Some of us take to hotel life better than others. For Japanese Breakfast, a little time at the W Hotel in Bali was all it took for the artist to drop her first new track in two years.
“Essentially” is the latest release on a new single series from the W Hotel’s worldwide label, W Records. The track was crafted after Japanese Breakfast (born Michelle Zauner) was sent to the W Bali to record at the W Sound Suite studio.
Arriving with another song in mind, Zauner decided to scrap the track and write something new.
“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,” Zauner said in a press statement. “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.”
The song is a breezy sprint through white sandy beaches of lush synths, ringing guitars, and a Simon Gallup–like bass with echoes of Springsteen circa Tunnel of Love in the soaring chorus.
W Records will support the release with a music video captured at the new W Hotel in Philadelphia, followed by a second Japanese Breakfast single. All of the proceeds from both songs benefit the ACLU. Listen to “Essentially” below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMgOig-lqqM
