Yaima

The name Yaima comes from two sources, Mapdungan, and Yaeyama Islands/District of Okinawa, Japan. And means that which water flows through. Their name reflects the duo’s musical concept being inspired by nature itself. The two members come from surprisingly different musical backgrounds. The muilti-instrumentalist Masaru Higasa is a Japanese-American and was born in Okinawa, Japan. He comes from a traditional world music and electronic music background. While vocalist Pepper Proud grew up in Lewisburg, West Virginia, in the Appalachian Mountains. She grew up around banjo, guitar, folk music and communal playing. She later moved to Chile during high school, where she became interested in language and the relationship between music and culture. She studied Music Therapy and Performance Arts at Radford University. Their backgrounds mix into a sound that carries diversity and a lot of musical nuance.

Dubbing themselves as “Cascadian Folktronic Music”, Yaima’s music consists of two sides, the organic music side that features organic instruments such as flutes, handpans, acoustic guitars and the electronic side that features electronic textures, downtempo beats and looping, as well as influences from ambient music, trip-hop, psychedelic electronic music. Rather than mixing electronic music with world instruments, Yaima’s music is closer to  folk/world music that has been transformed into an electronic sonic environment. The duo’s lyrics are mystical, elemental, ecological and philosophical rather than narrative pop songwriting. Recurring themes surrounding their music include, nature, the elements, evolution, cycles, human connection and consciousness. As a part of the transformational music movement, the cascadian folktronic duo never shy away from an avantgarde stage presence. Yaima often utilizes visual projections, dance, poetry, and live electronic production whenever possible