Start Listening To: Hinako Omori
From healing others to healing self: The evolution of Hinako Omori's artistic focus.
Hinako Omori, a London-based musician hailing from Yokohama, Japan, is a master of crafting ethereal compositions. Guided by her love for experimentation and a profound connection with synthesizers and layered vocals, Hinako Omori has embarked on a journey to create music that speaks to the core of human experience. Her upcoming album, titled stillness, softness... is a testament to her artistic evolution. With a profound title borrowed from the album's final track, the project explores the culmination of emotions that have shaped its creation. From the very start, stillness, softness... beckons listeners to delve into a sonic tapestry that mirrors the inner workings of the human psyche.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
My name is Hinako Omori - I’m a musician based in London, from Yokohama, Japan, and I love experimenting and creating music using synthesizers and layered vocals.
Your upcoming album is titled stillness, softness… Could you share the significance of this title and how it encapsulates the themes and emotions explored in the album?
The album title is the same name as the last song on the record - I felt it was a term that encapsulated the culmination of emotions of creating the record most accurately.
The themes of the album became clearer to me after the writing process, when all of the songs were assembled together - to me personally, it’s an aural map of shadow work - of processing and cleansing, and also of learning to observe myself without judgement - a quest to shine a light on the darkness and seek inner resolution.
Your debut album a journey… was about healing others, while this new album seems to be about healing yourself. How did this shift in focus influence the creative process and the overall sound of the album?
I think the overall sounds on this record draw from a more diverse range than on “a journey…” - one which dives into darker, richer sonics in parts, but is also equally balanced with the opposite end of the spectrum.
Interestingly the main synthesizers I used on this record were similar to the previous, but perhaps I was accessing a different side that I wanted to explore further.
The single ‘cyanotype memories’ explores the idea of reconnecting and surrendering to the unknown. How did you translate these concepts into the musical and visual elements of the song?
I’m honoured to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Emi Takahashi on the artwork for both “a journey…” and “stillness, softness…”, which has been an absolute joy.
For the artwork for this record, I was excited to explore Surrealist influences. I’d been fascinated by cyanotype printing since discovering cyanotype paper at a photography shop, and experimenting with it at home - it reminded me of Man Ray’s Rayographs which I was obsessed with when I was younger.
The act of leaving an object on this paper and leaving it in sunlight or under UV light, experimenting with the development time and noticing the image become more boldly imprinted into the paper, like a shadow of the object - it reminded me in a way of neuroplasticity and how we can retrain our brains by focusing and redirecting our thoughts to create new neural pathways, with the repetition of these thoughts creating stronger paths.
It resonated deeply with the themes of “stillness, softness…” - I saw each song on the album as a different ‘memory room’ - where one door closes and another opens - and wanted to assign a specific meaningful object to each to symbolise them, echoing the Surrealist influence of the use of everyday objects. Emi and I spoke about cyanotype printing these objects, which is how the cover artwork came into being for the song “cyanotype memories” - the album cover artwork is an image Emi cyanotype printed of a portrait taken by my friend Luca (Bailey).
stillness, softness… is described as a collage of experiments. Could you delve into how you pieced together these experiments to create a cohesive and continuous album experience?
Similarly to “a journey…” and also generally when creating music, I don’t necessarily set out with a particular idea of what kind of music I want to create - it’s usually more to do with feeling, and what I feel I want to portray through the synthesizers. The writing process for me is experimenting with synths to see what sounds I feel most connected to in that moment, and then pressing record to document the whole process.
I thought the word ‘collage’ felt most apt to describe the process, as it’s a piecing together of recordings representing different sonic diaries from different days. The recordings also show me the flow of how they should be pieced together - for example, I’d often find that one experiment would start in one key, and another would finish in the key the previous one started in. The music informs me which order they should go, and this usually goes hand in hand thematically too - the lyrics I’d paired with particular recordings also seemed to form a stream of consciousness narrative throughout.
The album is intended to be one continuous piece, with the tracks flowing seamlessly into one another.
You've mentioned that synthesizers respond to your emotions. How do you channel your feelings into your music, and how does this relationship with your instruments impact the creative process?
I think that synthesisers - and any instruments - are so receptive to our emotions, and they’re able to respond to how we are feeling. A clear communicator of our inner workings!
I’ve found that sometimes when I’m feeling stressed or have had a chaotic day, the Prophet 08 I use suddenly drops dramatically in tuning and I can’t do much to fix it. After having taken it for repair it turns out that it’s absolutely fine, and there’s nothing wrong with the circuitry or electronics - I think it’s more to do with my energy levels. It’s a good reminder to myself to recharge.
You've had the opportunity to collaborate with various artists, from EOB to Kae Tempest. How have these experiences shaped your musical journey and influenced your approach to creating your own music?
I’m very grateful for the collaborations I’ve had the opportunity to experience, both touring and in the studio, with artists that I hugely admire - it’s inspired me endlessly seeing how they create their magic, how the songs and sonic landscapes come together, how the songs are then arranged and interpreted live and become a new entity on stage.
These experiences have given me the curiosity and confidence to explore composing and experimenting with my own music, which has been especially eye-opening as I grew up learning classical piano and improvising wasn’t something that came naturally to me.
What do you love right now?
Sunflowers! They’re my favourite - I’ve just got back from a residency in Tuscany, and we were surrounded by fields and fields full of tall, happy sunflowers - I’ve never seen anything like it. So beautiful.
If your new album could be the soundtrack to any classic movie, which one would you choose, and why?
That’s such a lovely question. I recently watched “Dolls” by Takeshi Kitano - it follows the story of three different relationships, which are also somehow synchronistically intertwined with each other. I love the pace, the dreamlike cinematography, the unexpected twists and turns and how Kitano san captures darkness and beauty in such a breathtaking way. It’s tragic and heartbreaking, but you feel so connected to the characters and feel deep compassion towards them. How incredible it would be to score a film by Kitano san - one can only dream…!
Looking ahead, what are your aspirations for the impact that stillness, softness… will have on your listeners, and how do you hope this album connects with their own emotions and experiences?
If the album resonates with people in any way that is meaningful to them, that would mean the world to me - I hope it can provide comfort for anyone seeking it, and act as a reminder to love, heal and have compassion towards ourselves.
