Ichiko Aoba is a Japanese folk singer-songwriter from Japan, born in Urayasu, Chiba and raised in Kyoto Prefecture. Her music is closely associated with classical guitar, and she also plays piano, clarinet, accordion and flute. She draws on music from Disney and Studio Ghibli, and she also uses dreams as a starting point for creating stories in her songs.

Early life and development

Aoba begins composing at 17 and is mentored by Japanese singer-songwriter Anmi Yamada. She releases her debut album at 19.

Style and approach

Her work is primarily performed on classical guitar and falls within folk and contemporary folk, with chamber folk also associated with her. She builds narrative ideas from dream imagery as part of her writing process.

Releases

Across her career, Aoba releases seven studio albums and five live albums. Her studio albums include 剃刀乙女 (2010), 檻髪 (2011), うたびこ (2012), 0 (2013), 0% (2014), マホロボシヤ (2016), Pneuma (2017), qp (2018) and Windswept Adan (2020). Her live albums include かいぞくばん (2011), Gift at Sogetsu Hall (2020), “Windswept Adan” Concert at Bunkamura Orchard Hall (Live) (2021), and Amiko (Original Soundtrack) (2022).

Singles

She releases the singles 守り哥 (“Amuletum”), 花束 (“Bouquet”), 海底のエデン (“Seabed Eden”), アンディーヴと眠って (“Asleep Among Endives”), もしもし (“Hello”), うちゅうのみなしご (“Space Orphans”), and Meringue Doll.