Classically trained on violin, Swiss/Japanese artist Mina has been exploring sounds with both Oriental and Western approaches with a focus on expressive melodies interpretation.
After studying violin with Armène Stakian at the Geneva Conservatoire of Music, she discovered Okinawan traditional music in Japan, where she taught herself how to sing and play the sanshin, a 3 strings luth from the Ryukyu islands.
Upon her return to Geneva, she created a personal project Sayaconcept together with musician Alexandre Castaing, by blending Japanese vocals, sanshin, violin, taiko and electronic sounds.
Following a few years of composition/recordings and a series of live performances in Paris and Tokyo, they released a digital album titled « Sôki » and an EP titled « Nara ».
Parallel to her activities with the band, she also composed and performed strings music and vocals for contemporary/hip-hop dance shows in France, including “Ô” by Anothaï, “Ficelle d’Encre” by Trafic de Styles and “Tanshin” by Shonen.
Since settling in London, Mina has been taking part to several collaboration projects, including Indian/Japanese traditional inspired album “Elements” with producer Oskar Vizan and visual artist Soichi Matsumoto, as well as German percussionist Sven Kacirek’s album « Songs from Okinawa », crafted through a journey to the islands of Okinawa, Yaeyama and Miyako.
In 2017 she was invited by a Japanese label to participate to record an album of traditional Okinawan love songs together with 5 other female singers, titled “Uchina Love Songs”. The 6 artists met in Okinawa to record the songs and later met again in Tokyo to perform a special concert celebrating the release of the album.
Later she performed live at Richmix in London as part of an experimental collaboration project titled “Okinawan Avant-Garde Night” together with Okinawan artist Mutsumi Aragaki and Japanese contemporary dancer Yu Tamura. This unique performance at the crossroads of Okinawan folk songs, storytelling and dance opened up a new perspective on Okinawan music.
More recently, Japanese contemporary dancer Rina Wako invited her to compose the music for a dance piece inspired by the ancient cultures of the Ryukyus (Okinawa islands), as part of a University project in Nagoya. The piece was performed last year at the Shuri Castle festival in Okinawa.