Composer-pianist Erika Dohi has created something truly remarkable with Myth of Tomorrow, an album that fuses an air of mystery and whimsy with its vaporous sonic atmosphere. Dohi’s voice, tethered to the Earth in its striking vulnerability, shapeshifts and flies. Her use of autotune is infectious, shading this music with a futuristic hue while adding to the richness and depth in these songs. Some moments, like the opening of “Saturn Square Venus” or “Shahzad + Erika” feel like they were transported from different times, enhancing the myth-like aura felt throughout the record. Everything here is like an all-encompassing and sonically luxurious dream. Dohi explores catastrophe, resilience, and the possibility of rebirth across these soundscapes.
Myth of Tomorrow is OUT NOW via Switch Hit Records and Figureight Records.
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Izanagi no Mikoto
“Izanagi no Mikoto,” named for the Japanese creator deity, was built from a Fairlight CMI improvisation, layered with gagaku-inspired taiko, and finished with a Prophet synth improv.
Ame Onna
‘Ame Onna’ means ‘rain woman’ in Japanese folklore. In modern usage, it’s a woman who brings rain wherever she goes. I’ve felt like that since childhood—I always seemed to bring the rain with me. This song is my meditation on impermanence and emotional resilience: the lyrics sit in the tension between holding on and letting go. The ‘unfading flower’ points to our urge to preserve what’s meant to pass; the rain is release and renewal. In a world that resists tears, ‘Ame Onna’ says it’s okay to feel—and to honor the fleeting present.
Aratani
‘Aratani’ is a nostalgic meditation on memory, time, and impermanence. I wrote it while my grandfather was dying. I happened to be back in Osaka and spent his final days there—writing the lyrics while staring at the chair where he used to sit. The song captures the bittersweet pull of returning to spaces heavy with history and emotion. Its lyrics trace the invisible thread between present and past, where memories unfold like endless landscapes. With tender melodies, it invites you to close your eyes, recall your own cherished moments, and find solace in that infinite space of remembrance and dreams.”
Saturn Square Venus
Astrological tension becomes a sonic narrative in Saturn Square Venus, a piece inspired by the challenging yet transformative aspects of this planetary alignment. In astrology, Saturn represents structure, discipline, and limitation, while Venus embodies love, beauty, and desire. The square aspect creates friction between these opposing energies, symbolizing the struggle to balance emotional connection and personal boundaries, or creativity and responsibility. This piece was created in collaboration with my dear friend and extraordinary violinist Lauren, who composed the violin line. Together, we crafted a work that reflects the complexity of navigating opposing forces in life—whether within relationships, personal growth, or creative expression. Saturn Square Venus invites listeners to reflect on how moments of tension can ultimately lead to transformation, urging us to find harmony in discord and beauty in challenge.
In the wild
After a few intense days at Figure8 with Lauren Cauley, Kyle Poole, and David Leon, we wrapped the planned takes. The producer had left, we were exhausted, and we decided to free-improvise. That spontaneous pass is ‘In the Wild.’
Myth of Tomorrow
‘Myth of Tomorrow’ is inspired by Taro Okamoto’s mural of the same name, which depicts the moment the atomic bomb was dropped. As Toshiko Okamoto has noted, the work isn’t about destruction; it insists that humans can proudly overcome even the cruelest tragedies and give birth to a ‘myth of tomorrow.’ My song reflects on that resilience and regeneration amid life’s relentless cycles—the struggle to find joy in repetition, the quiet burdens we carry, and the illusions we chase. It also asks us to pause and notice the everyday miracles: the sun rising without fail, the moon’s soft waning, a dandelion pushing through asphalt. In that attention, we reconnect with what sustains us. This is a song of introspection—an invitation to confront our disconnection and remember why we live, and hope for tomorrow.
Transplante”
Texts by my best friend, Carol Féliz. We’re both transplants—she from the Dominican Republic, me from Japan—who came to the U.S. to study music. This is her story: a blended language, roots lifted and replanted, the pull between ‘there’ and ‘here,’ and the courage to start from zero. The musical material comes from sampling my own piano recordings and running them through an MPC to build loops.
Shahzad + Erika
“Like ‘In the Wild,’ this was pure improvisation—no plan, no chart. I’m on piano; Shahzad is on Oberheim. Improvising with an artist at his level is rewarding: it challenges you, it affirms you, and it rests on a shared trust that lets the music lead.
1111/ First Responders April 29, 2020
This track unfolds in layers: a full-band opening, a suspended “time-stops” section, spoken voice, and a solo-piano coda. That coda is a phone recording from early lockdown—me alone in my apartment on April 29, 2020, improvising at rock bottom, nowhere to be. At 7 pm, neighbors banging pots and pans for first responders. That moment of isolation turning into collective support captures the record’s core.
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