Marewrew (pronounced: Ma-leoo-leoo / m?le?ul? e?u – it means butterfly) are a female vocal group that sings traditional Ainu songs. The songs, mostly a capella, have been passed down through generations exclusively through oral tradition. ‘Ukouk’ means ’round singing’, which refers to the form in which Marewrew perform and record. Many of the songs are set as tightly interwoven canons: one starts, the others join in, but slightly out of phase: Almost like dub echoes.. Nature sounds and woodpeckers can be heard (‘Hawsa’), and there is a funny miniature in which the singers imitate birdsong (‘Takuro’). Things get hypnotic with an evocative song about stranded whales (‘Hunpe Yan Na’) or an ode to the Orca as ‘Little Sea God’ (‘Pon Repun Kamuy’). The album culminates in unexpected pop (‘Yaykatekara’) or cumbia moments (‘Kanerenren’) with a band line-up including percussions and Oki Kano on the famous Tonkori harp. Marewrew are Rekpo, Hisae and Mayunkiki.