Q+A with Hetticee
Congratulations on the release of your debut single 'Not Another Dinner Party' Can you tell me more about this song? What inspired it?
Thank you so much! I had the name ‘Not Another Dinner Party’ in mind for an EP title at first. It wasn’t a song and I wasn’t planning on writing one either, but over time I kept coming back to the concept of it and found myself resonating with the effect behind it - when everyone around you is starting to settle down and lean into adulthood and you’re not ready to just yet. You’re still a little messy and irresponsible and you don't want to spend your time pretending that you’re not. It sums up how I’m feeling in my life at the moment and once that connection was made, the song came very naturally to me. Honestly, I don't remember writing it, it kind of just happened overnight.
Only at the beginning of your music career, can you tell me how music became a part of your life.
Music has always been a huge part of my life. I’ve been writing since I was young as I’ve always found it so therapeutic. I went on to study music at uni, but at the time I struggled a lot with performance anxiety and so stopped singing at all for a while. Big imposter syndrome vibes. But in the past year, I realised that I missed writing and performing and that without music there was a tangible void in my life. So although I never planned on doing anything with my songs, I decided I should release them and just give the whole thing a go. Better than having them sit on a hard drive forever and regret it later.
Do you look up to any artists in particular when creating music? If so, who is it and why?
Yes so many! Amy Winehouse, Hayley Mary, Olivia Dean. But I think I always come back to Joni Mitchell. She has a saying that she sees music as ‘fluid architecture’ and I’ve always loved that because it just breaks open so many more possibilities for where a song can go. It makes the whole creative process so much more adventurous and unrestricted, and it's much more fun that way.
You mention that your music "has pop, indie rock and afro elements to express the voice of young adults", was this intentional or just came about naturally?
It came pretty naturally. I’ve always been a pop writer, but I mostly listened to rock music growing up and I think a little part of me has always wished I was a bit more rock n roll. And then the Afro comes from my family - my grandmother is from Zimbabwe and my dad was born in Malawi, so I’ve always really loved Afro rhythms and tonalities. I think all those influences come through in my writing in different ways. And then I just write about what I know and what's going on in my life. Like a little snapshot of the time.
If you could describe your music to someone in three words, what would it be?
Honest, playful, self-aware
Do you have any other hobbies/interests that you would like to try and reflect in your music?
Yes! I work in TV/Film and have always loved cinematography and storytelling, so usually when I’m listening to or writing music I have a music video playing along with it in my head. I can see the shots and the colour scheme and the mise-en-scène and I think having that relationship between image and sound results in my music being quite visceral. At least for me!
What are your plans for the future as an artist? Do you have projects coming up or live shows planned?
Yep! I have quite a few more releases planned this year, leading up to an EP release hopefully around October. I’ll start playing some live gigs in the next couple of months too. I’m excited to do more and make more and can’t wait to share a bit of myself with the world.
Her debut single ‘Not Another Dinner Party’ goes live this Friday 19 May on all streaming services which you can stream here.
