Ichika Nito and Hayato Sumino on Musical Philosophy and Resonance as Global Soloists

Redefining the Idea of a Guitar Hero

Ichika, you released your debut album The Moon’s Elbow in January, and you’re planning to perform extensively overseas again this year, right?

Ichika: Yes. I definitely want to keep doing solo-style performances where I can complete everything on my own. At the same time, I’m interested in expanding that format even further.

Sumino, you’ve performed at venues like Nippon Budokan and K-Arena Yokohama in Japan, and internationally at Carnegie Hall. How do you think about the ideal form of a solo concert?

Sumino: No matter the venue, the core idea I carry into every concert is to connect classical music — which is often treated as something belonging to the past — with the present, and to present it as something alive. And within that, I always want to include elements that come from me as someone living in the present.

That’s why I like programming classical pieces alongside my own compositions, improvising freely between them, or even bringing in different instruments. I’d like to keep pushing those ideas further.

Connecting with musical history while not being bound by conventional ideas of instruments or genres, and creating expressions unique to the present day — that seems to be another point you both share.

Ichika: That’s true. I also feel that the electric guitar is an instrument that hasn’t quite escaped its traditions yet. Culturally and structurally, there are still a lot of expectations about how an electric guitar is supposed to be played.

What I’m aiming for now is to become a guitar hero who moves beyond those existing frameworks. Right now, there’s still this equation of “guitar hero = rock star,” but I want to show that the guitar can be approached in other ways too. You don’t necessarily have to form a band with your friends — you could just sit alone in a small room, quietly picking out notes. And it doesn’t have to be an acoustic guitar; it can be an electric guitar as well. I’d love to become a kind of symbolic figure for that different kind of guitar hero.

So as a soloist, you’re aiming to become a new kind of guitar hero for this era.

Ichika: When I watched people my age forming bands and happily strumming away together, while I was off doing something completely different on my own, I did sometimes wonder, “Am I really doing this the right way?” I definitely had that uncertainty. But this path is what brought me here. I’d like to become someone who can affirm people who feel the same way. Of course, making music with others is wonderful, but music can also be complete on your own. I’d like to encourage people by showing that you can still create something truly great, even by yourself.

Ichika Nito “The Moon’s Elbow”

Tracklist

1. Where I Begin
2. Lost Stars
3. Echo feat. Nakajin
4. LA NUIT feat. NIX
5. The Itch feat. Manuel Gardner Fernandes, Feryquitous
6. The Moon’s Elbow feat. Marcin
7. I’m Your Ghost feat. Flower.far
8. we weren’t, were we?
9. should’ve cried
10. in your quiet feat. Yvette Young
11. Where I Return

Official Links

• Official Website: https://ichikanito.com/ja
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ichika_nito
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ichika_mo/
• X: https://x.com/ichika_mo
• Staff X: https://x.com/ichika_staff_