Japanese singer-songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Ichiko Aoba will perform her new album Luminescent Creatures (released on February 28, 2025 via Hermine) live in two unmissable summer shows. On July 1, she will perform at the Teatro Romano di Fiesole as part of Estate Fiesolana, and on July 2, she will take the stage at Casa del Jazz in Rome.
Since her debut at just 19, Ichiko has stood out on the international music scene with vivid sonic dioramas created using only her voice and guitar. Throughout her musical journey, she has collaborated with numerous artists such as Haruomi Hosono, Cornelius, and Ryuichi Sakamoto, helping her gain recognition within the Japanese music landscape.
Her new album, Luminescent Creatures, preceded by the single “Luciférine,” marks the beginning of a global tour that will bring her to major international stages throughout 2025.
With Luminescent Creatures, Ichiko explores the origins of life, transporting listeners into dreamlike musical landscapes. “The album was born when I began to wonder what happened after the protagonist of Windswept Adan (a film for which Ichiko composed the soundtrack in 2020) vanished along with the music of the island’s inhabitants,” she explains.
With Luciférine, Ichiko introduces the central theme of Luminescent Creatures: bioluminescence, the light emitted by deep-sea organisms as an early form of communication. Lush strings and sparkling piano ripple like sunlight over gentle waves, slicing through the dark depths of the ocean. “Inside each of us,” she sings, “there is a place where our stars sleep.”
She evokes the image of beings that shine like celestial bodies, illuminating a path to bridge the distance between galaxies.
ICHIKO AOBA – BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:
Admired by fellow musicians worldwide, Ichiko has collaborated and performed with artists such as Japanese Breakfast, Mac DeMarco, Owen Pallett, Pomme, Weyes Blood, and Black Country, New Road. Yet, even as her star continues to rise, Ichiko remains committed to being her truest self. Her compositions have grown more powerful, her songwriting more refined, and her ability to make listeners feel as if they are sharing an intimate cosmos with her remains as strong as ever.