OKI is the stage name of Oki Kano (加納 沖), a Japanese musician of mixed Japanese-Ainu heritage, born in Hokkaido in 1957. He is widely regarded as the world's only professional tonkori player - a five-string instrument from Ainu tradition that was nearly extinct when he taught himself to play it in the early 1990s. With his OKI Dub Ainu Band he fuses Ainu folk music with reggae, dub and Afrobeat, performing at festivals such as WOMAD across five continents. He also runs Chikar Studio, a label dedicated to releasing and promoting Ainu artists.
OKI Dub Ainu Band performed its first full USA debut with a concert at Japan Society in New York on June 4, 2026, followed by a conversation with Oki Kano on June 5.
After the Japan Society performance, OKI also played at PS21's Center for Contemporary Performance in Chatham, New York.
Japan Society announced OKI Dub Ainu Band as part of its winter/spring 2026 season.
OKI released the solo album 'Tonkori in the Moonlight' - a collection of traditional Ainu songs - to great acclaim from, among others, The Guardian and Gilles Peterson on BBC 6 Music.
OKI Dub Ainu Band performed at the Rainforest World Music Festival in Malaysia.
😴 Nothing scheduled with this artist in the near future.
100concertFri 6.11.Goran Bregovic
96concertMon 2.11.Yerai Cortés
88concertMon 19.10.MOLIY (GH)
88concertFri 23.10.Tamikrest (ML) | Stairway
88concertSat 31.10.Songhoy Blues + Ba Balance
87concertTue 27.10.Imarhan
86concertTue 3.11.Yerai Cortés - EKSTRA
85concertMon 26.10.Frente Cumbiero + DJ Mescal
85concertSat 31.10.Songhoy Blues ML + Ba Balance DK/GM
84concertSun 1.11.BaBa ZuLa TR - 30th Anniversary Tour
83concertFri 16.10.Wafande
82concertThu 15.10.WAFANDE