In 2003, he co-founded the Brooklyn-based indie rock outfit Jupiter One, who went on to release a pair of EPs and two full-length albums.

In 2011 Ishibashi embarked on a solo career, adopted the pseudonym Kishi Bashi, and began opening shows for Lerche, Alexi Murdoch, and Of Montreal, eventually releasing the kaleidoscopic and melodic 151A. His full-length solo debut under the moniker, it arrived in April 2012 on the Joyful Noise label. The project's sophomore outing, Lighght, followed in early 2014. A year later, he released String Quartet Live!, which offered selections from his first two albums arranged by Ishibashi for himself, string quartet, and guest spots by Tall Tall Trees (modified banjo/vocals) and Elizabeth Ziman (vocals). It also included a cover of Talking Heads' "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)."

Citing frustrations with the creation of new material, Ishibashi all but ditched what had been his primary songwriting tool, the violin, for his third Kishi Bashi studio LP. A play on the recently invented word sonder -- essentially, the realization that any stranger has a life experience as vivid as your own -- from the Web's Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, Sonderlust relied more heavily on electronics. Released in September 2016, the album was co-produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear, with guests including drummer Matt Chamberlain. ~ James Christopher Monger & Marcy Donelson