ICHIKO AOBA

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. But in recent years, she’s turned a corner and let a new process take hold.

The Japanese singer, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist tapped into the full breadth of her ability, marrying the classical guitar of her earlier work with lofty orchestral sweeps. She 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. 

Ichiko’s ambitions kept growing, and the world took notice. She was well known in Japan—collaborating with artists like Haruomi Hosono, Cornelius, and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto—but Windswept Adan connected her with an international audience. She earned the adoration of fellow musicians abroad, collaborating with and playing alongside artists like Japanese Breakfast, Mac DeMarco, Owen Pallett, Pomme, Weyes Blood, and Black Country New Road as her profile continued to grow. Western publications like Pitchfork and The Needle Drop started paying attention, though the real driving force behind her ascent is her naturally captivating presence. 

Her Instagram reels, sometimes snippets from shows and sometimes private concerts from her home, attract hundreds of thousands of viewers. Fans create TikToks using her songs as the backdrop to scenes from their lives, letting her music be their soundtrack in the moments they choose to be vulnerable. And no matter where she performs—whether it’s an intimate venue, a huge festival like Big Ears, 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. 

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. Her compositions have become more grand, her songwriting more refined, and she’s preparing for her largest world tour to date—yet her ability to make listeners feel like they’re inside in a private cosmos alongside her remains as strong as ever.