Kishi Bashi

Kishi Bashi is the stage name of Kaoru Dill-Ishibashi. Since the early 2010s he has developed a project that sits between indie pop, chamber pop, orchestral folk and electronic touches, driven by violin, vocal harmonies and carefully constructed melodic writing. Born in Seattle, raised in Norfolk, Virginia, and now based in Athens, Georgia, Kishi Bashi first co-founded the New York band Jupiter One before playing with of Montreal and touring as a violinist with artists such as Regina Spektor. His solo trajectory began in 2011 with the EP Room for Dream and became clearer with 151a in 2012, which already showcases his layering of strings, voices and rhythms within an accessible yet non-linear chamber-pop format. He expanded his palette on Lighght (2014) and Sonderlust (2016)—the latter produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear—by incorporating more psychedelic and synthetic textures. With Omoiyari (2019) he linked his musical work to a documentary project about the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, extending his reflection between music and film. His recent discography also includes Kantos, released in 2024.