Nana Yamato

Nana Yamato’s brilliance lies in a profound imagination that confronts the isolation and claustrophobia of Tokyo life, without losing grasp of the whimsy and romance of girlhood. “I think Tokyo is a lonely city,” says Nana. “It's more like an empty city. It's like there's nothing in it but buildings. A big stadium was built, but the Olympics were postponed. It's empty.” Yet it's hard to ignore the romance the artist has with the streets that she walks; Japanese and English vocals sing about the lights and sounds of the city, as if there’s no place else she could exist. Each song on Before Sunrise, her debut album, is a secret hidden in the late-night glow of a young girl’s bedroom, created in the precious witching hours of the teenage heart, before dawn returns with the tedious demands of adulthood. The self-expression that was not nurtured in school or in her family is finally set free on opening track “Do You Wanna”: “Dreams are gone far away from reality / I climb up the hill, that tumbles to the ground, every time I try”. Dreams, and the language of living inside one’s imagination, are the prevailing theme of Before Sunrise. Yamato describes her style as “critical fantasy”, a fitting label for a sound that exists as much in a carefree daydream as they do in a crowded subway.