Ichiko Aoba - Luminescent Creatures Review

Ichiko Aoba’s Luminescent Creatures a lush and ambitious exploration of nature and sound.

‘Windswept Adnan’ brought the Japanese artist to acclaim, her collection soft sounding ballads paired with her silvery vocals was a combination bound to entice. A conceptual trip to the islands of Okinawa, Zamami and Kudaka would be a bewitching reflection on marine life and the geography of these places. The delicate softness and luscious sound scapes that Ichiko is known for painting within her work has taken a step to the next level with ‘Luminescent Creatures’, with her exploration of human life and the earth that surrounds us.

Opening track ‘COLORATURA’ is a departure from her stripped back and minimal approach, with a swell of instrumentation from piano to flute to the violin, as well as sweeping chimes and bells that pull the listener into the natural universe Ichiko astutely crafts through this journey of an album. If listening carefully, one can trace the sound of water on the track ‘mazamum’, underpinned by the celesta and animal like sounds that submerges the track into the underwater realm Ichiko found herself in.

We do not stray far from her well known signposts, a showcase of her finger picking in ‘Aurora’ balanced with her voice that becomes choral and haunting. ‘Flag’ highlights Aoba’s skill in mastering eb and flow, a shift in pace creating suspense to simmer into a gentle, calming lull. The lyric-less track ‘Prisominia’ consisting of Eclectic building of vocals with sharp and slightly sorrowful keys. 

A tranquil follow up that outdoes the simplicity of her predeceasing album in its scale and ambition. An album that is rewarding in its additional listens, picking up on elements that make their way to the foreground upon further listens. Once again, Ichiko has crafted an album fitting to disassociate to and get lost in.