Likkle Mai
Likkle Mai garnered a lot of attention for her wispy ethereal singing on several tracks by the Japanese dub/reggae band Dry & Heavy, an outfit heavily influenced by the Jaimaican Dub sound of the 1970's. This is her solo debut tour, promoting her album Roots Candy. She continues to play a similar brand of Dub and Reggae with her new band.
Before I saw her live, I read that her voice was 'wispy' and 'ethereal'. I found this to be somewhat true, although ultimately it came off as more nasal than anything, but with a name like hers I was probably expecting Stina Nordenstam or something, so my bad. (She did attempt at least to go for ethereal with the introduction "greetings earthlings" at the start of the show.) At any rate, it certainly seems to be a voice that many love. She has a tight band that knows their reggae chops, and if reggae en Nihongo is something you need in your life, then Likkle Mai is a great place to get it.
-joe kern
