Ichiko Aoba


Ichiko Aoba is a Japanese folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. She plays multiple instruments including guitar, piano, clarinet, accordion, and flute.
Aoba is known for her acoustic sound and songwriting inspired by her dreams, as well as her use of field recordings, largely owed to frequent collaborator ZAK of Fishmans fame.
WWW ichikoaoba.com𝕏 ichikoaobaFB ichikoaoba.infoYT UCcwOodzn176V5S11rufTUgATikTok ichikoaoba.officialIG ichikoaobaTHR ichikoaoba

Early life

Aoba was born in Urayasu, Chiba and raised in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.
Ichiko Aoba began to play classical guitar at the age of 17. Her sound is inspired by Disney and Studio Ghibli music, both of which she listened to growing up.
Her mentor was Japanese singer-songwriter Anmi Yamada. Aoba's albums 0 and qp each feature two covers of Yamada's songs.

Career

In 2010, Aoba, aged 19, released her first album, Razorblade Maiden.
Around 2012, Aoba was introduced to Gezan frontman Mahito the People by their mutual friend Koji Shimotsu. Aoba and Mahito formed the collaborative duo NUUAMM, which has since released two studio albums: NUUAMM and w / ave.
In 2013, Aoba was asked to work for a theatre production of 9 Days Queen, a stage play by playwright Go Aoki. She has also worked with Takahiro Fujita's Mum & Gypsy company in a production of Cocoon, as well as a revival of Lemmings by Shūji Terayama, the latter in which Aoba played the role of "The Girl" and performed alongside the late Tengai Amano and Yukichi Matsumoto.
Aoba features on the soundtrack of the 2019 Nintendo Switch remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Her arrangement was used to promote the game in Japan.
Aoba has collaborated with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Taylor Deupree, Cornelius, Haruomi Hosono, Mac DeMarco, Sweet William, and Mahito the People.
Aoba founded her own independent record label, Hermine, in 2020, and started to self-release her music starting with Windswept Adan.

Discography

Studio albums

  • 2010: Kamisori Otome
  • 2011: Origami
  • 2012: Utabiko
  • 2013: 0
  • 2016: Mahoroboshiya
  • 2018: qp
  • 2019: Ayukawa no shizuku
  • 2020: Windswept Adan
  • 2022: Amiko
  • 2025: ''Luminescent Creatures''

Live albums

Other releases

  • 2011: Hinoko – Ichiko Aoba & Kazuhisa Uchihashi
  • 2012: Meteor – Haruka Nakamura & Ichiko Aoba
  • 2013: Radio – Ichiko Aoba and the Fairies
  • 2013: Yura Yura feat. Ichiko Aoba – Ovall
  • 2013: Soto wa Senjou da yo feat. Ichiko Aoba – Cornelius
  • 2019: Amaneki – Sweet William & Ichiko Aoba
  • 2020: amuletum bouquet – Ichiko Aoba
  • 2020: "gift" BGM – Ichiko Aoba
  • 2020: Seabed Eden – Ichiko Aoba
  • 2021: Asleep Among Endives – Ichiko Aoba
  • 2021: Windswept Adan Roots – Ichiko Aoba
  • 2022: hello – Ichiko Aoba
  • 2023: Space Orphans – Ichiko Aoba
  • 2023: meringue doll – Ichiko Aoba
  • 2023: Sketch – Ichiko Aoba
  • 2024: Seabed Eden - French version – Ichiko Aoba & Pomme
  • 2024: Grandiose - Japanese version – Pomme & Ichiko Aoba
  • 2024: Lullaby – Ichiko Aoba