Kaoru Ishibashi
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Kaoru Dill-Ishibashi (born November 4, 1975), who performs as Kishi Bashi, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and Emmy-nominated award winning filmmaker currently based in
Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...
. He was a founding member of Jupiter One and, for a few years, was a member of the band
of Montreal of Montreal is an American indie pop band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontperson Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance between Barnes and a woman "of Montreal". The band is identified as part of the Elephant 6 collec ...
. He embarked on his career as a solo artist in 2011, releasing his debut album '' 151a'' at Joyful Noise Recordings in 2012 to immediate fanfare and critical acclaim.


Biography

Born in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
, Bashi grew up in
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
where both of his parents were professors at
Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...
. His mother is from
Naha is the Cities of Japan, capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 people per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). ...
,
Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west an ...
, and his father is from Iga,
Mie Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture an ...
. After graduating from
Matthew Fontaine Maury High School Matthew Fontaine Maury High School also known as Maury High School, is a high school located in the Ghent area of Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Maury's school mascot is the Commodore. The high school is named for Matthew Fontaine Maury. Ma ...
in 1994, he went to
Cornell University College of Engineering The Cornell University College of Engineering (branded as Cornell Engineering) is the engineering school of Cornell University. It was founded in 1870 as the Sibley College of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanic Arts. It is one of four private u ...
. At Cornell he co-founded a band named Tamarisk. After flunking out of Cornell, he went to study film scoring at
Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...
before becoming a violinist. In 2002, he married violinist Keiko Ishibashi. After 19 years of marriage, they finalized their divorce in early 2021. Kishi Bashi began dating American philosopher and professor Kimberly Dill in August 2021. As of January 2023, Ishibashi and Dill were engaged. In July 2024, Ishibashi and Dill married in a private ceremony in California's Sierra Nevadas. Kishi Bashi is also the singer and founding member of the New York
electronic rock Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...
outfit, Jupiter One. In 2011, he started to record and perform as a solo artist, recorded and toured internationally as a violinist with diverse artists such as
Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian Americans, Russian-born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in New York City's Indie music scene, in ...
, opening for
Sondre Lerche Sondre Lerche (; born 5 September 1982) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, musician and actor. His discography includes ten studio albums and multiple EPs. Early life Growing up in a suburb of Bergen, Lerche was heavily influenced by 1980s pop. ...
, Alexi Murdoch, and
of Montreal of Montreal is an American indie pop band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontperson Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance between Barnes and a woman "of Montreal". The band is identified as part of the Elephant 6 collec ...
. He supported
of Montreal of Montreal is an American indie pop band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontperson Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance between Barnes and a woman "of Montreal". The band is identified as part of the Elephant 6 collec ...
on their spring 2012 tour. Shortly after Dill-Ishibashi debuted his full-length solo album ''151a'' on Indianapolis label Joyful Noise Recordings,
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen listed Kishi Bashi as his favorite new artist of 2012 noting that he created "a radiant, uplifting soundscape" with songs such as "Bright Whites." In the same year,
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
licensed "Bright Whites" for use in a commercial for
Windows 8 Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, made available for download via Microsoft ...
. Around the same time,
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
used Kishi Bashi's song "It All Began With A Burst" from the same album for a commercial introducing their Xperia Tablet S. In addition to these placements,
Smart ''SMart'' was a British CBBC television programme based on art, which began in 1994 and ended in 2009. The programme was recorded at BBC Television Centre in London. Previously it had been recorded in Studio A at Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingha ...
licensed "Chester's Burst Over The Hamptons" for their line of smart cars in the United States. Kishi Bashi has since been invited to play in major festivals such as
SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
and
Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...
and gone on an extensive US tour with supporting acts such as The Last Bison (from his native
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...
, Virginia). In early 2013, Kishi Bashi held a North American tour across the United States and Canada, continuing in EU and UK in spring 2013. In 2014 Kishi Bashi released his own line of coffee through Jittery Joe's called Royal Daark Blend. Each purchase comes with an exclusive song download. Kishi Bashi's songs are frequently used in other media. His music also appears in '' Banana Split'', ''The Babysitter's Club'', '' God Friended Me'', '' Into The Dark'',
Atypical ''Atypical'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Robia Rashid for Netflix. The series takes place in Connecticut, and focuses on the life of 18-year-old Samuel "Sam" Gardner ( Keir Gilchrist), who is autistic. The first sea ...
, the DC Universe's ''
Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...
'' series, and others. He composed the soundtrack for the Apple TV+ series ''Stillwater'', and wrote the theme song to the television series '' Shrill''. In July 2021, Kishi Bashi's song "I Am the Antichrist to You" was featured in season 5 episode 3 "A Rickconvenient Mort" of the animated television series ''
Rick and Morty ''Rick and Morty'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated science fiction Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The series follows the misadvent ...
''.


Discography


Studio albums


Live albums


Compilation albums

*"7" Box Set" (including covers of
Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads
, ELO, and
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
) (2013)Joyful Noise


Extended plays

*''Room for Dream EP'' (2011) – Aerobic International / Joyful Noise *''Philosophize! Chemicalize! EP'' (2013)Joyful Noise *''Room for Dream EP'' (2017)Joyful Noise *''Emigrant EP'' (2021)Joyful Noise


Soundtracks

* ''Stillwater: Vol. I (Apple TV+ Original Series Soundtrack)'' (2020) – Joyful Noise * ''The Fourth Phase'' (2016)


Notes


Projects

Kishi Bashi's first EP, ''Room For Dream'', came out in May 2011 on Aerobic International. ''Room For Dream'' features four songs, including a duet with Kevin Barnes and can only be purchased from downloading platforms such as
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
or
Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...
. His live show is a solo performance based on live
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
and vocal looping and beat boxing. He has often been compared to Andrew Bird and
Owen Pallett Michael James Owen Pallett-Plowright (born September 7, 1979), known professionally as Owen Pallett, is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Under their former pseudonym Final Fantasy, Pallett won the 2006 Polaris Music P ...
. Kishi Bashi's first full-length record, ''151a'', was released by Joyful Noise Recordings on April 10, 2012, after receiving partial funding through
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
. The title '151a' refers to the Japanese term 一期一会 (pronounced the same way '151a' is in Japanese), which carries a meaning similar to "once in a lifetime". The three b-sides from the ''Room For Dream'' EP ("Conversations at the End of the World," "Evalyn, Summer has Arrived," and "Unicorns Die When You Leave") are included on the Australian/NZ edition of '151a' as bonus tracks. The Australian/NZ edition also replaces "Intro / Pathos, Pathos" with an instrumental version of the same track. Kishi Bashi's second album, '' Lighght'' (pronounced "light") was released on Joyful Noise Recordings on May 13, 2014. The album's title is a one-word poem by Aram Saroyan. His third studio album, ''Sonderlust'', was released on September 16, 2016, by Joyful Noise Recordings. It was produced by Chris Taylor of
Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...
. On December 7, 2017, Dill-Ishibashi started a
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...
campaign on
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for a documentary film titled ''Omoiyari: A Songfilm by Kishi Bashi'', which was acquired by MTV Documentaries and premiered on Paramount+ in 2023. The film details the struggles faced by incarcerated Japanese Americans during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. An album of songs created for the film was released by Joyful Noise Recordings on May 31, 2019, marking it as his fourth studio album.


Recording techniques

Kishi Bashi, working with different producers, gets creative with his music recordings. They use special setups like baffles to create different sound environments—either a quiet space for vocals or a smaller room to make the violin sound more focused. Kishi Bashi's compositions often feature looped violin music and vocalizations, with melodies and songs constructed from smaller parts and reassembled into inventive arrangements using Logic. Despite using just a few pieces of equipment, like specific microphones and compressors, the duo crafts a unique sound. The recording setup involves a strategic selection of microphones and processing equipment. Vocals are captured through an RCA 77 ribbon microphone with a Tube-Tech CL-1B compressor, while acoustic violin parts utilize a Royer 122V ribbon mic along with the Tube-Tech compressor. Classic
API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...
VP26 mic preamps and a Vintech x73 are employed in the session. Vandenberg notes the dynamic nature of the recording process, where some compositions originate from fully written traditional songs, while others emerge from loose ideas based on snippets from loops. This approach, while creatively demanding, results in the production of unique and intricate musical arrangements, showcasing Kishi Bashi's distinct musical style.


References


External links


Official Website

interview and solo performance

Podcast
featuring "Manchester" by Kishi Bashi {{DEFAULTSORT:Kishi Bashi 1975 births Living people American alternative rock musicians American rock violinists American male violinists Of Montreal members Musicians from Seattle Musicians from Norfolk, Virginia Musicians from Athens, Georgia American musicians of Japanese descent Joyful Noise Recordings artists 21st-century American violinists