Ichiko Aoba has (according to the liner notes) in common with The Earth the Song Space Orphans already composed in 2022 – and the piece previously shared via Youtube and in live recordings now as a standalone single together with Phonolite Strings re-recorded.
„To all of you who are stuck in a war you never asked for, To all of you who are alone in a place that seems safe, To all of the orphans who carry a lingering loneliness inside, I hope this song reaches the child inside of you.“ Aoka dedicates the almost four minutes of Space Orphans to the comforting thing and also draws abstract pictures of it in the text: „Isn’t it strange?/ How we go to sleep each night in some quiet place, that’s neither land nor sea/… / With you beside me, I’ll always be just fine“.
Space Orphans shimmering orchestrally in the firmament, offers clear and contrasting plucked folk on the guitar, which pearls like morning dew. A beautifully melancholic, but nevertheless ephemeral melody cultivates the typically soft, dreamy longing of the Japanese woman, which always has something fairytale-like about it.
Later, shortly after the number seems to have run in too modestly, a barely perceptible accented bass creeps into the environment, leading from wind-playing field recordings to subtle string arrangements. However, the arc of suspense remains flat, the climax inviting in its unspectacular gentleness and graceful in a vulnerable way. Or: Once again an enchanting song by the exceptional artist.
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