Aoba, Ichiko: Luminescent Creatures LP

To listen to Ichiko Aoba is to be drawn into a world as intimate as a warmly lit home, but cosmic in scale. The Japanese artist has taken a dedicated online fanbase built from viral TikTok sound clips and critically acclaimed albums and translated it into international tours spanning more than 20 countries. Aoba's latest album, "Luminescent Creatures", is the culmination of her 15-year long career - during which she's collaborated with Japanese luminaries such as Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono, Cornelius, and more - and finds her deftly melding the jazz-infused folk of her early albums with the orchestral world building of her 2020 opus "Windswept Adan". While conducting field research on Ryukyu Archipelago, Ichiko was enamored by the boundless beauty, and occasional terror of the ocean. That contradiction, gentleness and power, instilled a sense of awe that is expressed in the soundscapes of "Luminescent Creatures". "Luminescent Creatures" is about making meaningful connections against impossible odds. The sea is immense and ancient, but it is also reminiscent, housing a deep record of fossils and recollections of how we've treated our planet.