“One of the most original and exciting voices of contemporary jazz. ‘Lonely Island’ is a delicate world of sounds – minimalist, intimate, and moving.”
— Era Jazzu - Dionizy Piątkowski (about Lonely Island 2025)
Yumi Ito – Lonely Island
Released September 19, 2025 – enja yellowbird
Swiss-Polish-Japanese singer, composer, and pianist Yumi Ito has long been celebrated for her ability to blur boundaries between genres and cultures. Now, with the release of Lonely Island, she strips everything back to its essence. For the first time in her career, Ito performs completely solo—just voice and piano—offering a deeply personal album that is both a retreat and a revelation.
Lonely Island released on September 19th via Enja Yellowbird.
“I wanted to make an album that felt like a house concert,” says Ito. “As if the listener is sitting in the room with me—honest, vulnerable, pure.”
Recorded in a secluded studio in the Swiss region of Ticino and produced entirely by F(L)INTA creatives - a German acronym referring to women, lesbians, intersex, non-binary, trans, and agender individuals - Lonely Island is a portrait of radical intimacy.
Drawing on her classical training, jazz improvisation, and a lifelong practice of learning by ear (from early childhood under the Suzuki method), Ito reimagines ten of her own songs that have accompanied her over many years - pieces she says she would take with her to a desert island. Among them: the meditative Old Redwood Tree, the impressionistic Stardust Crystals, and a transformed version of What Seems To Be, where she replaces the original saxophone lines with her own voice and piano.
The result is music that shimmers and breathes - somewhere between Debussy, Norah Jones, Ólafur Arnalds and Tori Amos. There are echoes of impressionism, Brazilian rhythms, and cinematic landscapes. Every sound was recorded live, creating a delicate sonic world that draws the listener closer with each phrase.
Lonely Island marks both a homecoming and a new direction. Rooted in improvisation and guided by storytelling, the album opens a new chapter in Ito’s genre-defying career. While a full-band album and international tour are planned for 2026, this is Ito at her most stripped back - and arguably most powerful.
ALBUM CREDITS
Recorded
25th & 26th of March, 5th & 6th of July 2024 at Lemura Recording Studio, Montagnola, Switzerland
Yumi Ito
Vocals, Piano, Composition, Lyrics & Production
Lara Persia (Lemura Recording Studio)
Recording, Editing & Mixing
Magdalena Piotrkowska (Hear Candy)
Mastering
Studio assistants
Giuseppe Loi, Shan Fioravera, Melanie Fernandez Otero
Maria Jarzyna
Graphic design & Typography
Mady Lykeridou
Photography
Paulina Janiuk
Outfit design
Marta Soltys (Ms Muse)
Creative Direction, Supervision
Stoph Ruckli
Consulting
Order
Lonely Island
Videos & Photos
Love Is Here To Stay (Solo Version)
Is It You (Solo Version)
Stardust Crystals (Solo Version)
After The End (Solo Version)
Little Things (Solo Version)
Love Is Here To Stay (Live at Unterfahrt)
Press & Reviews
“The music recalls the intensity of singer-songwriters such as Tori Amos or Fiona Apple, not only because of the expressive vocals but also due to her narrative piano playing, which not only accompanies but actively shapes. For the first time, Ito has also incorporated extended piano improvisations, occasionally doubling them with her wide vocal range.”
— Melodiva (about Lonely Island 2025)
“Singer, pianist, and composer with great narrative power.”
— Hessischer Rundfunk 2 (about Lonely Island 2025)
“An emotional journey – with nothing but voice and piano. The classically trained pianist succeeds in creating maximum depth with minimal means – a work that does not need to be loud in order to be heard.”
— eReM Online Magazine - HuGe ***** (album review about Lonely Island 2025)
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Fans of Portishead, Tori Amos, Björk, Sade, and the vocal acrobatics of Bobby McFerrin will feel right at home here. The vocal surfing between styles is extraordinary, and it’s hard to believe that all these tracks feature the voice of a single artist. I can’t stop listening. A fantastic album!
— Wprost Kultura Magazine, Maciej Drzażdżewski (about Ysla 2023)
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What made me fall in love with Yumi is the combination of the vocal tones of Björk, Fiona Apple, and Regina Spektor. The most wonderful thing is that despite this, she remains distinct and uniquely herself. I greatly admire her for her vocal courage and the uncompromising approach she takes. ‘Ysla’ is exceptional. Authentic. Beautiful in its essence.
— Jazz Soul, Przemo Urbaniak (about Ysla 2023)
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Very powerful when she elevates her scat singing like in “Drama Queen” and is accompanied only by bass and drums: so much fire, so much expression.”
— Jazzreportagen, Rainer Ortag (European showcases Jazzahead! 2024)
“One of the most original and exciting voices of contemporary jazz. Lonely Island shimmers with shades of Debussy, Norah Jones, Ólafur Arnaldsn, and Tori Amos. It echoes impressionism, Brazilian rhythms and film landscapes. A delicate world of sounds - minimalist, intimate, and moving.”
— Era Jazzu - Dionizy Piątkowski (about Lonely Island 2025)
„She is a sound explorer. She loves to accompany herself on the piano: repetitive motifs, which she sings wordlessly, are approached with the same seriousness as hymn-like passages. Her music thrives on nuances and fine shades, on beautiful tonal fusions. Guidance through her sonic cosmos is given by her voice – at times relaxed and light, then powerful, incantatory, hymn-like. With just a few notes, she creates a world of her own.”
— Bayerischer Rundfunk - Beatrix Gillmann (about Lonely Island 2025)
“Bird-like vocal sensation!”
— Süddeutsche Zeitung (Album Release Konzert Review Unterfahrt 2023), Oliver Hochkeppel
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Yumi Ito is a multifaceted and visionary musician who has forged a uniquely personal path as a jazz singer-songwriter.
— Radio Bremen Zwei, Till Lorenzen (about Ysla 2023)
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One talent that cannot be taught is Yumi Ito’s gift for writing songs that are grand, layered, significant, enticingly diffuse, sometimes unfathomable, and often quite magical.
— REVIEW Abendzeitung München (about Ysla 2023)
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The Swiss Yumi Ito is one of the European vocal discoveries of recent years. With an irresistible timbre all her own, she sings self-composed songs that combine the simplicity of pop with the complexity of jazz.
— SWR 2, Ssirus W. Pakzad