Ichiko Aoba
Luminescent Creatures Tour
Japanese singer, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, Ichiko Aoba has the power to bend space around her, pulling listeners from reality and surrounding them in the comforting fabric of her imagination. She's been casting these spells since her debut at 19 years old, making picturesque dioramas with only her voice and guitar. In recent years she's tapped into the full breadth of her ability, marrying the classical guitar of her earlier work with lofty orchestral sweeps.
As Ichiko's star continues to rise, she's committed to being her truest self. Along with her creative partners Umebayashi and Kobayashi, she's returned to the recesses of her reverie for her latest project, Luminescent Creatures. Her compositions have become more grand, her songwriting more refined, but her ability to make listeners feel like they're inside a private cosmos alongside her remains as strong as ever. No matter where she performs - whether it's an intimate venue, a huge festival like Big Ear, or Walt Disney Concert Hall - the entire room looks on in stunned silence, hanging on every breath. She sings in Japanese, but her delicate voice operates on an emotional frequency that pierces through language barriers and cultural divides.
Ichiko went big with Windswept Adan (2020), crafting a story about her deepening bond with nature. Collaborating closely with arranger Taro Umebayashi and creative director Kodai Kobayashi, the three of them freely shared ideas - both aural and visual - crystallizing a collective vision. The universe of Windswept Adan was so vast that it also included the script for an imaginary movie, drawings by Ichiko, and stunning photos by Kobayashi. For her new album, Luminescent Creatures, she opens an even wider portal into her mind.
"This album, Luminescent Creatures, was born from Windswept Adan," Ichiko says. "It began when I started wondering what happened after the protagonist of Windswept Adan disappeared along with the music of the island's inhabitants. What would be left?" The album's title makes the link clear, bearing the name of the closing track from her previous record. She pushes the envelope further, exploring themes of connection through musings about the origin of life with dreamy musical vistas.
