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Kishi Bashi
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Kishi Bashi

A lush array of looping and vocal/violin gymnastics… Kishi Bashi’s debut full-length, 151a, is a bright and soaring avant-pop record written primarily on violin – Kishi Bashi’s main instrument which has brought him to record and tour with the likes of Regina Spector, Sondre Lerche, Alexi Murdoch, of Montreal and more.


Kishi Bashi collaborated with of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes on that band’s new album, Paralytic Stalks. This last endeavor he credits with some of his most recent musical growth, acknowledging that Barnes pushed him to new heights of creativity, forcing him to explore a broader use of his primary instrument: the violin. This experimentation affected his loop-based live show and led to him write more of the new record with violin rather than piano or guitar, loosening him from the grip of habit and expanding his palette. Kishi Bashi uses Japanese singing as another of many layers, doing so without any trace of gimmickry, and achieving what, to Western ears, must sound like an expression of the ineffable.


From the deconstructed doo-wop of “Wonder Woman, Wonder Me,” a 21st century transmission of Smile-era Brian Wilson to the menacing marriage of Eastern hues and Western operatics in “Beat the Bright out of Me,” this album is a mediation between opposing drives, offering possible reconciliation but never promising it. Kishi Bashi played and produced 151a entirely himself.

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  • Buzz Bands LA

    Buzz Bands LA on Kishi Bashi

    3 months ago

    The self-directed video for “I Am the Antichrist To You” has become a quick favorite for Kishi Bashi fans. Working in tandem with friend and animator Anthony Scott (former Pixar employee who’s work on “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Coraline,” ParaNorman” and more), the clip featuring a puppy looking for a world he once knew. Kishi Bashi, whose real name is Kaoru Ishibashi and goes by “K,” may look familiar to of Montreal fans when he joined the band on tour in 2010, but no one has gained as much acclaim for being a one-man-orchestra since Andrew Bird in the more here

  • TheOwlMag

    TheOwlMag on Kishi Bashi

    4 months ago

    Kishi Bashi 151a [Joyful Noise Recordings]

    Kishi Bashi is the nom de chanteur of K. Ishibashi, a singer, multi-instrumentalist (predominantly violin) and songwriter hailing from Virginia. His magical fingers and rosined bow have toured with the likes of Regina Spektor, Alexi Murdoch, and of Montreal (of whom he is a current member). His first EP Room for Dream, features a duet with Kevin Barnes and is only available digitally from iTunes, Bandcamp, or a friend with really good antivirus software. For those that have yet to hear of him, this pedigree certainly illustrates where his first full length album falls in the indie spectrum-beautiful arrangements, sly lyrics, and definitively avant garde. “Bright Whites” has a chorus sung in Japanese, rhythm clipping along at a zippy pace, together with hand clapping, and harmonies aplenty to keep us up and dancing. More hand clapping on “It All Began With A Burst,” along with the sweet violin and a repeating chorus replete with “Aiieeiis.” The requisite epic rock ballad “Atticus, In the Desert,” is a sweetly arranged song, complete with lush strings, haunting pauses, wistful lyrics, and whistling. The sound is eclectic and harmonious, yet we sense there is still growth to come.

    more at theowlmag.com

  • mySpoonful

    mySpoonful on Kishi Bashi

    about 1 year ago

    At the risk of being perfectly blunt, you should check out Kishi Bashi because he is a talented, driven, well-connected musician on the up-and-up, with his excellent first full-length album scheduled to be released in April. On the cusp of a tour supporting Deerhoof and Of Montreal, he will be pulling double shifts as both the opening act and violinist for the accomplished headliner. His new album, 151a, is a amalgamation of spiraling loops, staccato violins, and escalating vocal harmonies that will leave you wanting more. more at myspoonful.com

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