Kosuke Atari is a Japanese folk/pop crossover singer with an interesting vocal technique and tone.
From jpopasia.com:
Hailing from Amami-Oshima in southern Japan, Atari Kousuke is a young singer currently signed to Epic Records Japan. He is a self-trained musician, and performs in the difficult ‘shima-uta’ (or ‘island-song’) style of his hometown.
While his style of music is close to mainstream pop, his vocals have an undoubtedly traditional Japanese flavour, and his inspiration still comes from his traditional roots.
When Kousuke was in high school, he became a fan of Hajime Chitose. Inspired, he began to teach himself how to sing in shima-uta style.
In 2000, he won the Amami Folk Song Grand Prix’s ‘New Member Award’. He also won the Japanese Folk Song Association Award. He continued to participate in numerous Ryukyu based folk festivals and tournaments.
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