Minyo Crusaders have reached No. 1 on the Transglobal World Music Chart for September 2026 with From Japan with Love, an album that combines Japanese min’yō folk songs with Latin, African, and Caribbean music.
“Min’yō is both the closest and most distant folk music for Japanese people,” bandleader Katsumi Tanaka said. “Its essence is deeply embedded in us, even if we don’t always recognize it.”
Producer and musical director Koichiro Osawa said the group reshaped songs passed down through daily life in Japan through the international styles that influenced its members.
“We’ve reimagined min’yō — songs that have been passed down through everyday life in Japan — through the global musical influences that have shaped us, blending them with diverse rhythms and grooves,” Osawa said. “We hope this music can travel beyond language and borders, opening new doors and bringing a sense of richness to listeners around the world.”
From Japan with Love is also the first Minyo Crusaders studio album to feature guest artists throughout a full-length release. Japanese singers Chitose Hajime and Saya Asakura contribute to the record, alongside longtime collaborators Frente Cumbiero.
Lead vocalist Freddie Tsukamoto described the band’s approach in direct terms. “We just think min’yō is fun — and cool,” he said. “No need to overthink it. We hope people of all generations can simply sing, dance, and enjoy it in their own way.”
Minyo Crusaders are a 10-member ensemble known for versions of traditional Japanese folk songs that use Latin, African, and Caribbean rhythms.
Transglobal World Music Chart for September 2026:
- Minyo Crusaders — From Japan with Love — Blue Note
- Fatoumata Diawara — Massa — Nø Førmat!
- Mexican Institute of Sound & Meridian Brothers — Ruido Tovar — Ansonia
- Orquesta Akokán — América! — Daptone
- Kitka — Kolo — Six Degrees
- Seu Jorge — The Other Side — Amor in Sound
- V.A. — Sounds of Malawi, Vol. 1 — Hen House Studios
- Cocanha — Flame Folclòre — Bongo Joe
- Tamikrest — Assikel — Glitterbeat
- Hilal Kaya — Sümbül — CPL-Music / CPL-Musicgroup
- Ibrahim Maalouf — Trumpets of Michel-Ange, Vol. 2 — Mister Ibé
- Officina Zoè — Mari e Marenne — Linfa
- Souad Massi — Zagate — BackingTrack Production
- Tengerton — Ilch — Buda Musique
- Adrian Younge — Afro-Disco Makossa — Linear Labs
- Arun Sood & Angeline Morrison — Donn/Dubh — Real World X
- BudaPesme — Makedonija — Balkan Heritage Cultural Center
- V.A. — Oman Bagpipe Singers: Songs of Returning and Leaving — Glitterbeat
- Medusa Quartet — Weaving Gold in Broken Places — Medusa Quartet
- Panjshanbe Maftun — Made in Lyublino: Afghan Songs — Antonovka
- Naked & Lakatos Mónika FolkTrió — Neked — Adriatica
- Elkhan Mansurov — Bayati-Isfahan Dastgah — Felmay
- Aàgut — Trama — Aàgut
- Paolo Angeli & Tenore Murales de Orgosolo — Vinti ‘e Maju — ANMA / ReR Megacorp
- Constantinople: Kiya Tabassian, Ablaye Cissoko, Patrick Graham — Estuaire — Ma Case
- Nana Osei Twum Barima — Journey to the Unknown — Zephyrus
- The Klezmatics — We Were Made for These Times — Asphalt Tango
- Stelios Petrakis — Lyric / Lyrikon — Buda Musique
- Nuhara — Rama — Trovarobato
- uni uni — Valveilla — Haapojan Studio
- Tinariwen — Hoggar — Wedge
- Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood and The Rajasthan Express — Ranjha — World Circuit / BMG
- Zuco 103 — Mais Além — Zuco Sound
- Natacha Atlas & Samy Bishai — Parallel Universe, Volume 1 — Airfono
- Omar Sosa & Quarteto Americanos — We Are Not the Headliner — Otá
- Mah Damba — Taabolo Koura — One World
- Remon Nakanishi — Yoake Garasu no Wataru Made / Till the Ravens Rise at Dawn — Doyasa!
- Joyce e Tutty Moreno & Adrian Younge — JID027 — Jazz Is Dead
- Aïtawa — Pasaje — Salamah Productions
- Halme Prospekt presents Queen Djenny Djella — Music Is My Truth — Halme Prospekt
More about the Transglobal World Music Chart www.transglobalwmc.com
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central