Hatchie Embraces Simplicity on 'Liquorice'

“I didn’t want to hide behind effects this time around because I felt like the storytelling painted so much of the picture already. I wanted this album to sound warm and comforting, even in its saddest chapters.”
Hatchie

With Liquorice, Harriette Pilbeam, aka Hatchie, embraces vulnerability over perfection, stripping back her signature dreamlike production to let her songwriting take center stage. Hatchie spoke to NYOTA about the work it takes to be a full-time musician, how films with bittersweet endings inspired Liquorice, and giving her songs time to breathe.

Before you started writing your own music, what kind of music were you obsessed with? Was there an artist or album that changed how you listen to music?

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Kylie Minogue, The Corrs, Shania Twain, Spice Girls, S Club 7. On the total other end of the spectrum, my parents listened to lots of 70s singer-songwriters like Carole King, Billy Joel, Todd Rundgren, The Eagles, and Fleetwood Mac. One common factor with all of these artists that I’ve only realized as an adult is that their music is really driven by beautiful vocal harmonies, which I think has had a huge influence on me as both a singer and songwriter.

I came across one of your TikToks where you said: “showing my music on my lunch break every day until I can quit my day job.” It was humorous, but it also hinted at the hard reality of being a musician. Do you think people underestimate how much it takes to pursue music full-time, especially in the current streaming landscape?

Absolutely! People always assume I’m a full-time musician. I’m lucky that my Patreon is popular enough to help me out, but I still have to work four days at my other job to live comfortably. You have to either be a really big artist or self-managed with no label, etc in order to make a living off music alone.

Last year you released Liquorice, which is sonically different from Giving The World Away. How did you approach how you wanted Liquorice to sound and feel? Did the time in between both records allow you to hone in on a sound that felt distinctly Hatchie?

Yeah, I felt like the songs I wrote for Liquorice really lent themselves to having simple production that let the listener focus more on the lyrics than with my previous albums. I didn’t want to hide behind effects this time around because I felt like the storytelling painted so much of the picture already. I wanted this album to sound warm and comforting, even in its saddest chapters. I definitely wouldn’t have felt so confident in the writing if I had rushed into following up GTWA.

Liquorice was recorded in a home studio, and you kept elements from your original demos in the final recordings. What is it about the first recordings of a song that can be hard to recreate later?

That’s a great question; it’s so hard to pin down sometimes! I think for this album it came down to the imperfections in the rough early takes feeling more expressive and genuine. I really tried to stop myself from re-recording the vocals too much, especially after listening back to my first EP and album and noticing the vocals sound a little soulless because I was so focused on singing the notes perfectly. Hindsight is 20/20!

A lot of the record was inspired by films that feature love stories where things are sad or bittersweet versus having a happy ending. That’s reflected through what’s touched on in the record. Do you think songs become more interesting when they leave something unresolved?

I think for the songs I write, they do, but it isn’t intentional! I guess I just ruminate on things endlessly and have a tendency to not settle on how I feel about anything permanently. I definitely find the movies without closure the most heart-wrenching, so they’re naturally the most inspiring and memorable for me.

How much did the films you love influence the visuals and the overall aesthetic of this project?

They’re honestly the number one influence! I love movies set during winter and autumn; there’s just something so vibrant and nostalgic but also melancholy about that time of year. I also felt like those films represented the same combination of emotions as this album. Regret, yearning, lust, and indecision are common themes across both Liquorice and the films I reference.

Throughout the record, I got hints of The Sundays, Tennis, and Cocteau Twins. Were there particular records or artists you kept coming back to while working on the record, or are you someone who tries to limit outside influences when working?

I love all of those artists; they’ve definitely influenced me over the past ten years. I tried not to be as directly influenced by other artists with this album; I felt like my previous releases did a lot of that. In saying that, I think it’s impossible for me to make music without my influences creeping through. Some others that I can hear in Liquorice are Yuck, Alvvays and Melody’s Echo Chamber.

Something you’ve mentioned in past interviews is that you really allowed the songs on Liquorice to breathe and you didn’t give yourself a set time to have them done. How did that impact your creative process, and do you think you’ll continue that slowed-down pace going forward?

I think more than anything it allowed me to figure out what the common thread between all the songs was. I had time to really flesh out the lyrics and decide what stories I wanted to tell and how to best tell them. In the past, I’ve settled on lyrics and song structures because I didn’t have time to have a more considered approach.

Now that Liquorice has been out in the world for some time, are there songs on the record that you hear differently than when you first finished them?

I think because of the time spent on it, I actually am finding this happening less than with my previous albums! I used to change my mind every time I listened, but because I was so intentional with everything this time, my feelings have stayed firm.