We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Stardust Crystals

by Yumi Ito

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

      14 CHF  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Comes in a case with artwork & photos by Maria Jarzyna. With each physical sold CD I will plant a tree.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Stardust Crystals via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      25 CHF or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 7 Yumi Ito releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Ysla, Rebirth, Is It You, Ekual, Stardust Crystals, I Think It's Going To Rain Today (Solo), and Intertwined. , and , .

      45.18 CHF or more (35% OFF)

     

1.
Stardust Crystals We are all made of stardust crystals Each one's different and unique Falling quietly from the sky Whirling around in eternity From far away we come and we go somewhere Nobody really knows where all this leads to We float and we break and we build New mountains of white Trying not to drown between melting ice floes In the cold where the weakest die The strong survives and waits for sun We think we are the kings on earth While we destroy our own kingdom
2.
Little Things I sing this song for all the broken hearts, lost souls Don't want you to hide behind closed doors I sing this song for all the broken hearts, lost souls Don't want you to hide behind thick walls It's the little stories about our little lives that I want to hear the most It's the little wrinkles around your eyes that I want to see the most
3.
What Seems To Be Behind every lie there lies a bit of truth When you close your eyes you're not alone Because you fear doesn't mean you are in danger When you love doesn't mean you won't get hurt A.... Although you have eyes that doesn't mean you can see What we call reality might not be All you can buy doesn't make you rich Although you're alive that doesn't mean you live a full life A... Sometimes things seem to be Not the way you think they are Life's full of surprises Life's a big mystery Oh Sometimes things seem to be Not the way you they are Life's full of surprises Life's a big mystery that only can be solved by you
4.
5.
Unwritten Stories When there's nothing more left to say Darkness lights up your face When silence begins to burst into thousand and one pieces What is this I feel for you? It hurts me sweet and overwhelms me With such bitter desire For unknown love and unwritten stories
6.
Old Redwood Tree When the white dew lies over this sunlit garden Time seems to stand still for just one profound moment How peaceful we are, in silence we wait. In the spark of the morning as youthful as our hopes There seem to be so many undetected myths Between the bows of an old redwood tree In the depth of the undergrowth I hear a whisper It is the leaves that are speaking to me It's time to go, it's time to explore
7.
When The Lights Go Down When the lights go down and my thoughts keep turning They will not give me any time to breath Why can't I forget about you When the lights go down and I feel so alone There is nobody to love anymore When the lights go down I see your face flower through the darkest night
8.

about

Everything about Yumi Ito’s new LP titled «Stardust Crystals» is absolutely audacious! It’s a big band record, which she wrote and arranged for an 11-piece outfit. The material traverses neo-classical, art-pop, references progressive electronica and gives a singular twist to a classical jazz sound. And then there’s the choice of topics, each one like a an intimate entry snatched from the pages of a diary.

A friend breaks under the pressures of life and is confined to a mental institution («Little Things»). What does this mean about the world we live in? A neighbour dies of a heroin overdose and you don’t even know his name («Ballad For the Unknown»). Who was this human being? And aren’t we all just breathing / living stories that remain unread, way too often? Absinth transmutes the streets of Prague into a Kafka-esque maze («Spaziergang In Prague»). Literary passages literally come to life. Magic! In the grand scheme of things we are just Stardust Crystals! But, why then, are we destroying our planet, especially after proclaiming ourselves its rightful rulers?

This project came as a fully formed vision during one particularly sunny summer day, while Yumi was lying in the grass on the bans of the Rhine river. Practically all of the songs were written between 2016 and 2017. The melodies were mostly improvised, with Yumi singing them directly into her phone, whenever the muse would strike. The lyrics usually came on the move – on planes, trains and trams – and had to be quickly jotted down. During the arrangement and recording stages of the process some of these sketches were re-written – sometimes several times – with the objective to get the most colour and texture out of the instrumentation. The final material was recorded in 2018, at the Hardstudios Winterthur, in cooperation with Swiss Radio SRF Kultur 2 and will be available on all relevant platforms in November 2020.

credits

released December 9, 2020

Line-Up:
Yumi Ito – vocals, composition, arrangement, lyrics
Marina Tantanozi – flute
Sam Barnett – altosaxophone
Enrique Oliver – tenorsaxophone, bassclarinet
Victor Darmon – violin
Hugo Van Rechem – viola
Jo Flüeler – cello
Esther Sévérac – harp
Izabella Effenberg – vibraphone, array mbira, crotales)
Kuba Dworak – doublebass
Phelan Burgoyne – drums

Album-Info:
Recorded at Hardstudios
Co-Producer SRF 2 Kultur, Peter Bürli
All compositions by Yumi Ito
Recording Date: 9.11.-11.11.2018
Studio engineer Andy Neresheimer, Aurélien Marotte and mastering by Zino Mikorey
Label: Unit Records

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Yumi Ito Basel, Switzerland

Yumi Ito is a Japanese-Polish vocalist, songwriter, producer and arranger based in Basel, Switzerland. Her music is an amalgam of jazz, art-pop, electronica and neo-classical, which can be flexibly performed solo, with her trio or orchestra. Yumi plays live extensively and has shared stages with the likes of Al Jarreau, Becca Stevens, Nils Petter Molvaer and Mark Turner. (Lukasz Polowczyk). ... more

contact / help

Contact Yumi Ito

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Yumi Ito, you may also like: