Eiko Ishibashi
Eiko Ishibashi is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. She composed the scores for the films Drive My Car (2021) and Evil Does Not Exist (2023).
Eiko Ishibashi

Seth Tisue on Flickr (cropped) · Eiko Ishibashi @ The Lab, SF · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Eiko Ishibashi
- Occupation
- * Musician
- Born
- 1974 · Mobara.
- Nationality
- Japan
- Fields
- indie rock · punk rock · film score
- Languages
- Japanese
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Eiko Ishibashi • Native Name — 石橋 英子 • Origin — Mobara, Chiba, Japan • Occupation — * Musician • singer-songwriter • producer • Instrument — * Vocals • piano • drums • Years Active — 2006–present • Label — * Black Truffle • Drag City • Felicity • Rhythm Tracks • Current Member Of — * Kafka's Ibiki • RNA
Career
Career
Ishibashi has frequently worked with Jim O'Rourke, with O'Rourke producing several of her albums and Ishibashi playing on his album Simple Songs. Together with Tatsuhisa Yamamoto they formed the band Kafka's Ibiki. In 2016, Ishibashi released Kouen Kyoudai, a collaborative album with the Japanese noise musician Masami Akita (better known as Merzbow). In 2018, she released The Dream My Bones Dream. She composed the music for the 2019 anime Blade of the Immortal. She has collaborated with director Ryusuke Hamaguchi on three projects: the 2021 film Drive My Car, the 2023 film Evil Does Not Exist, and the 2023 film Gift. In 2025, she released a solo album, Antigone, as well as Pareidolia, a collaborative album with O'Rourke.
Personal life
Personal life
As of at least 2022, Ishibashi has been in a relationship with American musician Jim O'Rourke. The two met when Ishibashi played flute on a Burt Bacharach covers album O'Rourke was producing. They live and work closely together, but "keep a professional distance, sending each other data files to work on rather than jamming."
Studio albums
Studio albums
• Works for Everything (Rhythm Tracks, 2006) • Lola and Soda (with Achico; Rhythm Tracks, 2007) • Slip Beneath the Distant Tree (with Tatsuya Yoshida; Rhythm Tracks, 2007) • Summer Dress (with Achico; Rhythm Tracks, 2008) • Drifting Devil (Rhythm Tracks, 2008) • Carapace (Felicity, 2011) • Imitation of Life (Felicity/Drag City, 2012) • I'm Armed (Felicity, 2012) • Car and Freezer (Felicity/Drag City, 2014) • Compressed Happiness (with K2; Phage Tapes, 2014) • Kouen Kyoudai (with Masami Akita; Editions Mego, 2016) • Ichida (with Darin Gray; Black Truffle, 2018) • The Dream My Bones Dream (Drag City, 2018) • For McCoy (Black Truffle, 2022) • Antigone (Drag City, 2025) • Pareidolia (with Jim O'Rourke; Drag City, 2025)
Soundtrack albums
Soundtrack albums
• Mugen no Juunin: Immortal (Pony Canyon, 2020) • Drive My Car (Newhere/Space Shower, 2022) • Evil Does Not Exist (Drag City, 2024)
Television
Television
• Blade of the Immortal (2019)

Eiko Ishibashi performing in December 2022
Seth Tisue from Reno, Nevada, USA
Film
• Drive My Car (2021) • Evil Does Not Exist (2023) • Gift (2023)
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Eiko Ishibashi, revision 1361372135 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Jurek, Thom. Eiko Ishibashi | Biography & History. AllMusic.
- 2.Helfand, Raphael. What Eiko Ishibashi gains in translation. The Fader. 28 June 2024.
- 3.Empire, Kitty. Eiko Ishibashi: Imitation of Life – review. The Guardian. 23 November 2013.
- 4.Hadfield, James. A hive of sonic activity stirs on Kafka's Ibiki release. The Japan Times. 9 October 2016.
- 5.Slattery, Marty. Eiko Ishibashi taps Jim O'Rourke for forthcoming Drag City album, "Car and Freezer". Tiny Mix Tapes. 20 October 2014.
- 6.Lozano, Kevin. Masami Akita & Eiko Ishibashi: Kouen Kyoudai Album Review. Pitchfork. 25 March 2016.
- 7.Weingarten, Christopher R. Masami Akita and Eiko Ishibashi, 'Kouen Kyoudai 公園兄弟' | 20 Best Avant Albums of 2016. Rolling Stone. 28 December 2016.
- 8.St. Michel, Patrick. Eiko Ishibashi: The Dream My Bones Dream. Pitchfork. 29 November 2018.
- 9.Antigone by Eiko Ishibashi. Metacritic.
- 10.Strauss, Matthew. Eiko Ishibashi and Jim O'Rourke Announce New Album Pareidolia, Share Video. Pitchfork. July 1, 2025.
- 11.Beta, Andy. Eiko Ishibashi and the melodies that carry 'Drive My Car'. The Washington Post. 25 March 2022.
- 12.Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. ‘Anger compels me forward’: Drive My Car composer Eiko Ishibashi on evil, experimentation and exploding genre. The Guardian. 2024-04-08. 0261-3077.
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References
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