BTS had the chance to catch up with Hannah Hausman, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter and talk about all things music, including her awesome new single, “will i ever feel like this again?” and what she has planned for 2021! Read on to find out more.
Beyond the Stage: How did your musical journey begin?
Hannah Hausman: I’ve always loved music and writing more than anything! I was always singing around the house, so my mom put me in voice and piano lessons when I was young. I started writing poetry around the same time and I never stopped! I spent my youth searching for new music online, making mixtapes for my friends and convincing my parents to drive me hours to see my favorite artists in concert.
I grew up in a small town in East Tennessee and I always dreamt of being a singer/songwriter but I ignored the dream for a long time because I didn’t know anything about making music and I didn’t really even think it was a possibility. I went to college to study journalism but ended up taking a bunch of poetry classes, interning at music labels, and realizing I wanted to make music more than anything. In 2017, I started playing guitar and singing my poems over chords to turn them into songs and I’ve been in love with songwriting ever since.
In 2018 I moved to Sydney, Australia for a songwriting program and started working remotely with electronic producers in LA. At the end of that year, I released my debut single “lost in brooklyn” just for fun and immediately realized I wanted to keep releasing music forever.
BTS: How would you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t heard it before?
HH: I like to describe my music as introspective indie-pop. I love working with different producers, so the style of production varies from song to song based upon my listening habits at the time, but my songwriting will always be the core of my music. Songwriting is the way I process my emotions, so my lyrics are normally very introspective, genuine, and led by emotion.
BTS: Who are some of your influences, musical or non-musical?
HH: Writing wise, Mary Oliver is my all-time favorite poet and biggest writing inspiration. There was a period of time where I damaged my vocal chords and couldn’t sing for a year and her poetry really helped me stay positive during that time. Her writing is both poetic and accessible, which is something I strive for in my own work.
Musically, I’ve been really inspired by indie-pop artists like Chelsea Cutler, Jeremy Zucker, Eden, Alexander23, Rex Orange County, Conan Gray, and Julia Michaels. They’re all really amazing songwriters with unique voices which is my favorite combination in music.
Chelsea is definitely my favorite female artist of all time and her music really helped me gain the courage to write and release my own songs.
BTS: You have a new single called “will i ever feel like this again?” — what are you most excited about in terms of its release?
HH: Yes! I’m so excited to release this song! Over the past two years, I’ve been releasing a lot of collaboration tracks with electronic producers, but this is the first time since 2018 that I’m releasing a song on my own which is so exciting!! It’s also my first release through Quadio Records!
BTS: What was the writing process like for the track?
HH: I actually wrote most of this song in September of 2019 while I was still living in Nashville. I had just gotten back from a writing trip to Los Angeles. While I was in LA I realized I was really attracted to one of my best guy friends who lived there. I knew dating him would be such a bad idea, but he made me feel something I had never felt before. I was so conflicted on telling him how I felt because I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. I wrote this song to navigate my feelings.
BTS: Is there more music on the way?
HH: Yes!! Over the past year, I’ve been writing so many songs! I normally prefer to write songs on my piano or guitar in my room and then have them produced after, so I’m in the process of having them all produced now! I’m hoping to release a debut solo EP later in the year.
BTS: What are you most excited about when it’s safe to play and go to shows again?
HH: Going to concerts has always been my favorite thing in the entire world and I’ve really been missing them sooo much. I used to like going to at least one concert per week for my mental health, so I can’t wait until the day when that’s possible again! Some of my favorite albums ever were released this year and I can’t WAIT to hear those live one day, especially love is not dying by Jeremy Zucker, dreamland by COIN, and what could possibly go wrong by Dominic Fike. I don’t think I’m going to ever be able to turn down a concert for the rest of my life after this haha.
BTS: What are you listening to right now?
HH: I’ve been suuuuper into brakence and EDEN recently and a lot of other emo indie pop/indie pop-punk artists like glaive, ryan hall, and 50landing. I’ve also been listening to a lot of indie-pop bands like Valley, the band CAMINO, COIN, Wallows, and The 1975.
BTS: What does 2021 have in store for you?
HH: I honestly have no idea what the state of the world is going to look like this year, but I really just want to keep making music that I’m proud of and keep improving as an artist through the year! Writing songs has brought me so much joy during such a weird time and I hope that the songs I release this year bring that same joy to other people. I also really hope to continue collaborating with new artists, producers, and songwriters that I’ve never worked with before.
To keep up with Hannah Hausman, follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
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