Album Notes

The Fujii bring the blues to the twenty first century in a way that many critics have acclaimed as being at once, more authentic and more groundbreaking than many other artists who continue to explore this traditional music.

Mike Barnes, biographer of Captain Beefheart, said in the Wire: 'Questions of authenticity are redundant with music this faithful to the Delta blues spirit',

Charlie Gillet said, after the bands performance at the 2002 Thames Festival: 'their first song was a raucous country style blues that inspired me to exclaim that I had not heard such an intense blues performance since seeing Son House at the 100 Club in 1967.'

Andy Kershaw said 'this extraordinary thing....a blues slide player from Japan and a bloke from Kentish Town who blows down a gas main...It's an unlikely combination, but it works...'

Mike Cooper writing in Folk Roots stated 'their music is a true piece of outsider folk art.

Michael prince writes in Blues in Britain 'Fuji is truer to the spirit of Delta blues than a number of self-professed expert exponents of this music. , the resulting music is never less than beautiful and at times quite stunning..'



The Fujii are



Koichi Fujishima (Fuji') ; National Steel Guitar and Vocals

Paul Shearsmith ; Pocket Trumpet, Tuned Gas Main, Baliphone and Amazonian Hand Flute.

Shimaky Fumica ; Violin

The band's unique line-up fuses deep traditional blues and extraordinary blues singing [in Japanese] with various Japanese folk and classical musics through the partnership of Fuji and Fumika. Meanwhile Shearsmith's heritage, as an alumni of John Stevens' free music melting pot and member of sonic sculpture outfit Echo City, brings a further avant garde edge to the sound.