No, Kishi Bashi (real name: K Ishibashi) isn’t, in fact, a former competitive eater from Japan who once inhaled 64 hot dogs in a 12-minute span at Nathan’s Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest; that would be Takeru Kobayashi. My apologies to the former; as a third-generation American almost exclusively accustomed to Anglo-Saxon and Hispanic names, names originating from the Land of the Rising Sun tend to, for me, blend in to one another. But really, who cares about some guy who’s been genetically blessed with an unusually large gullet? I can only think of so many professions where such a quality would be advantageous. I’ll let you use your imagination.
Needless to say, Kishi Bashi’s musical talents are much more impressive than the ability to shove diabetes down one’s throat, and you may even be familiar with some of his work, despite a possible insistence otherwise. As a violinist, he’s recorded, toured, and has close relationships with two rather popular acts — Regina Spektor and of Montreal — and is also the founding member of Jupiter One, a Brooklyn-based band specializing in mostly traditional-sounding indie rock. Now, after self-releasing his Room for Dream EP last summer, he’s set to release his debut full-length 151a via Joyful Noise on April 10.
If Room for Dream is any indication, expect a sound sporadically (and eerily) reminiscent of the kind that of Montreal are particularly known for — “avant pop,” as a press release fairly describes it — you know, suitable for happy folk, or at least those aspiring to be.
151a tracklisting:
01. Intro / Pathos, Pathos
02. Manchester
03. Bright Whites
04. It All Began With a Burst
05. Wonder Woman, Wonder Me
06. Chester’s Burst Over the Hamptons
07. Atticus, In the Desert
08. I Am the Antichrist to You
09. Beat the Bright Out of Me
• Kishi Bashi: http://www.kishibashi.com
• Joyful Noise: http://www.joyfulnoiserecordings.com
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