すずめのティアーズ
Suzume no Tears
ブルガリアをはじめとするバルカン地方の民謡を歌う 佐藤みゆき(ヴォーカル、カヴァル)と、シンガーソングライター・DOYASA! Records主催の あがさ(ヴォーカル、ガットギター、パーカッション)によるユニット。ともに「初代桜川唯丸江州音頭通信講座モノガタリ宇宙の会」にて江州音頭を学ぶ。江州音頭を2声のハーモニーで歌う「ポリフォニー江州音頭」ほか、日本や諸外国の民謡をポリフォニーで歌っている。2019年4月、佐藤みゆき&あがさ名義にて「Goshu-Ondo EP01」CD-Rをリリース(全国発売中)。2024年3月、1st フルアルバム「Sparrow’s Arrows Fly so High」をリリース。
Suzumeno Tears (Suzume means sparrow in Japanease, and sparrow’s tears is an expression of a “small amount of money”), based in Tokyo, is a duo of Miyuki Sato on vocal and kaval, and Agatha on vocal, gut guitar and percussion.
Miyuki Sato is a singer who specializes in Bulgarian folk songs, who was initially invited to the culture via folk dancing, which she still does. Agatha has been a singer-songwriter ever since she had got hooked in the Beatles in her early teens, and is a DOYASA! Records’ label owner. She produced Remon Nakanishi’s album “Hinano Iezuto” (2022) in which the selected north-eastern Japanese folk songs (minyo) are variously re-harmonized.
They both leaned Goshu Ondo in Tadamaru Sakuragawa I’s Goshu Ondo Correspondence Course “Monogatari Uchuno-kai”. Goshu Ondo is a Kansai area’s traditional ballad singing style which is sung and danced along at Bon Odori, summer festivals to console the spirits of the dead.
One day at that class when Miyuki was singing, Agatha abruptly started to sing along with her but in a different key. Since then, they have increased the number of polyphony repertoire of not only Goshu Ondo, but also other Japanese folk songs and Balkan folk songs.
They released their 1st full album "Sparrow's Arrows Fly so High" in March 2024.