As someone who has played the cello in my much more youthful days and is ineffectively trying to resurrect past glory, I fully appreciate Kishi Bashi's love of the violin and the way he uses that instrument in his compositions. You can literally hear it cascading through every release he has done – from the Room for Dream EP to the epic music and soundtrack for his film Omoiyari.

He is an epic multi-hyphenate - songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist, film maker, father, husband who has used his creativity, his energy and whole being to produce art that, well, makes you pay attention through the exquisiteness and purity of the songwriting and its humanity.

There have been so many things that have fascinated me, intrigued me, filled me with respect and admiration, not least the ever-present authenticity in his work but also how that work conjures such strong emotions in me. Even though I find myself getting emotional at the smallest things these days – it’s getting ridiculous quite frankly – and even more so with some of the horrific acts of prejudice, greed and narcissism that structurally pervade our society - there are still only a few songwriters that can do this.

Now, he’s back with what I think is his musically most diverse (and that’s saying something) LP to follow up the stunning Omoiyari. It’s called Kantos and it was really exciting to hear about it all and to delve into some of the mindset topics that I’ve noticed present in his work, like emotional intelligence, curiosity, resilience and adaptability.

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- swirl logo and art by Giles Sibbald
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

I’ve long thought about our individual persona or personas and this idea of ever evolving identities …for example, people who have work and non-work personas: the arsehole in work, nice as pie out of work; the surprising competitive aggression at the work social bowling alley do, the extroverted party goer (ok, so there might be some substance impact for that one) – kinda like Henry the mild mannered janitor morphing into Hong Kong Phooey (does anyone remembers that show?!)

What does this mean for the authentic you? Who actually are you?

I think I’ve come to the conclusion that the times I’ve felt uncomfortable with the way I was behaving, was more to do with dissatisfaction with the environment and company I was keeping rather than myself and my identities, so eventually I’ve taken action to change them.

This led me to start thinking about why, for example, institutions, companies, communities, social networks seem to exhibit their own personality and employees, members or whatever can start to take on that personality and behaviours, which might be at loggerheads with their own individuality. How malleable is our individuality? How do we unearth that authenticity, when we strip away the masks and show ourselves devoid of external influences?

And do these scenarios exist in bands? And especially in artistic or creative collaborations, which is really the very essence of individuality coming together, how do we as collaborators come together to achieve common goals?

Neil Cowley has just released his first record (although it hadn't been released when we recorded this) with his two longstanding friends and cohorts who had so much acclaim as The Neil Cowley Trio prior to its hiatus 7 years ago. Their reunion and reconnection, and the making of this record, perhaps provides some answers to my most mind churning questions!

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- swirl logo and art by Giles Sibbald
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste

Over the last few years, I’ve been trying to work out why certain things in my life have turned out the way they have. Friendships has been a particular thing that’s been on my mind, in particular why I’ve tended to let some slide. I’ve had occasions where I’ve reconnected with lost friends and family and realised just how important they are. Having said that, I do think that the way we handle friendships is kinda different to that of my parents generation, when it was definitely friendships for life. More people live a nomadic life these days, so community is less of a thing, and also I’m much more aware of my own identity shifting as I get older and what’s important to me changing and I think this impacts who comes on our own journey with us. I think it makes you realise how powerful your real friendships are.

Nicolette Vilar has dedicated her life to the creative arts as a fabulous graphic and visual arts designer and also the singer in Go Betty Go where her close, tight friendships with the band members have been forever, endured the rocky road of life and have, I think, been instrumental in the band reforming and recording their soon to be released EP called Black and Blue. The title hints at the bruises, yet it’s self-care, time, friendships – and our old, great mate, music - that help you heal.


#musicpodcast
#experimentalmindset

https://www.iwannajumplikedeedee.com


I Wanna Jump Like Dee Dee is the music podcast that does music interviews differently.

Giles Sibbald talks to musicians, DJ’s and producers about how they use an experimental mindset in every part of their lives.

- brought to you from the mothership of the experimental mindset™
- swirl logo and art by Giles Sibbald
- doodle logo and art by Tide Adesanya, Coppie and Paste