Kishi Bashi today shared the visualizer for “Late Night Comic,” a smooth, soaring, and irresistible track from his recent album Kantos. Watch the animated video–created by Tandem Media, which also made his award-winning “Violin Tsunami” video from 2019’s LP Omoiyari.
Kishi Bashi’s fall North American tour in support of the album continues next week on October 3rd in Carrboro, NC, before ending October 22nd in Athens, GA, and includes an October 7th stop in Brooklyn, NY (Warsaw). A current itinerary is below.
Self-produced by Kaoru Ishibashi (aka Kishi Bashi) and mixed by Tucan (Hot Chip, Jungle, Aluna), Kantos was recorded at Chase Park Transduction with long-time collaborator and engineer Drew Vandenberg (Faye Webster, of Montreal, Toro y Moi) and British musicians Sweet Loretta. The album also features Zorina Andall (vocals), Augie Bello (saxophone), and activist/rapper Linqua Franqa (vocals).
Kantos is a work of exquisite duality: a party album about the possible end of humanity as we know it, at turns deeply unsettling and sublimely joyful. In a sonic departure from the symphonic folk of his 2019 album Omoiyari—a career-defining body of work born from his intensive meditation on the mass incarceration of Japanese-Americans during World War II—the Seattle-born singer/songwriter/producer’s fifth studio album encompasses everything from Brazilian jazz and ’70s funk to orchestral rock and city pop. Informed by an equally kaleidoscopic mix of inspirations—the cult-classic sci-fi novel series Hyperion Cantos, the writings of 18th century enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant, a revelatory trip to ancient ruins on the island of Crete—Kantos ultimately serves as an unbridled exaltation of the human spirit and all its wild complexities. “At a time when so many people had begun to panic about AI and what it might mean for our future, I started working on this record as a way to explore the concept of grounding ourselves in our humanity,” says the Santa Cruz, California-based multi-instrumentalist. “The album title is a nod to Hyperion Cantos and to Immanuel Kant, but it also refers to ‘canto’ meaning ‘I sing’ in Spanish. The idea is that even with so much technological advancement, songs are still something we very much rely on to connect with other people.”
Kishi Bashi Tour Dates
10/03 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
10/04 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
10/05 – Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theatre
10/06 – Norfolk, VA @ The Annex
10/07 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
10/08 – Philadelphia, PA @ Brooklyn Bowl
10/09 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom
10/11 – Boston, MA @ Royale
10/13 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
10/14 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
10/15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Music Hall
10/17 – St. Paul, MN @ Amsterdam Bar & Hall
10/18 – Chicago, IL @ Outset
10/19 – St Louis, MO @ DelMar Hall
10/20 – Indianapolis, IN @ Vogue Theatre
10/21 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
10/22 – Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre
11/19 – Berlin, DE @ Hole44
11/20 – Amsterdam, NL @ Tolhuistuin
11/22 – Oslo, NO @ John Dee
11/23 – Stockholm, SWE @ Kulturhuset
11/25 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
11/27 – Cologne, DE @ Gebäude9
11/28 – Prague, CZ @ Cafe V Lese
12/01 – Vienna, AT @ @ WUK
12/02 – Munich, DE @ Backstage
12/03 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F
12/04 – Milano, IT @ Legend Club
12/07 – Paris, FR @ Le Hasard Ludique
12/08 – Brighton, UK @ Chalk
12/09 – London, UK @ Electric Ballroom
12/10 – Manchester, UK @ Academy
12/11 – Dublin, IE @ Button Factory
12/12 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3
12/13 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla
