Since Ichiko Aoba's 2010 debut, Razorblade Maiden, the Japanese singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist has released seven albums, founded her independent label hermine, has performed in a growing list of territories worldwide. Her music, often composed on just her classical guitar or a simple synthesizer, is simultaneously intimate and boundless; fragile and unyielding; virtuosic and understated.
Her seventh album, Windswept Adan (2020), introduced lush orchestral arrangements to create a "soundtrack for a fictional film" that took the world by storm. From TikTok to internet music forums, Windswept Adan revealed the breadth of Ichiko Aoba's worldwide appeal. Yet her live performances are often stripped down affairs - guitar and voice, unadorned - that still manage to captivate and enthrall audiences.
2025 saw the release of her eighth album, Luminescent Creatures, a work that developed the musical and thematic motifs of Windswept Adan, while incorporating more sparse arrangements, much like her early albums. Acclaimed by critics and embraced across both traditional media and digital communities, the record marked a new peak in her career.
The album sparked a two-year world tour that has included iconic stages such as London’s Royal Albert Hall, the Sydney Opera House, and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, with some performances incorporating up to 11 musicians on stage.
Alongside her albums and tours, Ichiko’s creativity spans many fields: radio, narration, and film composition. Her soundtrack for Amiko (2022) received Best Soundtrack at the 77th Mainichi Film Awards, and she was honored with the ANCHOR Award at the 2023 Reeperbahn Festival.
At the heart of it all, Ichiko Aoba’s music remains a space of stillness and imagination - inviting listeners into worlds both real and dreamed.
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