Whitney perform in The Current studio
Over the course of a year, Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich of Chicago band Whitney wrote the songs for their album, Light Upon the Lake, while living in an apartment together. "That apartment had something special about it," Ehrlich says. "It was a cool place."
One track, "Dave's Song," was inspired by a neighbor. "He was quite the goofball," Ehrlich laughs.
It is with "Dave's Song" that Whitney begin their set in The Current's studio, hosted by Jade, recorded ahead of the band's show at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis.
The project that eventually became Whitney began as an experiment to explore what was possible with a four-track tape machine Kakacek had purchased. The group liked the songs they were writing to test out the machine, and the band Whitney materialized. "We realized the band and the album we were working on was going to be good," Ehrlich says.
Others, including Jonathan Rado of Foxygen, liked the songs as well. Whitney recorded Light Upon the Lake over three-and-a-half weeks at Rado's house in Los Angeles. Now, Whitney have just returned from a month touring in Europe, and are now embarking on a North American tour before returning to Europe for more dates in October.
With so much time on the road, it's fortunate the members of Whitney are such great friends. "We all just hang out," Ehrlich says. "Even when we get home, every night, we find ourselves at a bar together or going to a movie together."
Listen to the complete session using the audio player above.
Songs Performed
"Dave's Song"
"Golden Days"
"No Woman"
All songs from Whitney's 2016 album, Light Upon the Lake, available on Secretly Canadian.
Hosted by Jade
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Michael DeMark
Visuals by Nate Ryan and Leah Garaas
Web feature by Luke Taylor
