Bilal. Peter CottonTale. Khari Mateen. Keyon Harrold. Jamila Woods. Devin Morrison. MXXWLL. Sam Wills. Bnnyhunna. Mỹ Anh. Misha. Chien Chien Lu. From Philadelphia to Chicago, Amsterdam to Hanoi, Helsinki to Taipei, the most vital voices in contemporary soul and R&B converged on a single record. This is the fullest expression yet of the World Soul Collective philosophy that SWEET SOUL RECORDS has championed for over a decade: no borders, no hierarchy, just the present sound of soul on a global stage. Neo-soul, indie R&B, Afrobeats, house, spiritual jazz, through all of it, Nao Yoshioka’s voice remains the thread that holds everything together. The world tour that followed Flow built the relationships that made this album possible. Those eleven countries weren’t just tour stops. They were the foundation.
Embracing both light and shadow, embracing them all as part of oneself, leads to the current state of soul music, where talents from America, Europe, and Asia reside.
When Nao Yoshioka finished her world tour for her previous album, "Flow," which took her to 11 countries, what she felt wasn't a sense of accomplishment, but a refreshing feeling. Not a goal, but a starting point. This intuition was the starting point for this album, "self." After chasing the light, she confronted the shadow, and instead of overcoming her weaknesses, she learned to love them. When she accepted all of herself—the parts she hadn't shown and the parts that shone brightly—the music moved towards a new kind of freedom.
Artists from America, Europe, and Asia resonate with her, including Philadelphia neo-soul legend Bilal, Grammy Award-winning producer Peter CottonTale, Chicago's leading singer Jamila Woods, and indie R&B pioneers Devin Morrison, Sam Wills, Bnnyhunna, MXXWLL, and Mỹ Anh. Crossing soul, R&B, funk, Afrobeats, and house, Nao Yoshioka's voice brings it all together as one.
