FT: So Hannah, how does it feel to be a UK Americana Music Multi award winner? That’s three awards you’ve won. How does that feel?
HW: Well, it’s absolutely mental. I was really shocked. I take it as a pledge of support from the community, you know, you’re part of it, the Americana community is family, it’s so close-knit, I felt really held by everyone. It was wonderful that people put their faith in you, but I was totally shocked.
FT: I remember chatting to you in Derry, two months before the awards were announced, and I said we’ll wait until after the awards, and I can interview you as an award winner, and you dissed the idea, saying, It was never going to happen! But so many people know your quality, and knew you were going to win, and yet when it happened, you genuinely came out as completely shocked!
HW: I was. There were just so many good people up for the awards. People, artists I really admire, who to me are just up there, some of them friends, some I just admire from a distance, and admire their achievements. People like Katherine Priddy, who has come from nowhere, to playing ‘Later’ with Jools, and has played the Union Chapel, and just the music she is making, playing these major stages, and having such a loyal following. And I just think, wow, you’re amazing. And others. So in no way did I suspect that I might even be in with a tiny chance!
FT: Is that because you simply don’t appreciate how big a talent you are yourself?
HW: You’re asking really nice questions (laughs). I don’t know. I am so aware of so many other great artists. Maybe it’s natural to minimise your own achievements. Maybe it’s because I run a venue, and I’m so aware of so many people doing brilliant things
FT: But they are not getting Americana Awards! Is this going to give you a confidence boost?
HW: I suppose it already has. Just after that, I’ve had agents getting in touch, and it obviously makes a difference on the outside in terms of recognition, so you can’t help but feel boosted by that. So yeah, it does make you feel that maybe you are making something that is resonating with some people.
FT: So last year ‘Song of this year’, this year, ‘Album of the year’ and ‘Artist of the Year’, with Keiron (Keiron Marshall, Hannah’s life and Musical partner), winning instrumentalist of the year! Quite the clean sweep?
HW: Yeah, I know. Shocking.
FT: So on the back ‘Sweet Revolution’, which has been blowing people away, and it’s predecessor, ‘About Time’, two fantastic albums, you have a new album due later this year. What can we expect from it? Are there changes to the approach?
HW: Yeah, a little bit. I mean, I can’t but do what I do, but I do feel it’s a bit more mature than anything I’ve done, and perhaps some of it is a bit darker? It’s called ‘In Human Nature’. I call it that because, well, I make a lot of references to nature anyway. But just that expression, ‘Human nature’, which I feel is a bit of a contradiction in terms, because Nature isn’t human. Our own nature is bigger, and we kind of reduce it. There are some darker subjects, and some darker things are going on in the world, and I do get affected by that, so it’s there. But I don’t think it’s a depressing record at all, there are some beefy moments. Keiron keeps describing it as more Cinematic. I do think it’s different, I do think I’ve moved on from where I was. It will be great to hear what others think of it. You know when you’re really into something, it’s kind of hard to see with any clarity, because we are so involved in every kind of moment of it. So I’m really looking forward to hearing how people think about it
FT: The titles of the albums are deceptively simple, but have those layers to them? ‘About time’ can have several meanings to it. It can simply be about the concept of time. It’s about time things have happened, and ‘Sweet Revolution’?
HW: I wrote a song on the album, ‘Clementine’, which I love. Clementine was this metaphor for Feminism and the power of love. I grew up in a very working-class background. My Dad was proper BNP, an active member of the British National Party, his politics were totally different from mine. I remember even as a kid, he would try and explain things to me. And I was like -‘I don’t get, I just don’t get it’. He was also someone whom I idolised in lots of ways, because he was about community, which sounds ridiculous, but he was. He loved music, gardening, and nature, and he would never walk by someone in need, regardless of who that person was, regardless of what colour. But his politics were pretty awful, and he spent time in prison. I grew up around violence and drugs. Just learning about feminism, which I learnt about quite late, after I had a baby, was massively eye-opening for me. It opened so many doors. It made me realise, so many things weren’t all my fault, and there are forces out there that are against us. I had never been aware of that, I had felt like ‘I am the problem, wherever I go, I am the problem’. So ‘Clementine’ was about a power, a collective movement you can be part of, part of a change. There’s a line in that song that goes – ‘Being a woman in a man’s world, is an act of revolution.’ So sweet revolution, for me, was about finding my power, when I had felt very powerless before
FT: We have talked in the past about your struggles, well, many people’s struggles with mental health, is that also part of the ‘Sweet Revolution’?
HW: Totally, totally. It’s a massive part of it. The mental health part of it is something I’ve battled with, always have, and maybe I always will. It’s not as bad as it used to be. I do think finding your place and understanding wider causes helps you as an individual. The world is massive, and we have access to the internet, there’s so much information and news, and input, and it can be overwhelming, so seeing yourself as a separate small part of something bigger, it lightens the load?, Cause otherwise it all feels too much, doesn’t it?
FT: You find music therapeutic for yourself, yet it’s been therapy for others struggling with mental health issues, myself included, so thank you. When people know your background story, the fact that you are producing such soulful, truthful music really helps, and gives people hope. Can I ask you about another aspect of your life, and another part of you giving back, and that’s The Sound Lounge? Can you give us a little of the Sound Lounge, and why you decided to start it?
HW: The Sound Lounge is a music venue I run with Keiron, who is my husband and guitarist. We’ve been running it for about 14 years, I think? In different spaces, because we have never had any money, we get moved on, but we always come back. It’s always been in South London, within a few miles’ radius. I think we’ve been in 5 or 6 different venues? But because it’s always been in the same area, we’ve built up a following who have been really loyal, and stayed with us. The power of the venue is equally outside its walls, in terms of what we stand for. We are very vocal in what we stand for, we want to provide a platform for local artists, and create a space that we would want to play in. A place that is welcoming, that is set up properly, that values music above all else. We wanted to provide a platform for moments when people could come together and give people access to live music. I London, it can be really hard to access, really expensive, or in faraway corners. We put on free nights, and try and reach out to people who maybe wouldn’t take a chance on a live music experience, because we know, it changes lives. It’s changed my life. Kieron’s background is a difficult one, he’s had a really tough time with family issues, homelessness and drugs, but Kieron is doing what he is doing, winning awards, and being an amazing artist, because that what’s it gives you and it’s not just the music itself, it’s the community, it’s the people, it’s the places.
FT: You are also giving back to the community, with food and warmth to the vulnerable. The sound lounge is a real community resource, helping so many. Plus, it’s a grassroots venue.
HW: I think that’s what it is to grass roots, it’s to be on the front line, you working with people, some of whom can’t afford to eat, so we try and help them out with meals. Some people can’t afford to see gigs, some people just want to stay warm. Some may have money, and they want to come here and be part of something; some are socially isolated, and they want to volunteer to help out. Suddenly, you have this bustling community of people made up of so many different economic and cultural backgrounds, and it’s vibrant, and good for the soul to be around it.
FT: A lot of musicians shy away from political issues. You’ve never worried about that, you’ve always called it as you see it.
HW: I can’t help it, but I do worry about it. I’ve had some negative feedback about it. Someone called out, ‘This is middle England love!’. I’ve been told I should be singing more about love, but I sing what I write, and I write about what comes to me, and what I see. You can’t separate politics from life. It’s about the choices you’ve got, or the choices you don’t have! It’s played a big part in my life. I mean, I haven’t had it as hard as some people, but I haven’t had it easy either. Politics is a funny word, but it is just life. Sometimes people want to put it in a box, and say ‘You can’t go there, that’s not for you’. But it’s just not true. It’s about life, and you can’t ignore it, can you?
FT: Your song ‘Car Crash’ being a case in point. Written about a low point in your life, when you were homeless and desperate and had to shoplift to feed your young son. It’s a wonderful song that breaks stereotypes about people who are homeless and vulnerable.
HW: I think that is one of the main points is about stigma. I think I have a responsibility to tell that story, to try and re-humanise the situation. Let people know that the picture they may have, that it is just scummy people who don’t care about society, who behave in bad ways. Sometimes, you can feel like you have no choice. Sometimes things conspire against you, and you can see no reasonable route, and it leaves you to make bad decisions, leading you into horrible corners. I feel it’s really important to keep saying it. I think when people have access to the human, behind that statistic or that act, you can’t help but feel some degree of empathy and kindness towards them, whatever end of the political spectrum you’re from, people feel that, because we’re human.
FT: Hannah, thank you for taking so much time to talk to Folk and Tumble. Best of luck with the rest of the tour, and with the new album, although I’m sure it will fly without any luck. Hopefully see you again soon.
HW: Thank you, it’s been lovely!