Interview + Album Feature | Hannah Kate
On finally setting these songs free, relatability and the importance of ambient hangs
Ahead of their album launch on Saturday Feb 28th at The Tote Noah speaks with Hannah Kate about how the band started out as a few mates getting together after high school. Then after member changes and a hiatus for a few years the slightly new version of the band re-emerged in 2024 and have been working hard to perfect their unique brand of garage-tinged indie rock ever since.
Hello Hannah, Firstly, congratulations on the release of your debut album, Whatever Weather, which only dropped very recently. How does it feel to have it out in the world and what’s the response been like so far?
Thank you! It feels pretty strange just in that it’s quite a vulnerable record and I’ve been thinking a bit about how weird it feels to share such personal stories with the tiny people in my phone but hey, what else is there?
It’s also a huge relief to finally have it out because there have been versions of this record in the past that I decided to put in the bin because it didn’t feel right, so I’m glad I could finally set these songs free.
The response has been really special, so many friends and people I’ve met through the scene over the years have reached out and told me what it means to them which has just been so beautiful.
From what I can tell from your releases you have been actively putting out music and gigging for around 10 years or so. Can you tell us about how your band got going and if the players have been with you from the start?
We got started as a few mates who formed just after high school, and apart from a different drummer the lineup stayed the same until the world shut down in 2020. When my first bass player Dougal moved to the UK shortly after covid ended, I decided to take a break from HK, so we went on hiatus for a good few years until deciding to re-emerge in 2024 with a slightly different line up, though Sam, my drummer has been there from very early on! Love you Sam <3
I understand that as a band your intention is around artfully perfecting your own brand of garage-tinged indie rock. I am intrigued to know your biggest influences as a band and how long it took to find the sound you have arrived at now?
In the beginning of HK I had a pretty huge obsession with Mac Demarco and the whole slacker rock genre, (honestly it never really went away, I watch the Mac Demarco Pepperoni Playboy documentary at least twice a year) but I also listen to a lot of artists like Angel Olsen and Cate Le Bon, so I feel like that singer songwriter-y style combined with some more slacker/garage rock bands that I love like Twin Peaks and Good Morning sort of created this unique brand of garage-tinged indie rock which we’re known for.
In Whatever Weather your themes are around highs and heartbreak and figuring it all out as you go whilst using wit to naturally present your lived experience through the songs. Can you elaborate on why these themes hold such importance to you and how they connect to your songs?
I think it’s not such a conscious thing for me, when I write I usually sit down with my guitar and sometimes lyrics come out which I didn’t know were in there.
The relatability of our songs is really important to me, I find it hard to write something that I’m not really feeling, so it means a lot to me that the stories come across authentic and real and, hopefully, mean something to the people listening too.
There are a quite a few names on board for the recording and mixing duties including Fabian Hunter, Tom Pleasance, and Sam Swain with Liam Snowy Halliwell and Sam (again) on mastering duties. Can you give us a snapshot and timeline of the making of the album and how all these people got you to the finished product?
Three of the songs from the album were recorded pre-Dougal (first bass player) moving countries, so I decided to get them mixed and mastered by Sam so they were ready to go while I finished writing the rest of the album. About a year later we went back to the Fishbone Tone Shack and recorded a couple more songs with Fabian, I wanted Tom to mix these ones because I really loved the mix on the Dog Door and Private Mountain releases, and when we were there I decided at the last minute to record two brand new songs and sub out some older songs on the album for those.. so yeah, it is a bit all over the place haha, but the way Tom was able to bring the whole thing together in such a cohesive way is honestly incredible.
What do you put your energy into outside of music?
I love getting out of the city at any opportunity I can, swimming in the ocean and being surrounded by trees does good things for my brain. I put a lot of energy into my friendships, my favourite hang at the moment is grabbing a banh mi and going to the Fitzroy pool with a friend and having a sauna, swim and sit in the sun, or just running errands together. I feel like sometimes ambient hangs are the ones that make you closest with your friends.
You are launching the album at The Tote on Saturday Feb 28th with support from local heavyweights Bad Bangs, Hobsons Bay Coast Guard and Techno 666. Do you have a special connection to the venue, and can you tell us any more details?
I definitely feel a special connection to the Tote for sure because it was the first venue we played consistently back when we started in 2019, we were tiny little babies back then and the tote gave us our first residency in the front bar which definitely played a part in getting our name out there. I think at one point we played there twice a week for a whole month, and the bartender was like you may as well just leave your gear here at this point.
Finally, who are your favourite local Melbourne bands at the moment and who would you like to see interviewed for Tempo
Dog Door, Milly Strange and Daisy Picker!
Get your tickets here
