Eiko Ishibashi

is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician.

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, she released the album Kouen Kyoudai, a collaboration with the Japanese noise musician Masami Akita (better known as Merzbow). She composed the music for the 2019 anime Blade of the Immortal. She has collaborated with director Ryusuke Hamaguchi on two projects: the 2021 film Drive My Car, and the 2023 film Evil Does Not Exist.

In 2025, she released Pareidolia, a collaborative album with O'Rourke.

Personal life

She is currently 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."

Discography

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)
Pareidolia (with Jim O'Rourke; Drag City, 2025)
Antigone (Drag City, 2025)

Soundtrack albums

Drive My Car (Newhere/Space Shower, 2022)
Evil Does Not Exist (Drag City, 2024)