Japanese soul and R&B phenomenon Nao Yoshioka has just released her 4th studio album Undeniable, her first release in five years. It’s a collection that celebrates that universal existential moment of coming back home to the core of oneself, rediscovering one’s own intrinsic and undeniable true nature after losing it somewhere along the way.
Undeniable contains 14 songs created with a combination of live instrumentation and gritty, cutting-edge digital beats. Each appropriately titled track represents a distinctive component of that undeniable true self that Nao could no longer deny:
- Got Me
- Boundaries
- Liberation
- About U (feat. Eric Roberson)
- Invest In Me (feat. Carolyn Malachi)
- Celebrate
- All In Me
- Up And Away (feat. PHER)
- Lost
- Loyalty
- Love Me
- Where Am I Supposed To Be?
- Don’t Deny Me
- What’s Out There
Her inspiration for this album came after relocating from Japan to the U.S., and having a deep yearning for personal authenticity. “All these amazing things had happened with my music career in Japan” she reflects, “But between who I am and who I’m expected to be, I had completely lost my way.” A dream-list of producers and musicians was curated to align the perfect musical collaboration for each theme; Musicman Ty, Khari Mateen (Jill Scott, The Roots), King of Indie Soul – Eric Roberson, Lorenzo Johnson (Ledisi, Maysa), Chris Dave, and The Drumhedz keyboardist Daniel Crawford. Also on the album are Grammy-winning producer Vidal Davis (Ne-yo, Usher), and upcoming producers/artists Devin Morrison and Kiah Victoria.
Since the Japan-wide release of her 1st album The Light in 2013, Nao Yoshioka’s music has garnered critical acclaim, especially for her exceptional voice. She broke several industry molds when the U.S. re-release of her 2016 album The Truth received overwhelmingly positive reviews across the board, making her the first Japanese soul singer to cause major waves in the birthplace of the genre. Rolling Stone had called the album “impeccable neo-soul” and the lead single “I Love When” had jumped to #32 on the Urban Adult Contemporary Billboard charts.
For more information visit her website: www.naoyoshioka.com.
