THE JAPANESE House took to the Radio 1 Dance stage on Sunday (August 28) afternoon, and our entertainment reporter, Abi White, went along to check out the 19-year-old artist’s set…
Opening up the Radio 1 Dance tent on Sunday afternoon, London-based artist, Amber Bain, surprisingly was allocated a spot on a dance stage.
Signed to Dirty Hit records, home of artists such as Wolf Alice and The 1975, Bain came to the attention of many after supporting The 1975 on their most recent UK tour.
As the tent began to fill, some audience members unfamiliar with the artist were somewhat surprised when she began her set, as she did not sound like the typical electronic musician that had performed on the stage in previous days.
“How’s everybody doing?” Bain asked as she opened up the stage, before her and her band proceeded to play the first song of the set: ‘Clean’.
The layered vocals worked wonders with the lyrics in the polyrhythmic track, resulting in a sound that can be instantly recognised as The Japanese House.
Bain is undeniably talented – for one she plays her guitar upside down due to being left-handed.
The set covered a handful of songs from both EP’s: ‘Pools to Bathe In’ and ‘Clean’, with ‘Sugar Pill’ the second track of the set.
“Oh, we’re The Japanese House by the way, I forgot to say… I always forget to mention it,” Bain politely commented, before ‘Pools to Bathe In’ played next.
Unfortunately, there was simply not enough bass during this usually heavy bass track as there had been in previous live performances.
However, this fault was most likely down to the sound technicians as opposed to the band, and the track was filled with strobes – resulting in an atmospheric performance of this song, regardless.
Bain constantly acknowledged fans throughout her set, waving and smiling at audience members who were participating with her.
https://twitter.com/ChandlerMBray/status/770406475420274688
Blossoms, Hinds and The Japanese House are my favourites out of the bands I randomly discovered at Leeds
— ? (@declanmckkenna) August 29, 2016
“This next song is slightly less depressing,” Bain joked, before the brighter melodies of ‘Cool Blue’ swallowed the dance tent.
With only two songs remaining, some audience members still seemed to be waiting for the set to transition into the energetic dance music they turned up for.
The Japanese House were arguably allocated the wrong stage slot given the type of music they produce and would have been much more suited to either the Festival Republic Stage or the NME/Radio 1 Stage.
Nonetheless, the heavily dominated melancholic set from the artist brims with syth, vocaders and guitars and was certainly unique and memorable.
“Hopefully we can see you all again next year,’ Bain happily and humbly murmured, before ‘Sister’ and ‘Still’ played last.
By Abi White
@AbigailWhiteUOS
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