French Retrowave artist Natsukime released her first full-length album on Monday. Titled Ikigai (生き甲斐) (Japanese for ‘Reason for Being’), the debut album features a wide scope of stylistic influences ranging from Drum n’ Bass to oriental Cyberpunk aesthetics, amounting to an unmistakably distinctive take on the Retrowave sound.

« Ikigai is the story I went through, the meaning that music took to me, the power and the magic that it can have on you. Ikigai is also an invitation to travel to another world, to another era. I wanted to find the right compromise between rich and distorted sounds while keeping a soaring atmosphere, a changing rhythm and while honoring as best as possible the Cyberpunk aesthetic. Ikigai means in Japanese “reason to live” and I believe that this album is also what allowed me to hold a good path in this world which becomes more and more crazy. »
– Natsukime

The album also includes features fellow artists STRNGR, Aelehx and ALEX, who lend their talents and sounds on remix tracks and guest spots. If you’re a Retrowave fan with a soft spot for traditional Japanese sounds and a sweet tooth for thumping Darksynth bangers, you know what to do…

Favorite Tracks : Blur, Distant World, Embryo (Natsukime Remix)

Ikigai (生き甲斐) is out now on Bandcamp and on all major streaming services