Kishi Bashi To Headline First Avenue On 10/28

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Every once in a while I get to walk into a show curious about an artist and get to leave with them becoming a staple in my favorites playlist. That happened to me in 2016 with Kishi Bashi and I am excited to see him return to First Avenue on 10/28 – and you should be too! Tickets are available HERE

 

He will be supported by Pip the Pansy (formerly known as Wrenn)

Imagine being forced from your home. Imagine being sent to a prison camp with no trial, and no promise of release. Imagine all this happened simply because of the language you speak, the shade of your skin, or the roots of your family tree. For over 120,000 Japanese-Americans this was a reality during World War II. It’s a reality that Kishi Bashi seeks to reckon with on his latest release Omoiyari.

Omoiyari is Kishi Bashi’s fourth album — following the acclaimed 151a (2012), Lighght (2014), and SonderlustOmoiyari is an uncompromising musical statement on the turbulent sociopolitical atmosphere of present-day America.

“I was shocked when I saw white supremacy really starting to show its teeth again in America,“ Kishi Bashi says. “My parents are immigrants, they came to the United States from Japan post–World War II. As a minority I felt very insecure for the first time in my adult life in this country. I think that was the real trigger for this project.”

Kishi Bashi recognized 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. So 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 a film scheduled for release in early 2020.

 

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