［Description］

Four voices, blending, echoing, fluttering, swaying, and you listening, all within the dream.
The work, invited here by the innocent fluttering of the Maléuréu, dancing gracefully is now on release.

Maléuréu is a gathering of four women with a delightful love for "cool music". They are simply infatuated with "cool music", regardless of its origin, genre, vintage, or modernity. They know this well. And, over time, the four have arrived at what they consider the "coolest music" of all: Ainu traditional songs—their own roots music.

What Maléuréu sings are the Ainu's traditional songs, known as Upopo (chants). Today, with few elders left to pass down the songs orally, their lifeline lies in archived recordings. Just like DJs scouring record stores for rare tracks, these women dig deep into Ainu folk songs at museums in Hokkaido. Despite feeling overwhelmed by the coolness of their predecessors' Upopo, they have diligently studied and practiced together, each infusing their unique expressions into the songs.

Since their debut with MAREWREW in 2010, Maléuréu has been on a continuous offensive. They organized the "Maléuréu Festival—Aim for a Million-Person Upopo Grand Chorus!" where they performed alongside beloved musicians like UA, SPECIAL OTHERS, Ōrutaichi, Kisetsu, and Sakaki Mango. Facing off against musicians from different fields, they stuck to their style, challenging them head-on with only their "voices", showcasing what they believe to be the "coolest music" ever.

It was an enticing challenge to sing Ukouku (rounds) with the audience. What makes them remarkable is their desire to share the joy of singing Upopo with everyone. "Listening to Ukouku is enjoyable, but singing it yourself is even more fulfilling", they said, it's true. Opening your mouth wide and singing earnestly in freshly learned Ainu language—it's such a joyous feeling. The more you sing, the more addictive the Ukouku Magic becomes! The goal of "A Million-Person Upopo Grand Chorus" is surely within reach, not just a dream.

And in 2012, their first full-length album finally arrived. "Stay a Bit Longer, Quietly" — this title is a cryptic phrase that one might imagine as a password used during ancient Ainu hide-and-seek games... or so one might whimsically think. In reality, it's just a mishearing-turned-joke. They came up with this title when they misheard Ainu lyrics that way, but Maléuréu doesn't let a joke end as just a joke. Still, when they say, "Singing Ukouku in rounds is enjoyable, but it's even more fun when you have 'misheard' lyrics" it all makes sense. Close your eyes and listen closely, and indeed, you start to hear various songs.

The voices of these four women are beyond just words; they are sounds, rhythms, and grooves. Surrendering to them, you feel enveloped in a spiral of voices, a warm sense of relief washing over your entire body. And sometimes, as the waves of voices rush in like living beings, you can't help but feel a hint of fear that they might carry you away to the far reaches of the universe.

Maléuréu has taught us how mystical the human voice can be. It's the boundless imagination that expands from the primitive. "Stay a Bit Longer, Quietly" holds a world of imagination beyond imagination, waiting for you.
Written by: Norie Okabe