To the uninitiated, all songs on a given Kodo album sound the same. To the initiated, though, subtle differences, as well as broad ones, can be noted. On Best of Kodo, the band cuts loose on a journey through their own history, piecing together a compilation of some of the best tracks in current Japanese music, further still, music in general. The album starts with "Lion," a fast-paced round of drumming and grunting, then moves on, past the flutes of "Irodori," to rest on "Yumi-Ga-Hama," whic   [ read more ]

CD $16.13

CD $16.13

While the drum-based Japanese group Kodo are at their most thrilling in live performance, where one can fully experience the mastery of rhythm and stage dynamics, this compilation should be a treat for fans of their particular genius. While the drum jams may overstay their welcome on record, one can still appreciate their power and energy. ~ Tim Sheridan, All Music Guide

CD $17.08

On Ibuki, Kodo worked with Bill Laswell to pump out an album of intense Taiko drumming, as usual. This time around, they reworked a few pieces that had been done on previous albums, including a piece from the soundtrack to {#The Hunted} and "Zoku" by Leonard Eto, which shows up here and there in the Kodo collection. The driving force behind Kodo is the perfection and precision of all of the drumming taking place. This is what separates the drum troupe from your average hippie drum circl   [ read more ]

CD $16.13

Produced by world music scholar (and former Grateful Dead percussionist) Mickey Hart, Mondo Head documents a series of performances by Japanese taiko ensemble Kodo. Recorded in California and Japan across the spring and summer of 2001, the album features an airy reproduction of Kodo's massive sound. Though taiko music is comprised predominantly of percussion instruments, Kodo's sound is filled with the organic sounds of flutes, bells, and human voices. The result is a lushly dense   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

The Kodo group is Japan's global ambassador of Taiko drumming. This fanatical group arose in 1981 from an island colony of traditional Taiko drummers that sought nothing else but perfection of their art. The religious intensity and single-mindedness of this small (population 40) thorp clearly comes across on the mighty percussion forays contained here. Consider the powerful drum exchange on "Nobi." Beats are thundered in one channel to be answered by drums of another timbre in the other channel. Imper   [ read more ]

CD $16.13

CD $22.78

CD $49.38

CD $52.23

CD $49.38

On Ibuki, Kodo worked with Bill Laswell to pump out an album of intense Taiko drumming, as usual. This time around, they reworked a few pieces that had been done on previous albums, including a piece from the soundtrack to {#The Hunted} and "Zoku" by Leonard Eto, which shows up here and there in the Kodo collection. The driving force behind Kodo is the perfection and precision of all of the drumming taking place. This is what separates the drum troupe from your average hippie drum circl   [ read more ]

CD $49.38