We welcomed Ichiko Aoba as a Visiting Artist at the studio. Japanese singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ichiko has released eight albums since her 2010 debut Razorblade Maiden. She founded her independent label, hermine, in 2020, through which she released her breakthrough album, Windswept Adan. Often created with little more than classical guitar or synthesizer, her music feels at once intimate and boundless, fragile and unyielding, virtuosic yet understated.
Her acclaimed album Luminescent Creatures launched a two-year world tour spanning iconic stages including the Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House and Walt Disney Concert Hall. Her work also encompasses radio, narration and film: her score for Amiko won Best Music at the 77th Mainichi Film Awards, and in 2023 she received the Reeperbahn Festival’s ANCHOR Award.
During her time at Studio Richter Mahr, Ichiko wrote and recorded “air” with longtime collaborator and co-writer Taro Umebayashi, with engineer Toshihiko Kasai. Beginning with field recordings captured locally on a bright morning, they created a piece inspired by and made in collaboration with NATURE for Sounds Right, the initiative led by UN Live and EarthPercent through which music supports environmental conservation.
The song emerged through an unusually spontaneous and unhurried session, built simply around Ichiko’s voice and the studio’s grand piano.
