It has been announced that Japanese soul singer Nao Yoshioka will release her new album “Flow” on Friday, June 28th.
In addition to performing at the largest soul festivals in the United States, “Capital Jazz Fes” and “Blue Note New York,” he has also performed with Jon Batiste, Nathan East, Eric Roberson, Mamas Gun, and others, and is active globally. Nao Yoshioka is here.
This is their first album in about five years, and is a collaborative work that brings together famous artists from around the world to once again connect the divided world with a musical bridge. Collaborating with leading artists from the US, UK, Netherlands, Australia, and Japan, including Devin Morrison, Takuya Kuroda, Reuben James, MXXWLL, Jarreau Vandal, and JAEL, highlights her musical identity. We also have a team of elite engineers. Participating artists include Qmillion, who mixes Robert Glasper’s masterpieces, and Sam Brawner, who works with Anderson .Paak.
The theme of this album is a journey of self-discovery and self-expression in the wake of difficult times. Nao Yoshioka’s deep creativity, which is brought out in a flow state (immersion), leads to a sound full of openness that touches listeners’ minds and bodies. It is said to sway and invite each person to become immersed.
[Nao Yoshioka comment]
Five years have passed since the previous work “Undeniable”. It was the first time in my career that I didn’t release an album for such a long time, and I didn’t spend a lot of time making albums, but I spent a lot of time facing life as an individual.
When I listen to my old works, most of them are about struggles and searching for answers about what to do to love yourself. The song “I’m Not Perfect” from the first album depicts the process of hating yourself and trying to love yourself somehow. This song faithfully expresses me at that time. In the song “Celebrate” from “Undeniable,” I think that by celebrating different ways of living, I’m ready to accept whatever life is for me.
After that, when my mental and physical health collapsed due to the coronavirus pandemic, I had to give up on the person I wanted to be, that is, the person who was valued by those around me and was pursuing a social career. I was able to meet my true, unsparkling, lame, and clumsy self that I had been suffering from for so long. I wasn’t Nao Yoshioka, I wasn’t a soul singer, I wasn’t anyone, and I felt really weak and couldn’t do my best, so I hit rock bottom. I was scared that I was going to feel like I was depressed when I was a teenager, so just like the music in New York gave me hope back then, I started doing things that excited me as a way to rehabilitate myself. Then, the feeling of joy in my mind and body returned, and I realized that I was even more dazzling and powerful than when I was “the person I wanted to be.”
Be who you are, not who you are and who you are trying to be accepted by. I felt like I had to start from here. So this time, I feel like it’s my real debut. Through the album I made with producers and artists from the wonderful world that is linked to the new feeling I have now, I will be able to convey my experience of immersion and self-liberation to many people, and share the feelings of those who are struggling like me someday. I hope that this will be an opportunity to brighten things up a little bit.
【release information】
Nao Yoshioka 『Flow』
Release Date：2024.06.28 (Fri.)
Label：SWEET SOUL RECORDS
Tracklist：
01. Free as a Bird feat. Jarreau Vandal
02. My Love feat. Jarreau Vandal
03. Nobody Chase Me feat. Devin Morrison
04. Love Is What We Find feat. JAEL
05. Knock on Your Door feat. Big State
06. You Never Know
07. Feeling So Bright feat. MXXWLL
08. Unapologetically Me feat. Takuya Kuroda
09. Anywhere Anytime feat. Nappy Nina
10. Selfish feat. Reuben James
11. Note to Self feat. Devin Morrison
12. Let It Flow
▼Participating artists/creators
Big State
Corey Bernhard
Devin Morrison
JAEL
Jarreau Vandal
Khari Mateen
Kiah Victoria
MXXWLL
Nappy Nina
Reuben James
Takuya Kuroda
Qmillion
Sam Brawner
Killing Skills
Randy Runyon
Rafael Devante Sinay
…and more!
【event information】
“Nao Yoshioka New Album “Flow” Release Party in Osaka”
Date: Thursday, July 18, 2024
Venue: Billboard Live OSAKA
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“Nao Yoshioka New Album “Flow” Release Party”
Date: Saturday, July 20, 2024
Venue: Tokyo, Minami Aoyama BLUE NOTE TOKYO
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“Nao Yoshioka New Album “Flow” Release Party in London”
Date: Thursday, August 1, 2024
Venue: OMEARA London, UK
