HONNE are taking the music scene by storm, with a huge new single under their belts 'Someone That Loves You' in collaboration with Izzy Bizu, there is no stopping this incredible electronic-soul duo. We chatted to HONNE about SXSW, developing their sound as a full band and festival season. Check out the full interview below!
Hi there, so we see you’ve been pretty busy touring the US at the moment! How was that?
Hello! Yep we were there for a load of our own gigs and SXSW. It was a really special couple of weeks and we had some very memorable shows. We can't wait to get back!
Talk to us about SXSW? It looked amazing this year! Which set was your favourite to play?
SXSW is a mad festival. We played 7 shows over a few days all over Austin. I think our favourite set was probably at the Hype Hotel. It was at 1pm so we were expecting everyone to be in bed hungover to be honest! But just before 1 the place suddenly filled up.
Any acts that stood out for you?
One act that stood out to us was Pumarosa. We saw them play a great set at the Fader Fort. We saw them at the Royal Albert Hall in London the other day too actually, their sound really suited that huge room.
We saw you play a year ago supporting Kwabs as a duo at Thekla (you were amazing by the way), and now you’ve headlined Thekla and the Electric Brixton with a full band to support you guys. How has this whirlwind of a year been for you? How has the development of having a full band affected your shows and music? What can we expect this year in terms of live shows?
Ah thanks. We've loved every minute of it. Ever since day one we always said when we played live we wanted to use a full band to make it really energetic and step it up a notch from the record. We've been playing as the same group of people for a long time now, so there's a real chemistry between us all. So people can expect smooth and sexy, but also bright, loud and exciting.
Let’s talk about your recent Valentine’s day release, Woman. What was the principal inspiration for it?
Woman was written between International Women's Day and Valentine's Day last year. We wanted to write a track celebrating the women in our lives, and it's as much about friends and family as it is lovers.
The video is great too, do you guys get creative input when putting the videos together?
Yep, we're really involved with anything creative. That video concept was sent to us by an amazing director in LA called Dori. We chatted with him and threw ideas around and the video was born!
So an album is on the way we are guessing from your Facebook posts. How does the album process differ from previous releases? What can we expect from the album?
It is indeed. We're just finishing it off as we speak. The album is a great opportunity for us to explore. It's got a few tracks that you'll already know, but the majority are new. We hope it's going to take people on a bit of a journey and show everyone some other sides to HONNE that they might not have heard before.
Lastly, you’re playing numerous festivals this summer, including the intimate Barn On The Farm Festival. What’s your favourite aspect about fetsival season? Any acts you’re looking forward to seeing?
We are, and we can't wait. Festivals are great. I think my favourite thing, other than the gig itself, is seeing the other artists who we bump into all the time. We often see Lapsley, Tei Shi, Shura, Tom Misch etc on the same festivals as us, so it's cool seeing them play and catching up.
What's your festival must-have?
A Festival must-have: A blow up bed. We're not roll-mat kinda guys.
HONNE are playing numerous festivals this year including Barn on the Farm Festival, July 1st - 3rd in Gloucestershire. For more information please visit www.barnonthefarm.co.uk
