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Norfolk violin virtuoso Kishi Bashi has intertwined the complexities of his Japanese-American heritage and the COVID-caused anxieties of 2020 to tell the stories on “Emigrant,” his latest EP.
Like countless musicians, he had nothing but time on his hands last year when his plans for a national tour were scrapped overnight as the pandemic, still young, spread.
Kishi Bashi hit the road anyway, packing himself, his daughter and some music gear in an old, seldom-used camper. The two headed west for a socially distanced trip, leaving from their home in Athens, Georgia, and weaving through the Ozarks and the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming and Oregon.
He spent his days immersed in nature, awed by breathtaking views in places like Emigrant, Montana, just a half-hour from Yellowstone National Park, and envisioning what life was like for the region’s earliest inhabitants.
The EP’s inspiration comes from interviews he’d had for an upcoming documentary about Japanese internment camps during World War II (it shares the name of his last album, “Omoiyari”), as well as his journey.
“This is an extension of me reimagining history through the mountain West region where there were some internment camps,” he said, noting that he visits the Wyoming site of one camp, Heart Mountain, yearly. “I was pretty inspired by how vast and how untouched a lot of it still is.”
He stayed in Emigrant all summer, exploring its crystal-clear rivers and piercing, white-capped mountain peaks. Their influence shows up in the EP’s first track, “Cascades,” a much more bluegrass-forward jaunt than fans of his might’ve expected.
In “Cascades,” tender banjo plucking and steadied drumbeat at its onset blooms into an audible buoyancy, painting a picture of Kishi Bashi’s staying afloat in troubling waters. Its chorus consists of one Japanese word, “nagasareru,” which means “to be washed away.”
“It’s difficult to imagine all of the many souls that passed before you, but when you get out in nature it’s easier to think they probably walked down this dirt road or saw these same trees,” he said, swept up in the what-might-have-beens of history.
Kishi Bashi’s music is typically lumped into indie rock, but “Emigrant” sees the violinist redefining the sound he’s known for. It took finally realizing that the impostor syndrome he previously felt when fiddling was illusory.
He probably was the only person who thought he shouldn’t be playing the fiddle.
“I never thought that, culturally, it was mine. With recently just having more confidence in my own identity as a new America, I realized I didn’t have to be from any specific state to play fiddle tunes. ... It is connected to this minority identity that you’re always struggling to belong,” he said.
Included on the EP are two covers, Regina Spektor’s “Laughing With” and “Early Morning Breeze” by Dolly Parton. The two songs were chosen specifically, but not for the reasons you might expect.
Sure, they’re both down-tempo tunes that thematically convey what Kishi Bashi was feeling last year, but they’re both powerful songs written by women.
“I could’ve done anything but I wanted to feature female songwriters. I looked at Rolling Stones’ top 100 songwriters and it was just, like, two women in there. Something is seriously wrong with this industry,” he said.
Inclusion takes effort, he said.
“Otherwise it will just remain the status quo.”
When he wrote the EP’s second track, “Wait for Springtime,” he was driven by anticipation for when COVID-19 clears up enough for life to resemble pre-pandemic days. Days are long and difficult now, but he believes we’ll bounce back when that proverbial springtime rolls around.
Weekend Scoop
“Emigrant” was awaiting its release when the fatal shootings at three Atlanta spas happened, just about an hour from his home. Eight people were killed by a white gunman, six of the victims being women of Asian descent. It took a bit of processing for Kishi Bashi to grapple with the news. He’s familiar with the area and believes there is “a lot of hatred and physical violence” toward Asian people, specifically women and elderly citizens.
“Hate speech, like calling the coronavirus the kung flu. ... If you normalize that kind of behavior that allows the worst people to take it a step further and inflict violence on people. Name-calling and physical violence, it’s connected,” he said.
“I’ve been thinking about racism and marginalization for the last four years,” he said, crediting the work he’s done toward completing his documentary. “It’s all really relevant. The country is changing in a way that’s becoming more diverse and more inclusive.”
Before, his proverbial springtime meant musicians being able to get back to live shows and touring, and an overall healthier and more hopeful population. Now, he said, it can also illustrate that “things will get better.”
“Because we have this hope… I see the world as getting better.”
“Emigrant” is available for stream and purchase on all major platforms. Follow Kishi Bashi on Facebook (facebook.com/mrkishibashi), Instagram (@kishi_bashi), and on Twitter (@kishi_bashi).
Amy Poulter, 757-446-2705, amy.poulter@pilotonline.com