Jay Som Shares New 7-Inch Featuring Two Anak Ko B-sides
Photo by Lissy Laricchia for Interview Magazine
Two songs that didn’t make it onto Anak Ko, the acclaimed sophomore album from Los Angeles-based producer, songwriter and musician Melina Duterte’s dream-pop project Jay Som, are now being released as a 7-inch single. “A Thousand Words” b/w “Can’t Sleep,” both previously unreleased B-sides from the Anak Ko sessions, are now streaming ahead of the 7-inch’s May 1 physical release via Polyvinyl.
Duterte speaks to the inspiration behind lead track “A Thousand Words” in a statement:
This song was made after a year of extensive touring plus a canceled tour. I forced myself to make a sort of big and jovial song to bring me out of the funk I was in. I also wanted to remind myself that music can be fun! It was heavily inspired by Bruce Springsteen, Elliott Smith, Pavement and that song “Alright” by Supergrass.
Duterte also recalls the making of “Can’t Sleep,” which she calls a “fever dream song”:
“Can’t Sleep” was made in August or September 2017 while I was living with my parents in between U.S. tours, before I moved to LA. I think I had all my gear packed away somewhere that I couldn’t access, so I used instruments left over in my childhood room: a broken acoustic guitar, chopsticks on a snare drum, a bad hi hat and my trumpet. Everything was recorded through the laptop mic. I was pretty frustrated with the California heat and the fact that I couldn’t record properly, so this sort of fever dream song was born.
Duterte and her band kick off an international tour today (Feb. 20), spending the rest of the month performing in New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Indonesia before heading to the U.K. and Europe in March. Jay Som then return to the States for eight April dates, starting with a Baltimore, Md., show on April 17, and sharing bills with Lazy Day, Sharon Van Etten and Julien Baker, before performing at various festivals in May and June. Tickets are available here.
You can listen to “A Thousand Words” and “Can’t Sleep” below, find Jay Som’s tour dates further down and stream her new 7-inch here. You can preorder a physical copy via Polyvinyl right here.