Quêbec-based Jitensha sat down with Happy to discuss Closing Statements, the inspiration behind it and the life of a touring couple
Jitensha’s Erin and David are two music-making lovebirds, whose latest album encapsulates their journeys through the spirit and ego, and of facing the self during the pandemic’s lockdown.
Having toured and travelled around the world, Closing Statements is a wise and enigmatic album that represents a closing of a chapter for Jitensha, as the world opened back up and the time spent alone with your thoughts came to a close.
In convo with Happy, the couple talked about Quêbec, their travels, upcoming music and their rock n roll influences.
Check it out below.
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
JITENSHA: Really exciting stuff – doing chores in the yard to get ready for winter. It’s already getting cold in the mountains! We’re also gonna practice some new songs – we’re slowly getting ready for our 2025 tour.
HAPPY: Tell us a little about where you’re from. What do you love about it?
JITENSHA: We’ve been based in Quêbec for about the last 10 years. It’s Canada’s officially francophone province – parlez-vous francais? The major city here is Montréal, where we spend a lot of time.
It’s so vibrant and artsy – brimming with culture and hidden treasures. North of there, where we live now, are the Laurentian mountains, the northernmost extension of the Appalacians.
Dappled with quaint ski hills and thousands of lakes, every season is breathtaking. We love to snowboard, paddle board and ride our bikes as much as possible.
HAPPY: Closing Statements seems like a very final, defining album. How were your experiences channeled into the music, and when did you know the album was done?
JITENSHA: Our experiences are directly channeled into the music. Most songs we’ve written start with a feeling, an emotion that comes out as a guitar riff or a mumbled melody – a longing to express something that’s been building up inside.
These unrealized messages from the subconscious give way to strings of words that become lyrics and the songs finish themselves from there. The album is actually a mixture of two different periods of creation (along with our four previous singles – Sojourn, Diwa, Coucou and Psychotic).
We played all the songs often on our 2022 and 2023 US tours and when we got back home last year we had a good idea of the story they told and how we wanted to present them.
HAPPY: How did COVID-19 and the post-pandemic world affect production and touring?
JITENSHA: COVID effectively canceled a big wave of momentum for us – our second album Periscope (2019) was doing well and we had finally been invited to a few bigger Canadian festivals and had planned an epic 6-month US tour for the first time.
We came to terms with it and focused on creating and live streaming but no lie – looking back it was really depressing! When the masks came off 2 years later we were so relieved to be able to pick up where we left off.
HAPPY: Do you feel like your travel around the world has shaped your music?
JITENSHA: Absolutely. You can hear a lot about our experiences working at sea and touring Canada in our second album Periscope.
Closing Statements is definitely shaped more by the inward journeys of ego and spirit we took during the pandemic. However, what we’re working on now is greatly inspired by surfing, and farming in Japan.
HAPPY: Your sound blends rock n roll with neo-psychedelia. Who have been your biggest influences?
JITENSHA: You can hear our rock and roll influences a lot in our vocals – acts like Peter Paul & Mary and the Everly Brothers really inspired our harmonies. Our lyrical styles have always been influenced by Foster the People and Phoenix.
Sonically though, these days we are really digging Australia’s own Babe Rainbow. Good vibes are contagious.
HAPPY: Closing Statements was made in your home studio in the Quebec mountains. How do you approach the production process?
JITENSHA: When the album was recorded we had just come off tour, so everything was pretty hot and ready to go. We recorded drums and bass to click simultaneously and then filled everything else in around it till it sounded done.
HAPPY: It’s been ten years since the release of your first album Buck Moon. How has the band and its sound developed since then?
JITENSHA: We joke about how the biggest difference is that everything is about 20 to 30 bpm slower! I think we’re getting old – or maybe just a bit less manic.
Our voices have gotten fuller, more well rounded. There’s a confidence and peace that comes with being a part of a project for a long time.
HAPPY: You tied the knot in the summer of 2018. What’s it like getting to make music and tour with your partner?
JITENSHA: Mostly sunshine and rainbows. We’re bff’s and get along great. We both love living in the minivan on tour and exploring new places.
It’s more of a struggle to maintain personal identities and hobbies sometimes – when our friends invite us places they just say “Is Jitensha coming?”
HAPPY: Looking ahead, what’s coming up?
JITENSHA: A 3-song EP next summer, a July through September Pacific Northwest microbrewery tour, and possible dates in Europe next fall!
HAPPY: What makes you happy?
JITENSHA: Spending time together, especially in nature! We are enamored with wildlife from little bugs to majestic stags.
We feel extra happy connecting people, whether they be a close friend or a stranger. Experiencing empathy and camaraderie is one of the best things in life.
