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[SONG OF THE DAY] Kishi Bashi - "Summer of '42"
photo credit: Max Ritter
Last week violin virtuoso Kishi Bashi announced his fourth studio album, Omoiyari, which drops on May 31st courtesy of Joyful Noise Recordings.
As someone who *full disclosure* had the pleasure of working as K’s day to day manager during the release of his 2016 release, Sonderlust, and heard the early ruminations about the forthcoming Omoiyari: A Songfilm documentary and now a full-fledged album, I have been eagerly waiting and silently cheering with every Instagram story update he’s done around this project. The album is a musical statement on the turbulent sociopolitical atmosphere of present-day America. Recognizing the parallels between the current U.S. administration’s constant talk of walls and bans, and the xenophobic anxieties that led to the forced internment of Japanese-Americans in the months following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he immersed himself in that period, visiting former prison sites and listening to the stories of survivors, while developing musical concepts along the way. The unique creative process behind Omoiyari will be documented in the Songfilm documentary scheduled for release in early 2020
The first taste from the forthcoming album, “Summer of ‘42”, is a love story set in WWII about falling in love in an incarceration camp and ultimately losing that love. As K explained, “The significance is that the idea of love, loss, and desire are consistent themes throughout history and help us to empathize with a people in a disconnected past.”
There is so much to admire about this literal labor of love that K is about to unveil to the masses, all the way down to how meticulous he was with naming the project. As he reflected, “I gravitated toward themes of empathy, compassion, and understanding as a way to overcome fear and intolerance. But I had trouble finding an English title for the piece. Omoiyari is a Japanese word. It doesn't necessarily translate as empathy, but it refers to the idea of creating compassion towards other people by thinking about them. I think the idea of omoiyari is the single biggest thing that can help us overcome aggression and conflict.”
Omoiyari is available now for pre-order.
Kishi Bashi will be performing select dates around the release of Omoiyari, which are below.
Omoiyari Tracklist:
1. Penny Rabbit and Summer Bear
2. F Delano
3. Marigolds
4. A Song For You
5. Angeline
6. Summer of ‘42
7. Theme From Jerome (Forgotten Words)
8. A Meal For Leaves
9. Violin Tsunami
10. Annie, Heart Thief of the Sea
Kishi Bashi 2019 Tour Dates:
06/08 - Athens, GA @ Georgia Theater
06/11 - Los Angeles, CA @ Masonic Lodge
06/12 - San Francisco, CA @ August Hall
06/14 - Portland, OR @ The Old Church
06/16 - Seattle, WA @ Washington Hall
06/18 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
06/19 - Brooklyn, NY @ Murmrr Theatre
06/20 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
[2016 Recap] A Few Of My Favorite Things
bless Topsters for assembling this graphic infinitely easier than prior years
Surpriiiiseee!! I'm going to do my year end wrap up differently than most of the ones I've seen. Mostly because I have so many to share, but mostly because I like to let the music do the talking and help you get better connected to the artists themselves. Instead of recaps of each record, I'm going to point you to my favorite tracks so if any of these are new to your ears you'll have the best starting point I can give you.
Personal Observations for 2016
This was a weird year for me in terms of listening/discovery habits. Instead of fighting against music consumption trends, I decided to play along. I dove head first into my Discover Weekly playlist. I even followed some of my friends' in order to see what I would find and set up an IFTTT recipe to archive everything recommended to me so I could go back and reference it later if I wanted. I barely touched my SKOA inbox, which probably upset a lot of publicists. Anyway, according to Last.FM's data (since Spotify never ended up sending me mine), I listened to 1,919 new artists this year, which is ABSOLUTELY INSANE. But really when you think about how much music Discover Weekly puts in front of you, it's really less than what everyone had the potential to check out (which is 1,560 if you figure we get 30 new tracks a week for a year). I am in the 98th percentile in music listening per Last.FM (meaning I listen to more music than 98% of people who still scrobble to Last.FM) and I found myself panicky and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of music that Spotify thinks I can get through on TOP of the music I already love and want to enjoy, or the random rabbit holes I end up falling into that typically bring me great new baby bands. I guess most people approach Discover Weekly differently than I do, letting artists come and go as they please, but knowing the transformative power that music possesses, I'm always wary of passing on an opportunity to be affected and share those experiences with others.
It's crazy to think that 20% of what stuck with me this year was randomly generated by The Algorithm and not delivered to me by humans. I almost said that the human delivery was through cosmic forces, but really, if music finds its way to your ears/hearts by friend or by Algorithm, both are cosmic in a way, no?
This is my struggle at present. I value the connection that happens when a humans experience music together, whether it be by recommendation or attending shows together. I worry this experience will continue to be diminished the more we silo ourselves into our algorithm-based echo chambers. I really hope I'm just out of touch and someone will point me to where this is the opposite, but I can't ignore how self-serving shows feel now every time I treat myself to a Night Out. This has been on my heart/mind too much lately to ignore it, so expect some changes to how things go down on the site (starting with making more time for this now that my new job isn't crazy busy for awhile).
What music moved you this year? Did you like some of these records but different tracks? I'd honestly love to know so please drop me a comment. Also if you want more than favorite tracks out of me for these records, feel free to bug me on Twitter I am happy to share!
My Favorite Things Of 2016
[Watch] Kishi Bashi - "I Am The Antichrist To You" (Official Video)
Kishi Bashi's debut album 151a is one of my favorites of the year so far, and the charm and wonder he brings to his music has also been brought to the video for his song "I Am The Antichrist To You." Directed by Kishi Bashi himself, the wondrous animated world brought to life in these visuals is colorful, vivid, and wholly captivating. Watch it above, and below you can read Kishi Bashi's own description of the tale he presents in this video.
Once he belonged to someone.
He had a big floppy ear like a puppy and a tiny tail like a bunny.
Nobody knew what he was, but it didn't matter to them anymore.
He was abandoned on the street. There he found a hat that was also dumped, and they both decided to take a journey in search of a better place.
The puppy and the hat sailed away in the dark ocean...
One day, they arrived to The Island, where All the creatures were once someones'
family, friend or lover.
No one can visit the island except the ones who came here abandoned...
He met there the pink bunny with whom they spent many years rediscovering happiness again. Then the numbers from their other world arrived..."
Kishi Bashi has also announced tour dates in support of 151a, two of which will be opening performances for Passion Pit. Check out the full docket after the jump.
Kishi Bashi's debut album 151a is one of my favorites of the year so far, and the charm and wonder he brings to his music has also been brought to the video for his song "I Am The Antichrist To You." Directed by Kishi Bashi himself, the wondrous animated world brought to life in these visuals is colorful, vivid, and wholly captivating. Watch it above, and below you can read Kishi Bashi's own description of the tale he presents in this video.
Once he belonged to someone.
He had a big floppy ear like a puppy and a tiny tail like a bunny.
Nobody knew what he was, but it didn't matter to them anymore.
He was abandoned on the street. There he found a hat that was also dumped, and they both decided to take a journey in search of a better place.
The puppy and the hat sailed away in the dark ocean...
One day, they arrived to The Island, where All the creatures were once someones'
family, friend or lover.
No one can visit the island except the ones who came here abandoned...
He met there the pink bunny with whom they spent many years rediscovering happiness again. Then the numbers from their other world arrived..."
Kishi Bashi has also announced tour dates in support of 151a, two of which will be opening performances for Passion Pit. Check out the full docket after the jump.
Kishi Bashi 2012 Tour Dates:
- Jul 16 - Nashville, TN - Marathon Music Works*
- Jul 17 - Knoxville, TN - The Valarium*
- Jul 19 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore*
- Jul 20 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa*
- Jul 26 - New York, NY - Joe's Pub (2 shows)
- Jul 27 - Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall
- Jul 28 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fire
- Jul 29 - Allston, MA - Great Scott
- Jul 30 - Montreal, QC - Quai Des Brumes
- Jul 31 - Toronto, ON - Rivoli
- Aug 1 - Detroit, MI - Lager House
- Aug 2 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues** (Lollapalooza Pre-show)
- Aug 3 - Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
- Aug 4 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway Nightclub
- Aug 5 - Memphis, TN - Hi Tone Cafe
- Aug 6 - Atlanta, GA - 529
- Aug 7 - Durham, NC - Garage @ Motorco
- Sept 2 - Los Angeles, CA - FYF Fest
- Sept 8 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge (MusicFest NW)
- Sept 20 - New York, NY - Central Park Summer Stage^
- Oct 12 - Austin, TX - Lambert's
- Oct. 13 - Austin Texas - Austin City Limits
* w/ Pasion Pit
** w/ Passion Pit and GIVERS
^ w/ Dr. Dog
Do You Have All The Tracks From Our #blog6music Playlist?
Yesterday we had the chance to handpick some of our current favorite songs for BBC 6Music Now Playing with Tom Robinson and live tweet about our picks. In case you missed out, you can head over to their website and listen to the broadcast. If you liked any of the songs we picked and don't have them already, we have links to individual streams of the songs plus ways you can own each and every one for yourself (there are some freebies in here FYI!)
For those of you who heard it, please let us know what you thought of our picks in the comments.
Tanlines - "All Of Me" (from Mixed Emotions)
Wazu - "Happy Endings" (from their self-titled EP)
Breton - "Episodes" (from Sharing Notes EP)
Japandroids - "The House That Heaven Built"
PINS - "Eleventh Hour"
Kishi Bashi - "It All Began With A Burst" (from 151a)
TV Girl - "Lizzy Come Back To Life" (from Benny And The Jetts EP)