The search for homegrown roots music deepened through the 90s. Nasida Ria add electric guitars, keyboards, violin, mandolin and flute with a rhythmical backing influenced by dangdut and melodies derived from Arabic pop. Ramlee and Saloma, but came under the spell of pop yeh-yeh, and joined a succession of groups the Tombs, the Trackers, the Jets and the Asians. Zapin grew out of the Arab communities living in Johor around the 14th century. This album was recorded in a small, traditional wooden house on Taketomi, the most unspoilt of the Ryukyu islands of Okinawa, in the deep south of Japan.
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