Lyric

YUIMA ENYA was born in Tokyo, moved to the US at the age of 18, and graduated from The New School, a prestigious jazz university in NYC. Her roots lie in jazz through encounters and training at open mics in the city, and in improvisational music. She has been involved in various projects in Latin, reggae, Afro, soul, and jazz, and released her first album in 2022. In 2024, her remix EP, her current project with SUPER CATS, Thiiird Place, and a cover of Sade's song with Inokashira Rangers were released on vinyl, making her probably the most prolific female singer in Japan today.

In the summer of 2023, J.A.K.A.M. as JUZU a.k.a. MOOCHY approached YUIMA to collaborate on a song that would later become "Waidai", and this was the beginning of the production of the album "Norito". J.A.K.A.M. started a band and DJing at the age of 15, and has recorded all over the world since 2003. He is an exceptional beatmaker who travels the world, crossing and traversing cultures and ethnicities, and recreates the depth of music that has continued since ancient times as dance/street/tribal music via hip-hop, world music, house, and dub approaches.

Around the same time, after an improvisational live set with DJ KENSEI, YUIMA, and rapper YUKKO!, YUIMA asked DJ KENSEI to produce a song. DJ KENSEI, born in Tokyo, began his DJ and music production activities in the mid-1980s, and was active from the deepest part of Japanese hip-hop in its early days, creating original sound spaces with his diverse selection and sound control. He has released many tracks on vinyl records, CDs, and cassette tapes under various names and projects, including DJ KENSEI, Indopepsychics, Final Drop, and KOKENSHOW. In mixing, he focuses on organic grooves and feelings, even when the sound source is electronic.

While they all develop unique music, they seem to share one thing in common. They and YUIMA have a deep compassion for people and life, and see 'people' regardless of their nationality, and perceive that music represents and influences each other's soul. YUIMA wrote the lyrics to all the songs in "Norito" while thinking about people's society, feeling their sufferings and joys, and being deeply moved by the relationship between this and music.

Norito is a prayer and expression of gratitude to all the gods in Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan.

Text : YUIMA ENYA
Cover photo : playbackboys and DJ KENSEI
Flower decoration : LOYALTY FLOWERS
Cover art design : Hiroyuki Yamazaki