"Shiosai RADIO" is a playlist curated by musicians and DJs, featuring songs inspired by the ocean.
Volume 3 features electronic musician and DJ Tentenko. She has been attracting attention for her unique activities, such as organizing "Ponpoko-yama," a music event inspired by a raccoon dog festival.
Tentenko is from Hokkaido. As a child, she spent her time gazing at the sea, listening to the sound of drift ice and sometimes seeing huge fish. She selected songs with the theme of "Beyond the Horizon."
"A sea beyond the horizon where space and time seem to warp"
—I hear you used to live near the sea.
My dad's job was related to fishing, and he also did marine research, so he was transferred to different coastal towns in Hokkaido roughly every two years. Abashiri, Kushiro, Hakodate, Yoichi... This is about the period before I was in sixth grade, when my dad was transferred to a different location on his own.
—So you've been able to see all four seas surrounding Hokkaido (the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Pacific Ocean in eastern and southern Hokkaido).
Of all the places I've been, the Sea of Okhotsk left the strongest impression on me. I lived in a town near Abashiri, and drift ice would come in. Even when I was there, it seemed the ice had become quite thin (due to global warming), but at night it would make a rumbling sound. It was like an earthquake, and it really felt like the ground was coming (from the sea). Apparently, seals also ride on the drift ice. They're so cute.
—What was life like there?
I wasn't very good at school life, and when I was in that town, I spent a lot of time just gazing at the sea. Those times left a strong impression on me. I spent a long time by the sea watching a huge ant nest, giving the ants things to take into their nest, and I felt like I was a part of the ant nest myself... I remember the time I spent alone more than what happened at school.
—So, being by the sea was a part of your daily life. But it doesn't seem like it was the kind of atmosphere where you'd just have fun on the beach.
The Sea of Okhotsk is rich in plankton and has a high concentration of nutrients. The seawater isn't clear, and when you dive in, huge, slimy fish sometimes swim right in front of you. I also remember it being cloudy, so I think the sea has a scary side to it. Because the Sea of Okhotsk is so rich in nutrients, it also has a strong fishy smell, and because of that, even now there are quite a few raw seafood foods that I don't like.
—After such a close relationship with the sea, Tentenko now lives in Tokyo. This time, she has selected songs based on the theme of "Beyond the Horizon."
When I look at the sea for a long time, it makes me imagine "a place that isn't here" beyond it. I think one of the joys of music is that it shows us something different from the scenery in front of us, and I feel like I've chosen songs throughout this playlist that evoke the feeling of "a sea where time and space seem to warp."
THE RESIDENTS' "DISKOMO" is a disco version of the title track from their album "ESKIMO." "ESKIMO" was released (in 1979) with the concept of an Inuit fable. However, instead of faithfully reproducing so-called ethnic music, they created the song by playing synthesizers and percussion in their own way, resulting in a fictional ethnic music that doesn't belong anywhere in particular. It's quite quirky, isn't it?
While works like this sometimes spark debate about "cultural appropriation," this film is sprinkled with distorted slogans from commercials and advertisements, and is seen by avid fans as a powerful satire by the creators, rejecting the consumption of foreign cultures and commercialism by popular culture.
The first song, "Umi Yakara," is an Okinawan folk song, but when Jun Togawa, who is from Tokyo and also appeared in the film "Paradise View," which was set in Okinawa before its return to Japan, sings it, it becomes a fictional Okinawa that doesn't exist anywhere in particular. Jonathan Richman's "The Sweeping Wind (Kwa Ti Feng)" is a cover of a traditional Chinese song. I like the versions that are performed by local people, but when you express it from a different place, a twist is created and a sense of fantasy comes in. I thought that was interesting.
—Two songs by Haruomi Hosono, "ESASHI" and "Arizona Analyzer," have also been selected.
I used to look at the cold sea of Hokkaido, but I like how Hosono's songs evoke the image of a warm ocean. His tropical trilogy (Tropical Dandy, Tai-An Yoko, and Haraiso) is another example; I feel that Hosono also expresses an admiration for music from all over the world.
Martin Denny's "Quiet Village" is a quintessential exotica song, primarily expressing Americans' longing for the tropics, but to add a twist, I chose the version played on a Moog synthesizer. I also like it when famous musicians re-record their hit songs with different arrangements. Dick Dale's "Miserlou" is also a famous surf music song, but I chose the slow, exotic version recorded about 30 years later. It feels like it takes you to a jungle rather than a lively beach, and it's amazing how the scenery changes even with the same song.
—The playlist features songs from both Hokkaido and Okinawa, and it was very pleasant to listen to. There's a nice, chant-like quality to the lyrics.
MAREWREW and OKI DUB AINU BAND are both people with Ainu roots, and their music is in a different direction from songs that express admiration, but MAREWREW's "Sonkayno" is apparently an Ainu play song that uses ropes.
The word "Dondon" in the first song, "Umi Yakara," apparently means a cave called "Dondongama," but there are various theories, and one theory is that "Dondon" comes from London. This is just my own interpretation, but I think that when it's not clear what is being said, it might give off a feeling of the "other world," meaning somewhere other than here.
—We also selected songs that have "chant" in the title.
That's "Hawaiian War Chant" from Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room. The original is a Hawaiian song, but Disney arranged and covered it for the Tiki Room (attraction), creating a fictional Hawaii that's hard to pinpoint. After all, flocks of birds and pillars start singing, and storms even hit inside the building.
—At the end of the playlist, you've also included "Kajadi-style Song" by Jun Shinzaki and the Nine Sheeps.
I learned about this song, which was officially released by M Records after guitarist Ryo Takematsu found it on a video-sharing site. It's an exquisite ocean sound. Ryukyu classical music is performed by a big band of 13 people, including jazz musician Jun Shinzaki and Living National Treasure Asaichi Terukina, and the slow tempo is amazing.
Looking at the horizon makes me think of the "afterlife," somewhere other than here. I feel like this song perfectly captures that feeling. It's like ascending to heaven. I just love how it slowly and gradually changes as it unfolds. I really want you to listen to it at full volume.
—Finally, a message to our listeners: How do you think this playlist would be best enjoyed?
I hope you'll listen to this while imagining seascapes that are mysterious, beautiful, fun, or scary. For example, there are songs where you can almost see something coming from the distance or from the right, and if you listen while imagining scenery and scenes, you might find yourself laughing or getting scared... I'm sure you'll enjoy it even more.
Thank you so much for today!
TRACKLIST
Jun Togawa Unit – Umi Yakara
Jonathan Richman – The Sweeping Wind (Kwa Ti Feng)
WATER MELON – SLOW BOAT to MARS
Dick Dale – Miserlou (From the Album “Tribal Thunder”)
MAREWREW – Sonkayno
OKI DUB AINU BAND – HINA KAMUY
Airtime – Fukuda Kaizan Kobayashi
ASA-CHANG&Pilgrimage – Straits
THE RESIDENTS – DISKOMO
WHITE NOISE – LOVE WITHOUT SOUND
MARTIN DENNY – QUIET VILLAGE (From the Album “Exotic Moog”)
HAT – Arizona Analyzer
Haruomi Hosono – ESASHI
Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room – Hawaiian War Chant
Jun Shinzaki and the Nine Sheep – Kajadi Style
Profile
Tentenko
A Tokyo-based electronic musician and DJ, Tentenko is a unique musical machine that combines junk, strangeness, and pop sensibilities. Fascinated by Moog synthesizers, rhythm boxes, and electronic music, he can't play any instruments, but he started creating quirky electronic music by imitation, drawing listeners into a world of confusion and fantasy. He is the organizer of "Ponpoko Yama," an imaginary party with the concept of a festival run by raccoons. "Ponpoko Yama" has been held irregularly at Hatagaya FORESTLIMIT since November 2023. From the summer of 2025, it will expand beyond Tokyo to include festivals and places closer to real rural areas, such as Koenji DAIBON, Tottori Night Market, and a moon-viewing party at Manoji Temple in Chiba. Tentenko's solo works include "An Antworten EP" from TAL(DE) and "The Soft Cave" from Couldn't Care More(DE). As part of the unit ZVIZMO with Atsuhiro Ito, he released two albums, "ZVIZMO" and "ZVIZMO II," through Black Smoker Records (JPN).
IG: @tentenko_ooo/
Interview and text by Hanazawa Ou
Illustration by Oki Masahide
