Kishi Bashi/Busman's Holiday/Dolfish

K. Ishibashi diverted from the road to classical music to tour with the likes of Regina Spektor, Sondre Lerche and of Montreal. During that time, the composer's solo project emerged as Kishi Bashi, and in 2012, he issued the Kickstarter-funded album 151a Full of lush soothing soundscapes of looped violin, synths and guitars, that release spawned the happy-anthem hit "Bright Whites." Kishi Bashi takes his established formula and adds more oomph on the new album: Lighght. Taking a harder lean toward the synth-pop aesthetic, Lighght hits you with heavier bass drums and thicker leads without overshadowing the layered violins. Lead single "Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!" starts with a simple violin melody that quickly escalates to a lush layered psychedelic song with quirky squeaky violin breaks and lushly orchestrated pastoral imagery. "Hahaha Pt. 1 & 2" is an epic journey from light shiny pop song to deep dark ambient soundscape, emerging in an exuberant dance jam. (Gonzalez)