NAO YOSHIOKA - Self NAO YOSHIOKA

Artists from around the world’s soul music scene come together in a single work. From Philadelphia neo-soul legend Bilal, Grammy-winning producer Peter CottonTale, Emmy Award–winning Khari Mateen, and acclaimed trumpeter Keyon Harrold, to Chicago poet-singer Jamila Woods, rising indie R&B voice Devin Morrison, Australian producer MXXWLL, UK vocalist Sam Wills, Dutch artist of Ghanaian heritage Bnnyhunna, Vietnamese newcomer Mỹ Anh, Finnish musician Misha, and Taiwanese vibraphonist Chien Chien Lu—creators from across the United States, Europe, and Asia converge in this album. It embodies the long-standing philosophy of SWEET SOUL RECORDS’ “WORLD SOUL COLLECTIVE,” transcending genre, nationality, and identity to project the current state of global soul music.

Moving fluidly through neo-soul, indie R&B, afrobeat, house, and spiritual jazz, Nao Yoshioka’s voice connects all of these worlds into a single thread. The relationships and trust built during the 11-country tour for the previous album "Flow" made this project possible.

A 13-year evolution toward becoming a soul singer-songwriter
After 13 years of her career, Nao Yoshioka has evolved from a soul singer into a true soul singer-songwriter. From vocalist to storyteller to songwriter, she has steadily refined her ability to embed her own message into music. A defining moment came in a special Manhattan rooftop-connected studio, when Bilal—traveling 90 minutes from Philadelphia—entered the booth with pen and notebook in hand. Built on Nao’s topline, lyrics were shaped on the spot, layered with powerful vocal performances. While continuing to perform on global stages, her work as a writer has deepened significantly. Approaching her 15th anniversary, she is still in a process of growth—this album stands as both proof and a step toward the next stage.

The journey to "self": embracing light and shadow
After completing an 11-country world tour for "Flow," what remained was not a sense of arrival, but the certainty that everything had only just begun. That intuition became the foundation of this album. For the first time in 13 years, she faced not only the light but also the shadow—loneliness and guilt—her personal “shadow.” Rather than overcoming it, she chose to confront and embrace it. Through this integration of the Jungian “shadow,” she arrived at “self.” Realizing that both the hidden and the shining parts of herself were equally real, her music found a new freedom.