Ichiko Aoba Releases Luminescent Creatures

Japanese singer-songwriter Ichiko Aoba released her highly anticipated album Luminescent Creatures on February 28, 2025. The album, launched under Aoba’s independent label Hermine, takes its name from the final track of her 2020 record, Windswept Adan.

Continuing her signature exploration of the natural world, Luminescent Creatures serves as an extension of Aoba’s previous work. She collaborated with key members from Windswept Adan, including composer Taro Umebayashi, sound engineer Toshihiko Kasai, and photographer Kodai Kobayashi, ensuring a seamless continuation.

Luminescent Creatures World Premiere in Osaka

Ahead of the album’s release, Aoba hosted exclusive live performances titled Luminescent Creatures World Premiere in Osaka on October 19, 2024, and Tokyo on October 26, 2024. Following these events, she officially announced the album’s release date along with a world tour in November 2024. The tour, spanning Asia, Europe, and North America, is scheduled to run from February to May 2025.

Lucifèrine from Luminescent Creatures

The album’s lead single, Lucifèrine, set the tone for the release, followed by Flag in December 2024. Accompanying the latter was a live performance video from the Into the Great Wide Open festival in The Netherlands, featuring songs from Aoba’s earlier albums, Mahoroboshiya and q p. The final pre-release single, Sonar, arrived in February 2025, complete with an accompanying music video.

Luminescent Creatures has received widespread critical acclaim. Critics have praised its seamless blend of Aoba’s minimalist acoustic roots with the grand, orchestral soundscapes that have defined her more recent works.

Luminescent Creatures Track Listing:

1. Coloratura

2. 24° 3′ 27.0″ N, 123° 47′ 7.5″ E

3. Mazamun

4. Tower

5. Aurora

6. Flag

7. Cochlea

8. Lucifèrine

9. Pirsomnia

10. Sonar

11. Wakusei no Namida (惑星の泪)

The album is available in multiple formats, including digital, deluxe edition vinyl (ocean blue eco-vinyl with a semi-gatefold jacket and deluxe poster), and standard edition vinyl (black eco-vinyl with a standard poster).