The Japanese House performs in The Current studio
by Jade
May 17, 2019
As the Japanese House, Amber Bain has been crafting ethereal-sounding songs that just cut your heart to pieces. Her new album, Good At Falling, released on March 1 of this year. Ahead of a sold-out show at the Fine Line in Minneapolis, Bain and her touring bandmates, Cicely Cotton and Kamran Khan, stopped at The Current for a session hosted by Jade.
The music in the session is sonically different than the studio album. "I guess it's an acoustic version," Bain explains. "I have an electric guitar with lots of reverb on it; Kam has an acoustic guitar, and then we have three-part harmonies, and I also I have a harmony pedal, so there's a lot of harmony going on."
Bain's music has been described that moment before you fully wake up and you still kind of remember a dream. The music is also very emotional; the songs expose raw feelings that Bain is unafraid to explore. For example, Bain invited her ex-girlfriend to appear in the music video for "Lilo," a song that is about their breakup. "I don't recommend it," Bain says. "I don't regret doing it. It definitely kicked me back a few stages in terms of getting over the relationship because I was like 'Why did we break up again?' … The one that hurts the most means the most."
Although Bain lives in England, Good At Falling was recorded about 90 miles east of The Current, at Justin Vernon's April Base studio in Eau Claire, Wis., with producer BJ Burton. " I was there for six weeks, just me and BJ," Bain says. "There were a lot of fun evenings spent round the fire outside. And I've never bonded with a cat befor, but I really bonded with Justin's cat, Flo.
"I felt like I was in a weird dream that entire time," Bain continues. "[Bon Iver's] first album came out when I was 11, and so I've been a massive fan. He's such an inspiration to me, so it was just kind of surreal being in his kitchen."
Use the audio player above to listen to the complete session with The Japanese House.
Songs Performed
"Lilo"
"Somebody You Found"
"i saw you in a dream"
The first and third songs are from The Japanese House's 2019 album, Good at Falling; the second song appears on The Japanese House's 2017 Saw You in a Dream EP. Both are available on Dirty Hit.
Hosted by Jade
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Michael DeMark
Visuals by Nate Ryan
Web feature by Luke Taylor
External Link
The Japanese House - official site
