Yama Warashi is the vision of Yoshino Shigihara, a Japanese musician and visual artist whose past projects include cult favourites Zun Zun Egui (Bella Union), of which she was a co-founder. Inspired by Japanese folk dance, free jazz and tribal African music, and heavily saturated in psychedelia, Yama Warashi’s songs are lyrically outlandish and charming, melodically addictive and mythical; the band name Yama Warashi (山童) translates from Shigihara’s native tongue as “small childlike mountain spirit”.
Photo by Kayo Shigihara
Photo by Alex Jefferies
Yama Warashi gratefully acknowledges support from PRS for Music Foundation