Listen to Japanese Breakfast’s “stripped-down” cover of Brandi Carlile’s ‘The Story’

Japanese Breakfast (aka Michelle Zauner) has shared a cover of Brandi Carlile’s slow-burning track, ‘The Story’. Hear the song below.

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‘The Story’ was originally released by Carlile in 2017, as part of her album by the same name. Zauner’s version was recorded as part of a new campaign for clothing brand, the North Face and was recorded at New York City’s Electric Lady Studios.

“It’s a bit intimidating because there’s a lot of belting, which is typically not my wheelhouse,” Zauner told WWD about the track. “I wanted to create a stripped-down version that relied more on an acoustic guitar and a really beautiful string arrangement and a strong vocal performance.”

She added: “Luckily, I had the opportunity to record it at Electric Lady Studios in New York. I feel like the key to recording these arrangements really well is to perform them — it’s really served by performing in a very high-quality studio with a really talented engineer.”

“It was a joy to take on the iconic ballad, ‘The Story,’” Japanese Breakfast shared in a separate statement. “I think the song captures the depths of human tenacity and the spirit of the journey so well. We wanted to keep our rendition sparse and acoustic. A beautiful string arrangement written by Craig Hendrix and performed by our violinist, Molly Germer, and Quartet 121 soars in to sweep you up to the mountains.”

Zauner returned to the stage this past weekend, opening for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ on Saturday (October 1) at New York City’s Forest Hills Stadium.

In a four-star review of the gig, NME wrote that although “Zauner may not immediately emulate the same raucous and brash energy as her line-up counterparts, the emotions lacing her lyricism, and even the exasperated and excited vocal delivery she graces ears with during the refrain of ‘Everybody Wants To Love You’ are a forewarning of the night’s passionate headline set.”

The post Listen to Japanese Breakfast’s “stripped-down” cover of Brandi Carlile’s ‘The Story’ appeared first on NME.