Yoshino Shigihara – now recording as Yama Warashi – initially came to Bristol as a co-founder of psychedelia collective Zun Zun Egui. When that very collective saw its demise, she expanded into a solo career, beginning to use the Warashi moniker.
Gradually, perhaps inevitably, she felt the pull of London, as she explains, “Moving to London gave me the chance to work with more diverse musicians. And I wanted to be here too because of the high creative energy, the diversity of the music and art here and the people who live here.“
Befriending the likes of Vanishing Twin, her music continued to evolve, combining her deeply set psychedelic interests with free jazz, meshing her ingredients together until they formed a delightful mixture bordering on pop.
Her latest single, “Dividual Individual” is a testament to time spent, as she emerges, more confident and sure of her sound than ever. Its sunny presentation – and serenely enjoyable video – offset its serious undertones, which Warashi elaborates, “…[are] about veganism. I have so much love for the plants and animals. The lyrics are a bit cruel- it’s about chopping animals and putting chicks in the blender which actually happens in the farms, but I just wanted to focus on the beauty of the nature in this video. Miki Nakamura is an amazing director from Japan, we talked about this song and she put it all together.“
Check it out below, and look out for more from Yama Warshi in 2022.
“Dividual Individual” is out on PRAH Recordings. Support Yama Warashi via her BandCamp, and find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
She has these live dates:
20th November –The Beacon, Bristol
19 December – Cafe OTO, London
1st May 2022 – Astral Festival, Strange Brew, Bristol
