Kishi Bashi

The epic lead single Colorful State is an expressive, prog-tinged orchestral rock song about the complexities of our human lives, how we can feel in a constant flux between utter joy and sullen uncertainty and everything in between, explains Kaoru Ishibashi aka Kishi Bashi. ‘This song is a warm embrace of that inevitability of change, and that for every sunset, there will always be a sunrise the next morning.’ The album was produced by Kishi Bashi himself and mixed by Tucan (Hot Chip, Jungle, Aluna). Recorded at Chase Park Transduction with long-time collaborator and engineer Drew Vandenberg (Faye Webster of Montreal, Toro y Moi) and UK musicians Sweet Loretta, it also features additional guest musicians including Zorina Andall (vocals), Augie Bello (saxophone) and activist/rapper Linqua Franqa.

Kishi Bashi is the pseudonym of violin virtuoso Kaoru Ishibashi. After recording, touring and collaborating with various artists such as Regina Spektor, Sondre Lerche and of Montreal, Kishi Bashi released his first album 151a in 2012 via Joyful Noise, which was highly praised and named ‘Best New Artist Of The Year’ by NPR. K's follow-up album Lighght expanded his palette with more diverse and nuanced instrumentation, flirting with Eastern-influenced arrangements, Philip Glass-inspired improvisation and 70s prog. With the 2016 album Sonderlust, K's work became even more intense, personal and artistically adventurous with the help of producer Chris Taylor, engineer Pat Dillet and drummer Matt Chamberlain.

After Sonderlust, K travelled frequently to Montana and Wyoming to work on a ‘song film’ about Japanese internment during World War II. Kishi Bashi's fourth album, Omoiyari, is a studio album written during these six intense years of travelling, researching and filming for the film Omoiyari: A Song Film, which premiered at South by Southwest 2022 and screened at several film festivals in the fall of 2023 and is available for streaming on Paramount+. Omoiyari is Kishi Bashi's fifth album and features on-the-spot improvisations, new versions of songs from the Kishi Bashi catalogue, as well as unreleased songs and demos featured in the film.

Credits Foto: Rob Williamson