• News

• All

Apr 26, 2019 By Christopher Roberts Japanese Breakfast

Japanese Breakfast (Michelle Zauner) has shared a brand new song, “Essentially.” It was recorded for W Records, which is an imprint of W Hotels, and all proceeds are going to the ACLU. It was recorded at the W Sound Suite at the W Hotel in Bali, is the first completely original track created for W Records, and is the first of two songs Zauner has recorded for the label. The upcoming music video for “Essentially” was partially filmed at W Hotel in Philadelphia, which is set to open next year. Listen to the song below, followed by Japanese Breakfast’s upcoming tour dates.

Zauner had this to say about the song in a 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 song has really illustrated the goal of our music program - supporting an incredible musician from concept to final product, from recording at W Bali to getting this stunning track out into the world today. W Records was conceived to inspire musicians to do what they do best - get creative. It’s been amazing to see Japanese Breakfast write, record, produce and explore with us at W. It was (and continues to be) an inspiring journey with her and each of our W Records artists. We’re ready for the world to hear what we’ve been working on.”

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.

Japanese Breakfast Tour Dates:

5/2 - Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
5/3 - Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall
5/4 - Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival
5/5 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
5/6 - Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern
5/10 - Arcosanti, AZ @ FORM
5/13 - Singapore @ Esplande Recital Studio
5/15 - Jakarta, Indonesia @ Rossi Music
5/16 - Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, Thailand @ Rockademy
5/18 - Makati, Manila @ The Rest Is Noise
5/22 - Tokyo, Japan @ WWW X
5/27 - Seoul, South Korea @ Hongdae Muv Hall
6/19 - Calgary, AB @ Sled Island
8/23 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom

Support Under the Radar on Patreon.