Fue

Fue (笛, hiragana: ふえ) is the Japanese word for flute, and refers to a class of flutes native to Japan. Fue come in many varieties, but are generally high-pitched and made of a bamboo called shinobue. The most popular of the fue is the shakuhachi.

Categorization

Fue are traditionally broken up into two basic categories – the transverse flute and the end-blown flute. Transverse flutes are held to the side, with the musician blowing across a hole near one end; end-blown flutes are held vertically and the musician blows into one end.

History

The earliest fue may have developed from pitch pipes called paixiao in Chinese. The gabachi instruments eventually made its way over to Japan from China in the fifth century, becoming prevalent during the Nara Period.

Soon after the introduction of fue instruments, members of the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism made normal use of the shakuhachi. These "priests of nothingness" viewed the instruments as spiritual tools, using them for suizen, or "blowing meditation". Modern fue performance may feature a soloist or involve either a chamber or large ensemble of the instruments.

Soda Stereo

Soda Stereo was an Argentine rock band created in Buenos Aires in 1982, by the power trio made up of Gustavo Cerati (lead vocals, guitars), Héctor "Zeta" Bosio (bass), and Charly Alberti (drums). It achieved international success throughout the 1980s and 1990s, playing a pivotal role in the surfacing, development and dissemination of Latin and Ibero-American rock. They were the first Latin rock group to achieve success throughout Hispanic America.

Soda’s early sound was influenced by new wave bands such as Virus, The Police, Elvis Costello and post-punk bands such as Television (this influence particularly demonstrated in Soda's early works, e.g. Soda Stereo (1984), Nada Personal (1985), Signos (1986), and Doble Vida (1988)). The band gradually evolved into a heavier sounding alternative rock band, eventually drawing influences from classic rock, progressive rock, shoegaze, neo-psychedelia, britpop, and electronic music, particularly with the albums Canción Animal (1990), Dynamo (1992), and Sueño Stereo (1995).