Biography
London-based singer and songwriter Amber Bain shapes the Japanese House as her solo outlet, merging opulent dream pop atmospheres with introspective electronica. After inking a deal with the Dirty Hit imprint, she issued a string of EPs and singles throughout the second half of the 2010s, among them Swim Against the Tide and the wistful 2017 track "Saw You in a Dream." Her first proper album, 2019's Good at Falling, drew widespread praise and modest commercial traction. Following the Chewing Cotton Wool EP in 2020, the project maintained a subdued presence until resurfacing with the sophomore set In the End It Always Does, which entered the upper reaches of the U.K. Albums Chart at number 29 in 2023.
Raised in Buckinghamshire, Bain experimented with several earlier aliases before settling on the Japanese House moniker in 2015. The name stemmed from a weeklong childhood stay in Devon, during which she presented as male and received the attentions of a local girl who later discovered Bain's actual identity. The property, then owned by actress Kate Winslet and itself called the Japanese House, supplied lasting imagery that shaped the deliberately fluid visual identity of her recordings.
Once signed to the U.K. indie Dirty Hit Records, Bain debuted with two 2015 EPs: Pools to Bathe In and, months afterward, Clean. The 2016 single "Face Like Thunder" appeared on the subsequent Swim Against the Tide EP. In 2017 she released the dreamy pop cut "Saw You in a Dream," later collected on an EP bearing the same title. September 2018 brought "Lilo," the opening single previewing her full-length debut. Good at Falling arrived in early 2019, earning strong reviews while peaking at number 64 on the U.K. Albums Chart ahead of the 2020 Chewing Cotton Wool EP.
After a three-year hiatus, Bain returned with the pastoral Japanese House single "Boyhood" in March 2023, launching the cycle for In the End It Always Does. The album included a guest turn from Muna plus production and songwriting input from the 1975's George Daniel, Muna's Katie Gavin, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, and Chloe Kraemer. Additional singles "Sad to Breathe" and "Sunshine Baby" supported the release, which also reached number three on the U.K. Independent Albums chart.
Raised in Buckinghamshire, Bain experimented with several earlier aliases before settling on the Japanese House moniker in 2015. The name stemmed from a weeklong childhood stay in Devon, during which she presented as male and received the attentions of a local girl who later discovered Bain's actual identity. The property, then owned by actress Kate Winslet and itself called the Japanese House, supplied lasting imagery that shaped the deliberately fluid visual identity of her recordings.
Once signed to the U.K. indie Dirty Hit Records, Bain debuted with two 2015 EPs: Pools to Bathe In and, months afterward, Clean. The 2016 single "Face Like Thunder" appeared on the subsequent Swim Against the Tide EP. In 2017 she released the dreamy pop cut "Saw You in a Dream," later collected on an EP bearing the same title. September 2018 brought "Lilo," the opening single previewing her full-length debut. Good at Falling arrived in early 2019, earning strong reviews while peaking at number 64 on the U.K. Albums Chart ahead of the 2020 Chewing Cotton Wool EP.
After a three-year hiatus, Bain returned with the pastoral Japanese House single "Boyhood" in March 2023, launching the cycle for In the End It Always Does. The album included a guest turn from Muna plus production and songwriting input from the 1975's George Daniel, Muna's Katie Gavin, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, and Chloe Kraemer. Additional singles "Sad to Breathe" and "Sunshine Baby" supported the release, which also reached number three on the U.K. Independent Albums chart.
Albums
Singles
