Start Listening To: Hannah Hu
Hot off the heels of glorious new single Thirty, we caught up with Hannah Hu and took a peek at what goes into her craft.
Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and where you grew up?
Hello Still Listening… I’m Hannah Hu! I’m from Bradford, West Yorkshire and I now create music down south in London.
I moved down here a few years ago and stayed since my studies at Goldsmiths.
What does music mean to you?
A loaded question.
Music is absolutely everything to me, it’s my entire universe and it’s a source of connection to emotions, our deepest darkest thoughts, memories, visions, dreams, pain, love, lust, worry, stress, anger …
If you were to describe your sound to someone who’d never heard you before, what would you say?
Torch singing my heart away under a northern sky.
(Now currently a Hackney sky… filled with Helicopters and echos of sirens)
Is there any new music from 2022 you have been enjoying?
Yes! Lots actually… here’s a few albums/singles/musicians I’ve been playing:
I’m in love with Sharon Van Etten's new release “We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong.
My friend from our time at Goldsmiths, Charlie (Piglet), has released an incredibly touching new single - It isn’t fair
Wanda Jackson, PJ Harvey, Leonard Cohen & my dear friend Acid Klaus new singles. I’m featuring on his new album Step On My Travelator: The Imagined Career which is out in November.
Angel Olsen - Big Time.
We love your new single “Thirty” . What inspired you to write your new single “Thirty” ?
I wrote this song back in 2018 when I graduated from university. It's a coming of age song, a coming into my power and connecting with my womanhood kinda song. It's a middle finger to those that think it's ok to mistreat and mislead young women in relationships especially when ego and sex is involved. In this song I come to terms with the times I have been hurt, taking ownership of my body and sexual desires.
Are you writing new music at the moment?
Yes, I’m writing all the time at the moment and getting to the core of both my artistry and songwriting. I’m working on a new EP!
You graduated from Goldsmiths University, what is it like to study over there? Did this influence your music in anyway, if so could you please explain?
It was an insane experience, when I first arrived at Goldsmiths, I was a hermit songwriting at my mums, occasionally hanging out in Buttershaw and travelling to college at Leeds everyday. Goldsmiths and London was an open wide door and I stumbled straight through that doorway with my platform boots on!
At the time, I was focused on being in a band and that is all that I mainly remember from my time at Goldsmiths. I would love to go back and do the course again if I could, I think at 25 it’s a good time to study and that’s what I’m now doing in a way at Home and on tour with The Specials. Learning from my surroundings and falling deeply into my visions, inspirations and ideas.
Goldsmiths was definitely a past life - A past Hannah - time - growth.
I still see friends from the course which makes me so happy to see how they have grown too and succeeded in their careers.
What is it like to have your own record label? Why did you start one yourself?
As an unsigned, unmanaged and independent artist I believed it was good to represent myself and use my label as a platform for releasing and promoting my music. Priscilla Records is named after my cat Cilla, who is named after Priscilla Presley and Cilla Black, so I think it’s up to a good start. Receiving the single “Thirty” on a Flexi I had a key role of producing alongside Key Productions was incredible! I can’t wait for fans of my music to have their own Hannah Hu Flexi in their collection.
Where do you see your music one year from now?
It’s hard to say as life can be unpredictable but I’m dreaming of finishing a new EP, working with like minded people, playing live and truly embodying my music and power through my voice.
What do you love right now?
Mia Farrow
Being more open online
Record Shopping
Brighton
What do you hate right now?
The state of Tory England
War and the suffering of people across the world
Flying Ants
Cyclists that cycle on pedestrian pavements
Do you feel like your parents influenced your personal music style or not at all?
Of course! My mum is one of my biggest inspirations in life, she's a rockstar, an icon, a warrior and a strong mother to us all.
My mum has taught me many things through her music style, fashion and art. My older sister Aimee also introduced me to
Whitney Houston through the house walls and I remember thinking - wow - this is what I want to do - I want to sing! Just like my big sister.
Although, I was more of an orphan Annie in a little red dress on an Odsal Estate than Whitney Houston.
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it's important to you?
Avril Lavigne- Under My Skin
Avril changed my life. I think many young women who grew up during the early 2000s would feel the exact same. She created a movement, a pathway for pop music to be alternative and I still know all the words! I remember being at my Dads and speaking with our sweet neighbor Ivy,, an old lady who told me to never paint my nails black… but I did and I adored the “emo” section in Claire’s accessories. I turned the whole back bedroom into a shrine of drawings, clippings and posters of Avril. I still play Avril when I’m feeling down or hanging out in my bedroom. It’s always fun to sing along.
What advice would you give for anyone trying to achieve a similar sound to your music?
Sing from your heart.