Kishi Bashi Leaves of Montreal

Just over two months after releasing his debut LP 151a, of Montreal violinist K Ishibashi announced his departure from the Athens, GA rock group in a note via Facebook, saying:

“I’m both happy and sad to announce that Kishi Bashi is now my full-time job, thanks to your generous support. I’m happy for the obvious reasons, but extremely sad that I have to part ways with my of Montreal family for awhile.“

The writing has been on the wall for the last several weeks as the buzz around 151a has grown steadily. Kishi Bashi, as has been his moniker as a solo artist, has received wide praise for the record, which was recently selected by the staff of NPR Music as one of the best albums of the year. The staff has remained smitten since Kishi Bashi stopped by their offices for his Tiny Desk performance featured below. With such exposure, the question quickly became when, not if, the violinist would set out on his own.

The news is big for Indianapolis record label Joyful Noise Recordings, who released both 151a and Kishi Bashi’s 2011 EP Room for a Dream . Joyful Noise is also home to of Montreal. I recently had the pleasure of baring witness to Kishi Bashi’s considerable talent at the label’s Fountain Square headquarters. The intimate performance was not unlike the video above, with the violinist rendering a roomful of fortunate listeners speechless. Check out IndyRock Live’s review of the show for more.

Kishi Bashi officially kicks off his summer tour at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works on July 16. Check out his complete list of summer tour dates. I can promise a unique performance not quickly forgotten.

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Written by Rob Peoni