Shoko Igarashi was born in 1991 in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. An accomplished tenor saxophonist, she is also a versatile flautist and plays alto and soprano saxophone fluently.
She has already made her mark as both an arranger and a composer. Shoko grew up surrounded by dreamlike landscapes of abundant nature in the snowy countryside of Tsuruoka, a mysterious and surreal region renowned for producing the best quality rice in Japan, where she says, “the water and the air feel the purest," and where mountains and shrines overflow with ancient mysticism.
After beginning her musical career in Tokyo, she attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree of music. She then relocated to Brooklyn, New York where she began regularly performing live alongside innumerable talented jazz musicians. In 2018, she moved to Brussels, Belgium and founded the group Maniac Maison with her partner, pianist Casimir Liberski, and guitarist Lucien Fraipont.
Since 2018, Shoko has written and compiled a series of well-crafted, colourful electronic songs curating diverse influences such as Sly & the Family Stone, Earth Wind & Fire, Japanese City-Pop, '70s jazz fusion, and the anime film music that she grew up learning to play. Her nimble and seamless assembly of these very different elements into her unique sound is astonishingly natural. Her first official solo Album is released by Tigersushi records in May 2022 and received many great reviews by such as Pitchfork, Mixmag, and Les Inrocks.
Shoko Igarashi's second album “Onsen Music” (Tiger Sushi / 62 Records) was released on December 06, 2024.
For this second album, Shoko Igarashi invites us to a new genre called: »Onsen Music«. Each track takes you on a relaxing journey, much akin to soaking your troubles away in the steamy hot waters of a traditional Japanese spa (Onsen).
The variety of songs mimic the variety of onsens, some are salty and scorching, some are smooth and clear, some are bubbly and colorful, and others are a refreshing dip into crisp clear waters. In each case, there is a sense of satisfaction as delicious as the songs on this album.
Throughly danceable, good vibrations with melodies and hooks that go straight to the heart. This ode to »relax« while calling us to shake on the dance floor, filled with sax playing virtuosity, intricate electronic compositions, vocals that lead us to dream of new worlds and beats to keep us shaking all night.
