If you’ve been regularly following JOVM for some time now, you may recall that I’ve written a couple of posts about Kishi Bashi, a violinist, composer, vocalist and producer who has recorded and toured with Regina Spektor, Sondre Lerche and Of Montreal with whom he was once a full-time member and co-producer. And while he was involved with his various projects, Kishi Bashi (born K. Ishibashi) spent time writing and crafting the material that would comprise his critically acclaimed debut effort, 151a.

With the success of 151a, Ishibashi decided to focus on his solo career, and began writing the material that wound up on his sophomore effort Lighght. Reportedly inspired by the one word minimalist poem by Aram Saroyan, the material on Ishibashi’s sophomore effort reflects a more nuanced sensibility as some of the material employs decidedly Eastern arrangements, other songs sound as though Ishibashi had been listening to prog rock – and the material does this while retaining the neon bright, breezy, playful nature that first won the attention of the blogosphere. 

“Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!," Lighght’s first single possesses a swooning Romanticism and a boundlessly infectious optimism that seems fitting for a such an ethereal yet effortlessly anthemic song. As a dear friend would often say to me: "this is a song that screams ‘YES! YES! YES! YES to everything – all the time.’" 

Recently, Kishi Bashi and his backing band were on Late Show with David Letterman and this live footage reveals how the multi-taltened Ishibashi and his backing band create their sound –using an array of samplers and loopers, plus live instrumentation and vocals. Interestingly, the song also has a subtle twang that gives the song a slight old-timey feel while being mischievously modern. 

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