ichiko aoba – ichiko aoba with 12 ensemble (live at milton court)

Ichiko Aoba’s music could be made with all-natural ingredients. The guitar could be a reed plucked sharp and soft; the percussion could be sticks brushing the trunk of a cherry blossom; the vocals could come from a bird lost in the pink above. This latest project with a small orchestra underlines her plunging emotions while slowing her fall into them. The performance is strictly obedient to its own delicacy, as though the players are passing a wafer-thin vase around a room; the effect reinforces splendour in a well-mannered, courteous package. On ‘amuletum,’ the orchestra is made full use of, and a window-shattering beauty soars.

 23/30

 A favourite: ‘Parfum d’étoiles’