A Q+A with HONNE

Congratulations on releasing your first album as an independent artist with AWAL, how has the new path in your music career been and what doors has it opened up for you being recognised as an independent artist?

Thank you so much! It’s really been an adventure actually. It was invigorating to go back to how it all started, working with a small team, getting stuck in to every element of the campaign. From writing, recording and mixing the whole album ourselves, to coming up with video concepts, it was a lot of work but definitely very fun. I think one of the main doors that re-opened since going independent was working with smaller / individual creatives again. For example artists for the cover art direction, directors for music videos etc. That’s been one of the real joys of this campaign for us.

I have admired your constant dedication to producing unique and authentic sounds over the past few years with your music. Is there a particular part of you that keeps you grounded to your music style and helps you keep your authenticity in the music scene?

Over the course of the first few albums we tried our best to ignore outside pressures and to only focus on moving forward or changing direction with each album, to keep it fresh and interesting for us, and to continue to enjoy the creative process. So when we dropped the second album, although I was super proud of it, I kind of thought ‘ok, this could be the end of us, this is very different’…and then people seemed to dig it. And then the same happened with ‘No Song Without You’. So it took time, but we’ve proven to ourselves that the best thing we can do is to be authentic, make whatever music we feel like making, and just hope for the best!

In one of your latest single’s ‘Imaginary’, we explore your musical talents through various instruments including guitar, glockenspiel, cornet and more. Do either of you have a particular favourite instrument and is there any particular reason why?

For both of us, our main instrument is guitar, so we love the guitar of course. But I think we probably both love drums the most. Drums are so expressive, can dictate the whole mood and feel of a song. And seeing a drummer play drums well is one of the coolest things in the world.

So nice to see you both back on the road for the tour of your new album Ouch’! What are you most excited for being back on the road and is there any chance you will be making an appearance down under here in Australia?

Yes it’s so good to be back out on tour again! We’ve put more love into our live show than ever before too…we’ve got inflatable clouds and all sorts on stage and an expanded live band. The shows so far have been a blast. And yes we’re coming to Sydney and Melbourne in March and we cannot wait to be back!

What do you look forward to most in the next stages of your musical endeavours and what is your best advice to those working their way into the music scene?

This latest album was made by just the two of us, so I think next year we’re planning to collaborate with lots of other artists and instrumentalists again, so we’re looking forward to that. In terms of advice for those working their way into the music scene - I’d say don’t be afraid to be different. Having artists you look up to is great, but putting your own spin on things is what creates something new and will help you forge your own path.

Their album OUCH is out now, available at all stores to purchase or listen on all streaming platforms.

Make sure you check out HONNE on THE OUCH AUS TOUR!
Wednesday 19 March – Roundhouse, Sydney
Thursday 20 March – Forum, Melbourne

Tickets on sale now at secretsounds.com

A Q&A with KIAN