Beyond

Agatsuma’s latest work, Beyond, is comprised of wholly original material, and injects shamisen with elements of rock, jazz, techno, funk, urban and Latin grooves. While modernizing the basics of the ancient genre for today’s audiences, Agatsuma has said, "I am careful …to not make the shamisen sound too much like the guitar but maintain its unique phrases and accents…I try not to leave the basics behind." That commitment is immediately apparent with Beyond, which both honors tradition and pushes the artistic envelope of shamisen.