From grunge anthems to impassioned live R&B performances, Nao’ymt’s playlist takes us through a musical soundtrack to his daily life.

As certain streams of Japanese R&B have grown more spacious and airy, more sonically versatile and nuanced in their electronics, Nao’ymt hasn’t just ridden that wave but helped form it. Nao’ymt – real name Naoaki Yamato – is prominent for his projects’ expansive, airy pop, a musician whose talents have shaped the careers of several stratospherically successful popstars.

In the years since Yamato first shot to fame as a member of esteemed R&B trio JINE, a group he co-founded in 1998, his production discography has grown to include works by the likes of Daichi Miura, Namie Amuro and Hiromi. In terms of Nao’ymt’s solo material, on streaming one can usually find two of his full-length records: Nao’ymt wit’ -1st Season- (2008), an album of collaborations, and Naoaki Yamato 2014 (2014), a solo full-length.

Since 2020 Nao’ymt has flourished further, a steady stream of over a dozen singles revealing more sides to his singing, songwriting and production. From ambient R&B and funk to straight-out ambient music and field recordings, Nao’ymt continues to develop his style and show willingness to work with new generations and sounds.

Not only was Nao’ymt kind enough to catch up with The Glow to curate a playlist – he also did us the honour of creating a song especially for it. “The Afterglow”, the final choice here and a momentous, spectacular ambient track, was released in late May with this playlist in mind.

The theme for Nao’ymt’s playlist is ‘a day in my life’ and it sees him give a series of impressionistic reflections on six tracks, ranging from apocalyptic grunge to slick contemporary R&B.