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Jun 05, 2019 By Christopher Roberts Japanese Breakfast

Japanese Breakfast (Michelle Zauner) has shared a cover of the Tears For Fears classic “Head Over Heels” (from 1985). It was recorded for W Records, which is an imprint of W Hotels, and all proceeds are going to the ACLU, and follows “Essentially,” a brand new song Japanese Breakfast released via W Records back in April (it was one of our Songs of the Week). Curt Smith, co-founder of Tears For Fears, had this to say about the cover in a press release: “Japanese Breakfast has recorded a beautiful, ethereal reimagining of ‘Head Over Heels.’” Listen to her subdued cover below, followed by Tears For Fears’ original.

Like “Essentially,” the cover was recorded at the W Sound Suite at the W Hotel in Bali.

Zauner had this to say about recording there in a previous press release: “I was originally going to record a different song but decided to write something on the fly once I arrived in Bali. I like the challenge of writing and arranging quickly and intuitively sometimes, and I had just bought a native instruments machine and wanted to explore a lot of the sample libraries it came with and work on the synths that were at the studio. It was a very idyllic place to work. I usually record in cold studios, so Bali was a pretty glamorous change. I felt so lucky the day I arrived just walking around the hotel.”

Anthony Ingham, Global Brand Leader, W Hotels Worldwide, had this to say: “Working with Japanese Breakfast on this track has been an incredible experience - collaborating with a passionate musician to support an important organization has really been rewarding. W Records has always been about inspiring musicians to get creative and it’s been amazing to see Japanese Breakfast’s journey and exploration with us at W. We are excited for the world to hear her rendition of ‘Head Over Heels’ and help support the work of the ACLU.”

Japanese Breakfast released her sophomore album, Soft Sounds From Another Planet, in July 2017 via Dead Oceans (it was one of our Top 100 Albums of 2017). In February she announced that she has signed a book deal with the publishing company Knopf and is writing a memoir entitled Crying in H Mart. A press release described the book as such: “Crying in H Mart is Zauner’s story about growing up Korean-American, losing her mother too young, searching for identity in a hybrid culture, and finding a passion for her ancestry and Korean cooking as a way to heal and return to her roots in the wake of loss.”

Zauner’s writing has also previously appeared in Glamour and The New Yorker. There’s no word on when Crying in H Mart will be published. She’s also an accomplished music video director.

Read our 2017 interview with Japanese Breakfast on Soft Sounds From Another Planet.

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