Eiko Ishibashi (J)

(1974) is a Japanese singer, pianist, drummer, and composer whose work spans songwriting, improvisation, and film scoring. Her discography includes albums such as Imitation of Life (2013), The Dreams My Bones Dream (2018), and Hyakki Yagyō (2020), released on labels like Drag City and Black Truffle. Ishibashi has collaborated with major artists including Jim O’Rourke, Merzbow, Keiji Haino, Oren Ambarchi, and Charlemagne Palestine, demonstrating an extraordinary ability to navigate diverse musical languages.

In 2019 she composed the music for the anime Blade of the Immortal, and in 2021 she wrote the score for Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s film Drive My Car, which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Her collaboration with Hamaguchi continued in 2023 with Evil Does Not Exist, further confirming her talent for creating sonic landscapes that engage deeply with cinematic imagery.

Her aesthetic combines melodic delicacy with sonic radicalism: Ishibashi moves effortlessly from intimate, lyrical pieces to noise‑based experimentation and uncompromising improvisation. Her voice and piano intertwine with electronics and acoustic instruments, forming a musical language that defies traditional categories. Today she is one of the most original figures on the contemporary Japanese scene, capable of bringing experimental music to a wide audience through her work in film and the visual arts.