It’s Kishi Bashi’s first solo show in ‘Melbin’ and at first glance it seems like a modest set up. As he strolls onto stage, pink-jacketed, violin in hand, it’s difficult to believe the freakish squabbling choruses of songs like “Bright Whites” have been born from this one man. Calm and collected on stage, he works solely with his voice, violin and loop pedals, creating an atmosphere that charged the Northcote Social Club bandroom with awestruck excitement.
He opens with a few seemingly random plucks of his violin and that’s when the magic starts to happen. Kaoru (‘K’) Ishibashi is a master of the loop pedal, the device that spawned the genre ‘electro-folk’, and his layering of complex melodies and beats is absolutely breathtaking to watch. There’s a moment of suspense as he starts to lay down the percussion (vocals and plucked violin) – it’s clear that if he misses a beat the whole track will be out of sync – but gradually each element merges and the opening bars of “Pathos, Pathos” elegantly take shape.
There are glitches from time to time, as is almost to be expected, but he laughs and starts again, unflustered, welcoming the audience to laugh as well. With violin providing the core for each song, he forms swelling, epically moving arrangements, layering strong vocals and beatboxing over the top. “I hear Australians like electronic music?” he hollers over a crowd shouting their agreement.
This is not the sort of music that translates well to mp3. Hearing the more well-known pieces (“Bright Whites”, “Manchester”) one would be forgiven for lumping him in with kooky folk-pop pioneers Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Bird and Patrick Wolf. But there is a classical edge to his song structure that is perhaps rivalled only by Bird; the delicate complexity of songs like “Bittersweet Genesis for Him AND Her” echoes classical influences that are thrown askew by effects pedals and endless looping.
It can be difficult to pinpoint what makes a captivating performance, but in this case it’s Ishibashi’s enthusiasm (as well as his impressive multi-tasking abilities) that keeps all eyes glued to the largely empty stage. It’s hard not to laugh gleefully as he speeds up vocals to resemble a chipmunk choir or launches into an a cappella dubstep break, or to find oneself spacing out completely during the haunting ebb and flow of “Evalyn, Summer Has Arrived”.
Ishibashi mentions his band, who he left behind in Japan, but it’s hard to fathom how any other instrument could actually fit into the heavenly chaos of songs like “Philosophize in it! Chemicalize with it!” He transitions between songs with ease, stripping one back to its bare string roots before building back up again to euphoric chaos.
He’s a one-man orchestra capable of building the audience up, and tearing us down again during the more melancholy parts of the set. Even as a solo performer the storytelling quality of his song writing is evident – ballads about Atticus, lost in the desert and two friends called Quinn and Alice (“Q&A”) are told not only through elaborate, soulful lyrics but also the layering of incredibly intricate melodies, rounding out with the most on-point beatboxing you’ve seen this side of Swanston street.
Utterly charming on stage, he seemed genuinely stoked with his reception. After a brief break he bounced back on stage for an encore, closing with his breakthrough hit “Manchester” from 2012’s 151a – a song that left the sweetest impression at the end of the night. Kishi Bashi has promised to be back, and no doubt will be playing venues like the Recital Centre in no time, hopefully getting the chance to stun many more would-be admirers with his unique and inspiring show.
Check out the full photo gallery from this show.
