Kishi Bashi
5-String Violin
Kishi Bashi is the pseudonym of solo artist, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Kaoru Ishibashi. Born in Seattle and growing up in Virginia, Kaoru composes on violin and sings and writes songs blending Japanese and English. He is known for his creative and intricately looped sound incorporating violin, vocals, guitar, keyboard, and beatboxing.
After studying film scoring at Berklee College of Music, Ishibashi began touring and recording internationally as a violinist with diverse artists such as Regina Spektor, Sondre Lerche, and indie rock band of Montreal. He is also the singer and founding member of the New York electronic rock outfit, Jupiter One.
Following his debut full-length solo album 151a, NPR All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen listed Ishibashi as his favorite new artist of 2012, noting that he created "a radiant, uplifting soundscape" with songs such as "Bright Whites."
Kaoru released his critically lauded symphonic folk album Omoiyari (a Japanese word for the idea of creating compassion toward other people by thinking about them) in 2019. This career-defining body of work was in support of his Emmy-nominated feature length documentary Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi which explores minority identity and the incarceration of Japanese Americans in WWII. After 4 years in the making and over $100,000 donated by backers across the globe, the film officially premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2022. The following year, his movie was acquired by MTV Documentaries and will be available on Paramount+.
2024 sees the release of his fifth studio album Kantos. The album encompasses everything from Brazilian jazz and ’70s funk to orchestral rock and city pop. Informed by an equally kaleidoscopic mix of inspirations—the cult-classic sci-fi novel series Hyperion Cantos, the writings of 18th century enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant, a revelatory trip to ancient ruins on the island of Crete.
With good reason, NPR describes Kishi Bashi as “an artist who never stops seeking new ways to engage, connect and delight.”
