Broadcasting from inside her own head, Eiko Ishibashi’s songs offer a chilling observation of a drastically-altering reality. On March 28, the accomplished keyboardist/multi-instrumental composer will release her sweeping new production, Antigone — her eagerly-awaited 4th album of traditional songcraft on Drag City, not counting last year’s award-winning Evil Does Not Exist soundtrack. Today, Eiko releases Antigone’s all-consuming opening track: “October”.
Antigone’s soaring opener launches with an orchestral-cum-concrète buildup that jumps abruptly into Eiko and band in full flight, guitars and keys burbling kaleidoscopically. Behind her sumptuous vocal melody and the band’s gossamer groove, the static crackle of voice transmissions on “October” gesture to the album’s dystopian depths. Eiko’s lyrics pen a dire predicament:
Demolish in June
The columns rise up
Ashes fall in August
in October
the blood shines
in October
Throughout her eclectic solo career, Eiko Ishibashi’s pop-writing sensibilities have drifted in and out of a dreamlike state. Her recent soundtrack work for Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s last few films — Drive My Car (2021) and Evil Does Not Exist (2023) — have had just as much of an influence on Antigone’s misty, intricate production. Eiko’s cinematic approach to these compositions was deeply absorbed by her backing band, with impassioned performances by drummer Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, bassist Marty Holoubek, Norwegian accordionist Kalle Moberg, backing vocalist ermhoi, percussionist Joe Talia, and Jim O’Rourke on Bass VI, synths, and otherwise. Washes of new age production further cement a sense of the immaculate on Antigone, visited by the near-absurd and otherworldly.
The veil will be lifted from Antigone on March 28, 2025. Following the album’s release, Eiko Ishibashi will perform at New York’s Knockdown Center for the 2025 edition of Outline.
Eiko Ishibashi 2025 Performances
Mar. 14 – Tokyo, Japan @ Ebisu Liquidroom
Mar. 29 – Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears Festival*
Mar. 30 – Queens, NY @ Knockdown Center (solo)
Apr. 1 – Toronto, ON Canada @ The Garrison (solo)
Apr. 3 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s (solo)
*GIFT: A Live Score by Eiko Ishibashi X Film by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
