Their CD Paykar and the documentary film Kapiw and Apappo - A Tale of Ainu Sisters (2016) also made their art accessible to a wider international audience.