Ichiko Aoba has long been a master of musical storytelling, crafting intimate yet expansive sonic worlds for her listeners. Her upcoming album 'Luminescent Creatures', set for release through her own label hermine, continues this tradition. Following the success of 'Windswept Adan', which transported audiences to an imagined island, Aoba now turns her attention to themes of light, bioluminescence, and connection.
The lead single 'Luciférine' takes its name from the molecule responsible for bioluminescence, a fitting metaphor for an album that explores the interplay between light and darkness. The track immediately immerses the listener in Aoba's signature dreamlike atmosphere - her voice floating effortlessly over intricate fingerpicked guitar, gentle strings, and subtle electronic textures. While some of her compositions lean toward minimalism, 'Luciférine' embraces a more layered arrangement, with shimmering synthesizers creating the effect of light rippling across water as if a torch had been cast into the depths.
Lyrically, the song reflects on the idea of an inner light residing within all living beings: "Inside each of us, there is a place for our stars to sleep". This poetic imagery deepens the track's meditative quality as Aoba contemplates the quiet, unseen illumination forces shaping the world around us. The melody unfolds like a lullaby - gentle yet intricate in its harmonies - evoking a feeling of weightlessness as if drifting through an endless sea of sound where the boundaries between self and nature dissolve.
While 'Luciférine' looks inward, 'SONAR' reaches outward, using sound as a metaphor for searching in the darkness. This track leans more heavily into ambient textures, with Aoba's voice emerging like a distant echo over layers of synth pads and delicate, minimalist percussion. It is a weightless yet profoundly emotive composition, mirroring, sending out signals and waiting for a response.
Lyrically, 'SONAR' conveys a quiet longing: "Beyond the darkness, a glimmer of somebody's voice. I am here, although I know not where, and yet I hear it." There is an aching solitude in these words but also a fragile sense of hope—the possibility that connection can still be found even in the vastness of existence. The accompanying music video, directed by longtime collaborator Kodai Kobayashi, enhances this atmosphere, presenting a surreal, dreamlike journey through light and shadow in the digital realm.
Led by those two songs, 'Luminescent Creatures' shapes up to be an album of quiet revelations - an exploration of the unseen, the luminous, and the profoundly personal. Aoba has always excelled at blending traditional Japanese folk elements with contemporary ambient soundscapes, and 'Luminescent Creatures' provides a continuation of this approach with an added expansiveness.
One of Aoba's greatest strengths as a composer is her ability to create music that feels both intimate and vast. Her songs are often hushed, yet they contain entire landscapes - evoking images of deep oceans, star-filled skies, and untouched wilderness. Her latest release manages to further develop this vision, weaving elements of nature and human emotion into a soundscape that glows softly in the dark.
Alongside the album's release, Aoba has announced the most ambitious tour of her career, including an exclusive performance at The Barbican in London, where she will present 'Luminescent Creatures' in full. For this special show, she will be joined by the London-based 12 Ensemble, adding a rich orchestral dimension to her already intricate compositions. Known for her immersive live performances, Aoba will likely bring the album's radiant soundscapes to life in breathtaking fashion.
With 'Luminescent Creatures', Ichiko Aoba continues crafting music transcending time and place. The first three singles hint to fans at an album that is deeply personal and expansive - a journey through the unseen forces that connect us, whether through light, sound, or presence. Whilst awaiting the full release, the singles serve as quiet beacons, leading the way into Aoba's luminous world. Following well in her previous works footsteps, 'Luminescent Creatures' is not just an album but an experience that invites us to listen, reflect, and perhaps, in our own way, glow.
Score: 8/10
'Luminescent Creatures' will be released on February 28th 2025 via hermine.
Words: Kelly Gowe
Photo: Kodai Kobayashi
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