Jitensha is a duo from Montreal, Quebec that has been releasing music since 2024 and has released an extensive collection of music, including two full-length albums. They have been blending indie rock with influences from the psychedelic genre. You can also hear a nostalgic sound inspired by the 1950s. They are “lyrically focused on environment, psychology and universal love, they bring you on a winsome journey of modern human experience.”
Bitter Honey is their newest offering, inspired by their time WWOOFing (volunteer organic farming) in Okinawa in late 2022. They worked and lived on Inaho Farm, a small dairy and honey operation nestled within the Yanbaru National Park. They shared further about the background story of the song:
The honey of the Yanbaru region is quite intoxicatingly bitter due to the bees collecting pollen from the Asagura tree. The song chronicles a day in the life there – waking before sunrise to milk and feed the cows, picking Shikuwasa fruits to make jams and juice (and feed to the cows!) and enjoying a bonfire lit full moon party to the sound of the Shansin.
The song was recorded at their home cottage in Mont Blanc, QC, and I can hear the bedroom feel to the music, which initially attracted me to it.
A playful, simple melody focusing heavily on the lyrics and the gentle vocals of Erin. Somehow, I could imagine myself at the farm in a Japanese national park and just feel the fresh smell of honey dripping from the plasters. Bees flying around, gentle breeze touching my skin. I am a honey lover myself, even though I never participated in beekeeping. Somehow, I have been touched by this song and kept returning to it again and again. What a joyful little track this one is.
Jitensha duo has masterfully created this indie bedroom folk pop.
Written by Filip Zemcik
