Ichiko Aoba releases new re-issue of ‘Windswept Adan’ via hermine
Ichiko Aoba | Photo credit: Kodai Kobayashi
Selected press for Luminescent Creatures:
“Quietly astonishing” - The Guardian
“intoxicating traces of chanson, jazz, chamber pop, and folk.” (#33)
- Pitchfork, The 50 Best Albums of 2025
“her river-clear coo arrives intertwined with chirruping electronics and ambient synth washes that evoke celestial activity” – Crack
“Aoba’s minimalism carries an unspeakable, near-surreal gravity.” – NME
“strings, flute and piano rise and fall like waves. . . echoed skittering synths sound like they were transmitted from the depths of the sea. Above it all floats Aoba's delicate vocals - calming, intimate and hypnotic.” - Songlines, cover feature
"Exquisitely beautiful escapism" (#31) - The Line Of Best Fit, Albums of 2025
“one of folk music’s most consistently beguiling artists” - Record Collector
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Today, “Japanese experimental pop luminary” (The FADER) Ichiko Aoba has released a new reissue of her widely acclaimed 2020 album Windswept Adan. The reissue marks the first time the record has been available on vinyl in almost two years and is the fourth pressing to date. It also comes ahead of a landmark headline performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 31st March 2026, her biggest UK headline show so far.
Windswept Adan, Aoba’s seventh studio album, was originally released in 2020. Marking a significant departure from her earlier, more solitary works, Aoba collaborated with composer Taro Umebayashi to craft a mesmerising and richly imaginative concept album that moves fluidly between ambient psych-folk, chamber classical, and jazz-inflected composition. The album was highly praised earning spots in the Guardian’s top five contemporary albums of the year, a 9/10 and top five album of the year spot from The Needle Drop, and an 8.0 at Pitchfork, going on to become the #1 user-rated album of 2020 on Album Of The Year. Though she was already on an incendiary word-of-mouth rise at the time, the album saw Ichiko become a breakthrough success, earning the adoration of fellow musicians, including: Caroline Polachek, Clairo, Yo La Tengo, Natalie Mering, Acaster, Black Country, New Road, Pomme, Japanese Breakfast, Mac DeMarco, Cornelius, and more.
Conceived as the soundtrack to an imaginary film, Windswept Adan follows a young girl exiled from her homeland to the mythic island of Adan - a lush, otherworldly place filled with strange creatures, abundant flora and fauna, and no spoken language. Its orchestral textures and vivid sound design create an immersive, cinematic world.
The highly sought after album is now available to order on deluxe gatefold double eco-vinyl LP and includes a lyric sheet insert and printed inside pockets. There is also a bundle that includes Dreams & Visions, the 88-page companion book that tells the complete story of Windswept Adan, accompanied by sketches, handwritten notes, photographs, and mood-board imagery used during the album’s creation, offering a unique insight into the world that inspired the music.
Order Windswept Adan here
Ichiko Aoba’s Royal Albert Hall show takes place a year on from her exclusive, sold-out headline London date at The Barbican, and will once again see Ichiko perform alongside producer and co-writer Taro Umebayashi and the London based 12 Ensemble. The date also follows her highly successful 2025 world tour that spanned 5 continents, demonstrating a truly global appetite for her unique brand of music.
Ichiko’s return to London will land during her forthcoming Across The Oceans tour, which starts next week in Thailand. Full dates are as follows:
19/02 Kbank SiamHall, Bangkok, TH
22/02 Esplanade Theatre, Singapore, SG
17/03 Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, FI
19/03 Palladium, Warsaw, PL
21/03 Müpa, Budapest, HU
23/03 Globe Wien, Vienna, AT
25/03 Théâtre de Beaulieu, Lausanne, CH
27/03 Salle Pleyel, Paris, FR
31/03 Royal Albert Hall, London, GB
05/04 AB, Brussels (Headlining / Curating the BRDCST festival), BE
07/04 Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, NL
10/04 DR Koncerthuset, Copenhagen, DK
12/04 Göta Lejon, Stockholm, SE
15/04 Harpa Norðurljós, Reykjavik, IS
24/04 Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA, US
25/04 Balboa Theatre, San Diego, US
27/04 Massey Hall, Toronto, CA
28/04 Théâtre Maisonneuve, Montreal, CA
01/05 Carolina Theatre, Durham, US
03/05 The Caverns, Grundy County, US
04/05 Atlanta Symphony Hall, Atlanta, US
06/05 Paramout Theater, Austin, US
07/05 Texas Theater, Dallas, US
09/05 Conjunto de Artes Escénicas, Guadalajara, MX
20/05 Auditorio San Pedro, Monterrey, MX
18/05 Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, CA
Tickets are on sale here
Further selected press for Luminescent Creatures:
“Ethereal and uncanny” (#52) - Pitchfork, 100 Best Songs of 2025 (“Luciférine”)
Reader’s Poll: 100 Best Albums of 2025 (#94) – Pitchfork
Best Music Merch Gifts of 2025- Pitchfork
“perpetually filled with wonderment.” - The New York Times
“[Luminescent Creatures] is so remarkably gorgeous that it’s almost hard to listen to; her crystalline voice, pellucid nylon-string guitar, and graceful arrangements are so delicate that turning up the volume could make them shatter.” - Bandcamp, The Best Albums of 2025
"rises like a pearl diver heading for the surface, then darts away like a shoal of tiny fish." - The Financial Times
“it’s watery, dreamlike soundscapes are totally immersive on one of those records that – temporarily at least – can make the cares of the world seem to melt away” – Uncut
“With the same kind of pastoral folk songs at its core that had defined her career to that point, truly luscious arrangements elevated Aoba’s music from from the pleasant to the boundless and sublime” – CLASH
“the record plays like a meeting of her patented style and Windswept Adan’s lushness… Luminescent Creature unfolds in subtler ways, showcasing a nuanced development for Aoba.” – Treble
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