The Japanese House, otherwise known as Amber Bain, whose choice of stage name comes with an equally interesting story that blurs the lines between genders. Her music is "meditative by name and nature, with titles such as Cool Blue, Still and Letter By The Water. She has attempted to find inspiration in other places, but each one seems to come back to loss and heartbreak." With Léon, that is no different.
The opening lines of Léon reminds one of the angrier days of broken love. With minimalistic sounds that haunt the senses, The Japanese House pours her low-pitch, seemingly androgynous vocals into the lyrics:
Léon I’m smart
I got myself a good guy
Oh Léon when she broke your heart
You got yourself a good gun
Genius
Though originally inspired by the movie Léon, where a hitman forms a relationship with a 12 year old girl he rescues from a corrupt officer, it became more personal for Amber:
“I found it really interesting, the blurred lines of morality in the protagonists’ relationship – but it ended up turning into something personal,” she explains. The song, she continues, was “drawn from being broken up with, I was just really pissed off”. Her heart is no longer shattered – she briefly mentions a girlfriend – but these are the themes she still gravitates towards. “I’ve been fairly happy for quite a while but still the songs I seem to write are – unhappy is not the right word – searching, maybe. Reflective, maybe not on the brightest of things.”
The Guardian
