JANINE Drops New Album ‘Pain & Paradise’
“Everything had been flipped upside down, my heart ripped out of my chest, and I didn’t know how I could keep living.” New Zealand singer/songwriter Janine is no stranger to grief. A few years ago, the kiwi-born, LA-based songstress unexpectedly lost her hero, her father, while visiting back home and opted to stay in her native homeland to take care of her mum. Since then, Janine has been deeply immersed in writing this album, aptly titled Pain and Paradise, which is out today, Friday, August 22nd, on Little Mixtape Records. From soulful ballads to airy house-influenced anthems, Janine wrote and produced much of the album herself and on the focus track “Happy,” she captures the tension between hope and vulnerability over a classic piano-led melody and hypnotic percussion.
Melding R&B soundscapes with pop sensibilities, the record’s 16 tracks explore the juxtaposition of life’s beauty and its most painful moments. Standing in the stillness of New Zealand’s rugged beauty, Janine experienced heartache in solace. “I knew I was so lucky to be in such a beautiful place and most importantly, lucky to have loved so deeply that the weight of loss could be so heavy. I stood there and thought, wow this is the most unbearable Pain and Paradise. I decided that the album would be named ‘Pain and Paradise’ because I believe that they always coexist.”
Janine has been on the charts since her debut release in 2014. With several Billboard charting singles & albums, a New Zealand Critics Choice nomination, a 2015 win for Best R&B album for New Zealand Music Awards and numerous sold out tours between Australia, Europe, New Zealand and the US – Janine’s impact is universal.
Janine will kick off her North American headline tour next month! Starting in Ferndale, Michigan at The Magic Bag the tour will make notable stops in New York with a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg, D.C, Los Angeles at Terragram Ballroom on October 22nd and close out with a final show in Oakland at Crybaby on October 24 – find a show near you and get tickets HERE. Full list of tour dates below.
Photo Credit: Apela Bell
Tour Dates
9/28 – The Magic Bag – Ferndale, MI
9/29 – Subterranean – Chicago, IL
10/1 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY
10/3 – Howard Theatre – Washington, DC
10/6 – The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
10/10 – The Social – Orlando, FL
10/12 – House of Blues – Houston, TX
10/14 – The Studio at The Factory – Dallas, TX
10/16 – Last Exit Live – Phoenix, AZ
10/21 – Constellation Room – Santa Ana, CA
10/22 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA
10/24 – Crybaby – Oakland, CA