# Yo Zushi

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**Yo Zushi** is a British-Japanese singer-songwriter and editor, who rose to prominence in the UK [freak folk](/source/Freak_folk) scene with two albums released on London's [Pointy Records](/source/Pointy_Records).[1] He is a sub-editor for the *[New Statesman](/source/New_Statesman)* magazine.[2]

## Early life and education

Zushi was born in [Hiroshima](/source/Hiroshima), Japan and moved to Britain as a child.[3] He attended [University College School](/source/University_College_School) in Hampstead. He graduated from [University College London](/source/University_College_London) (UCL) with a [Master of Arts](/source/Master_of_Arts) (MA) in English: Issues in Modern Culture.[4]

## Career

In 2004 Zushi was the winner (in the music category) of the Re:Creation Prize,[5] run by [Topshop](/source/Topshop) and style magazine *[Dazed & Confused](/source/Dazed_%26_Confused_(magazine))*. This was followed by a short period in a [folk rock](/source/Folk_rock) band, [Great Days of Sail](/source/Great_Days_of_Sail), with gig support slots in the company of nu-folk icons [Joanna Newsom](/source/Joanna_Newsom),[6] [The Magic Numbers](/source/The_Magic_Numbers), [Willy Mason](/source/Willy_Mason),[7] [Micah P. Hinson](/source/Micah_P._Hinson) and [anti-folk](/source/Anti-folk) founder [Lach](/source/Lach_(musician)). The band dissolved after one self-titled EP.

In 2005 Zushi was signed to [Pointy Records](/source/Pointy_Records) to release *[Songs From a Dazzling Drift](/source/Songs_From_a_Dazzling_Drift)*.[8] A collection of country-infused pop songs drawn from rough home recordings, it was quickly picked up by the British music press as a minor classic. *[Q](/source/Q_(magazine))* magazine gave it a four-star review (including it in the "Q Recommends" category), and enthused that "this could be the start of something major".[9] *[Dazed & Confused](/source/Dazed_%26_Confused_(magazine))* called it a "masterclass in storytelling".[9] An intermittent series of live appearances followed, supporting the likes of [Scritti Politti](/source/Scritti_Politti) and [Patrick Wolf](/source/Patrick_Wolf), as well as performing on the main town hall stage at the [Oxford Folk Festival](/source/Oxford_Folk_Festival)[10] with [Bellowhead](/source/Bellowhead) and [Rachel Unthank and the Winterset](/source/Rachel_Unthank_and_the_Winterset).

After publishing a short story in *Dazed & Confused* and completing a Modern Culture MA at [University College](/source/University_College,_London), London,[11] Yo Zushi released his second album, *[Notes for Holy Larceny](/source/Notes_for_Holy_Larceny)*[12] in 2007. It was produced by Greg Box and Daniel Lea of [By the Fireside](/source/By_the_Fireside) and features alt-classical singer-songwriter [Ana Silvera](/source/Ana_Silvera) on piano, as well as Sean King from A sleeper's union/ Eidola records, Dan and James McKean, Ross Palmer, Antonio Papaleo and Russell Parton amongst others (full band list on record sleeve). The album has been favorably compared with the music of [Hank Williams](/source/Hank_Williams), [Bob Dylan](/source/Bob_Dylan), [Willie Nelson](/source/Willie_Nelson), [Johnny Cash](/source/Johnny_Cash) and [Tom Waits](/source/Tom_Waits) .[13] In March 2009, Zushi will release *Jangadeiros*, a collection of home demos and songs recorded at studio sessions on the Italian label Best Kept Secret, which releases albums on audio cassette only. He is currently working on *Video Days*, the follow-up to *Notes for "Holy Larceny"*.

In January 2015, Eidola Records released the third album of Yo Zushi : It Never Entered My Mind, with nine new songs.

## References

1. ["Pointy Records website"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080621223735/http://www.pointyrecords.co.uk/bands.php?BandID=6). Archived from [the original](http://pointyrecords.co.uk/bands.php?BandID=6&story=61) on 21 June 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.

1. ["*New Statesman* writers page"](http://www.newstatesman.com/writers/yo_zushi). Retrieved 20 October 2015.

1. ["Yo Zushi to return with single launch and album"](https://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2014/05/08/yo-zushi-it-never-entered-my-mind/). *Hackney Citizen*. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2024.

1. ["Yo Zushi"](https://pointyrecords.co.uk/artists/6). *Pointy Records*. Retrieved 14 December 2024.

1. Somaiya, Ravi (2 March 2004). ["*Daily Telegraph* article, "Off the Campus and Into the Limelight", 03/20/2004"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml?&xml=/education/2004/03/20/tejbyt20.xml&page=1#2). *The Daily Telegraph*. Retrieved 12 April 2008.

1. ["*Sounds XP* music review website"](http://www.soundsxp.com/1326.shtml). Retrieved 12 April 2008.

1. ["*About Last Night* listings archive"](http://www.aboutlastnight.org.uk/news_archive.htm). Retrieved 12 April 2008.

1. ["**Pointy Records** album page"](http://www.pointyrecords.co.uk/shop.php?ReleaseID=32). Retrieved 12 April 2008.

1. ["Melody Cat European music promotions website"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110719060959/http://www.melodycat.de/?m=20060322&paged=2). Archived from [the original](http://www.melodycat.de/?m=20060322&paged=2) on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2008.

1. ["*Oxford Folk Festival* artist page"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070811101212/http://www.oxfordfolkfestival.com/2006/artists/artists.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.oxfordfolkfestival.com/2006/artists/artists.html) on 11 August 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2008.

1. ["*Pi Magazine* interview on UCL website"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183827/http://pimatrix.co.uk/index.php/weblog/more/the_you_issue_yo_zushi/). Archived from [the original](http://www.pimatrix.co.uk/index.php/weblog/more/the_you_issue_yo_zushi/) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2008.

1. ["Pointy Records album page"](http://pointyrecords.co.uk/shop.php?ReleaseID=38). Retrieved 12 April 2008.

1. ["*Stylus Magazine* album review"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080403192549/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/yo-zushi/notes-for-holy-larceny.htm). Archived from [the original](http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/yo-zushi/notes-for-holy-larceny.htm) on 3 April 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2008.

## External links

- [Yo Zushi Official Website](http://www.yozushi.net) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20080510113027/http://www.yozushi.net/) 10 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- [Eidola Records website](http://www.eidolarecords.co.uk/artists/yo-zushi/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140404092844/http://www.eidolarecords.co.uk/artists/yo-zushi) 4 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- [Pointy Records Website](http://www.pointyrecords.co.uk)
- [*New Statesman* writers page](http://www.newstatesman.com/writers/yo_zushi)
- [Myspace Page](http://www.myspace.com/yozushi)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Yo Zushi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo_Zushi) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo_Zushi?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.