Im kind of upscale glamping right now, she says when I ring her on Sunday morning.
Yet Zauner is someone whos learned to roll with the punches.
(A Grammy nomination for best new artist would follow.)
Photo: Pak Bae
Whats it like, as an artist, when you get everything you want?
Japanese Breakfasts new albumrecorded, for the first time, in a professional studioattempts to answer that question.
How has your life changed since then?
Courtesy Dead Oceans
Is it a complete 180?
Michelle Zauner:I wouldnt say its 180.
I think that success afforded me a financial stability thats really quite delightful.
Im still doing a version of the same things, just kind of on a larger scale.
Jubileegarnered critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination, whileCrying in H Martlanded on theNew York TimesBest Seller List.
What do you want people to know about what its like when you get everything you want?
Thats not at all what Im interested in peddling.
When it comes to the new album, youve said its gloomier in the best way.
What did you mean by that?
Are you the kind of person who revels in sad music when theyre sad?
It all felt really unexpected and gratifying for me at the time.
It does happen to me quite often, but I wouldnt say its emotionally exhausting.
It feels odd to call it gratifying also.
I feel a sense of responsibility, I guess.
I think its really opened my eyes to just how much grief there is in the world.
Its an eye-opening and humbling experience and it means a lot to me.
Did writing a book, and the success of it, change the way you write music?
I mean, it was such a validating experience to feel so deeply understood.
So that just maybe gave me the confidence to go a little bit deeper.
The cover of the new album is your head down at a set table.
Is there any correlation between those two things?
Yeah, but Im not sure if its exactly the way that people might think.
I really love the idea of being present on the cover, but not showcasing my face.
There are flowers and a vase, which I mentioned in Winter in LA.
Whats it like for you when people draw connections between your work and your life story?
I think that all of the songs can be appreciated in the way that people choose to interpret them.
Its a foolish romantic man that succumbs to the call of a siren.
Theres also a lot of complete fantasy on this album.
Its safe to assume that people will probably map what they will from your personal life.
I was just talking to my husband about the song Styrofoam Plates by Death Cab for Cutie.
I remember when I was a teenager, thinking, man, Ben Gibbard has ledsucha tough life.
So I think its all just a natural part of mythologizing artists.
So, for your lead single, Orlando in Love, take me into the mind of the songwriter.
It has nothing to do with Florida.
Wouldnt it be funny if I made a Florida album?
I wrote them both down probably on that same page.
What gives you the most comfort, cooking and eating or writing and performing?
Oh, its definitely food, because its completely divorced from my work now, you know?
Cooking has always been a hobby that I enjoyed which was totally divorced from my livelihood or my ambitions.
I never aspired to be a chef.
Have you detected any differences in the nature of music success versus literary success?
Not many people have enjoyed both.
Thats a really great question.
The industries are certainly very different.
My relationship with the publishing industry has been so charmed, and I was quite spoiled by it.
I wish I had a good answer, but I dont know if I do.
With the album being released into the world, how are you feeling?
I really feel like this is an album to be appreciated in its entirety.
But Im also really nervous.
I hope people like it.
But theres nothing I can do about it.
I think ultimately Im really just ready for it to be out.
This album is the first one you recorded in a professional studio setting.
Did that change your creative process?
Well, Im an indie artist, so studio budgets have always been quite tight.
So it was something I always had in my back pocket that Id never done.
Its almost like the difference between shooting digital and film; there is just a sort of seriousness.
Maybe this is good forVogue, but its sort of like going natural versus putting on makeup.
Thats sort of what it felt like, being in a proper studio.
I know youve been writing a diary which youre going to turn into your next book.
What can you tell us about that?
But you know, when its done, its done.
This conversation had been edited and condensed.
