On Monday, April 27th, Japanese singer, songwriter, producer, and musician Ichiko Aoba turned Massey Hall into a liminal space with dreamy, poetic lyrics and delicate acoustic arrangements. On her Across The Oceans tour, from April 24th to May 18th, the folk artist is visiting select cities not just to perform, but to create a breathtaking and ethereal experience. With themes from her childhood, nature, time, and life, Ichiko’s music evokes feelings of nostalgia, serenity, introspection, and transcendence. Her dream-inspired music often acts as a soundtrack to whimsical stories and imaginary worlds, sometimes resulting in avant-garde, meandering structures, creating compositions that are uniquely her own.
Opener Charlie Martin, a Texas-based singer, songwriter and producer, known as one-half of the indie-pop duo Hovvdy, warmed up the crowd with his likable personality and interactive songs.
The lights went down and the crowd went silent, allowing Charlie to get right into it, starting off with his song “Sadie.” Quiet at first, Charlie captured the audience’s attention with endearing quips, playing his next songs, “September,” “like the month”, and “June,” “like the person,” earning laughs from the crowd and breaking the ice. The room got louder and more enthusiastic with each song, someone shouting “I love you!” in which he responded with “I have one fan,” causing everyone to cheer to show their support. For his last few songs, Charlie had the audience sing along, getting everyone engaged and surely earning new fans. With a modest and soft-spoken energy, Charlie set the mood for the rest of the show, no doubt the perfect candidate to open for Ichiko.
The stage was set with a simple setup: an ornate wooden chair, a table, two lamps, faux foliage, and her instruments, all placed aesthetically on a rug. The lamps emitted a beautiful warm glow, setting the scene with a serene and personal atmosphere. When Ichiko walked onto the stage the crowd erupted into cheers, excited for her performance. She had a gentle yet commanding presence, confident in herself and her craft. She started the show with “テリフリアメ,” which translates to “The Rain From Light And Shadow.” With her acoustic guitar, her siren-like voice rang through the silence, captivating the audience with her light and airy, yet striking vocals. The audience sat silently, only a few phones up to record. The tone was set: authentic, immersive, and mesmerizing.
Throughout the show, the lighting changed. From rainbow colours, to yellow and purple, and then to blue, every change established a different mood. Creating an intimate environment, Ichiko vocalized between songs, adding a personalized touch to each show. Her melancholic and enchanting voice had everyone lost in reverie. Whether they understood Japanese or not, she was magnetic, and the audience watched on in awe. While performing her song “惑星の泪,” which translates to “Tears of a Planet,” images of orbiting swirls projected onto the stage floor, creating a sense of wonder and interconnectedness. Reflecting her lyrics of being “interwoven in space-time” and “the ripples of stars,” the experience was otherworldly.
For her last few songs, Ichiko switched to her red electric guitar and her keyboard, bringing a new vibe to the show. She played licks between songs—short and improvised jazz-based embellishments, making the audience laugh when she played familiar tunes. During “Pirsomnia,” Ichiko used her Yamaha Reface CP to play magical and hypnotic sounds to accompany her vocalizing, creating a mystical and celestial ambiance. At the end of her show, Ichiko received a standing ovation and the crowd cheered even after she had said her goodbyes and left. Moments later, she came back out, snapped some pictures of the crowd on her digital camera and then left again, just to come out one last time to perform an encore song. The crowd was ecstatic as she sat on the floor and sang without a microphone—an intimate final goodbye to Toronto.
With her alluring vocals and beautifully strung together lyrics, Ichiko Aoba brought a personal and authentic experience to Massey Hall. Unlike other concerts, Ichiko not only performed her songs live, but had an intimate conversation with her audience through her music, exploring concepts of existence, aloneness, and the self, blending reality with fantastical dreamscapes.
You can experience Ichiko Aoboa live by checking out her official website here to check out her remaining dates.