Pre-Rona, I saw a message in a Facebook group called Loud Women when member of the band HAWXX were asking for stand-ins in their music video upcoming single, Dogma. I had heard some of their music before, and loved the raw energy they brought to each song. Sadly, that music video is still yet to be made, but we got to have a little chat instead. Here it is, and Dogma is out now!
Hey guys! Can you give us a little background about how you guys met and formed?
Hannah and I met in 2018 at Alaska studios. She was managing the studio and I was going in there by myself to rehearse for a solo project. She would hear me rehearsing through the wall and I would catch glimpses of her playing (multiple) instruments with other bands and just thought she seemed awesome. So I asked her if she wanted to jam and it was bloody perfect. So thus HAWXX was born. I met Jess through playing mind numbingly boring function gigs in Soho till 3am and we found Iman on the internet!
What does your songwriting process normally look like?
We just bash it out. Haha. For me I get little phrases or subjects that sink their teeth into my brain as I go about my daily life. Then I start building a visual world around this subject- it’s really important to me to have a world in place in my mind before starting on riffs or lyrics! But also our writing sessions as a band can take many forms. The other day me and Hannah just sat down in a pub with some cranberry juice for 2 hours and literally bashed out these lyrics which we were so proud of! I think the most important thing is to always be ready to write, no matter where you are. Writing should be a constant process!
How did you decide to write about the feminist issues that you discuss in upcoming release Dogma? Was it brewing for a while or did something specific kick start it this time?
I was talking with a friend who at one point quite freely said ‘Ugh I just hate myself’. And it really got me thinking about how normalised it is for us women to hate ourselves, to always wish we were different somehow.
We get fed the message over and over that what we are isn’t enough or maybe it’s too much. And actually its fucking badass and revolutionary to say ‘I’m content with myself exactly as I am’. Because in the end, the idea that ‘if I was more like this, then I’d be happy’ is a massive lie – it’s ultimately disappointing and it’s sedating our power. Dogma is a call to action. ‘Own your body, own your mind. Tear up this one lifeless design’.
What’s the plan next? Can we expect an album soon (PLEASE)? And are you happy with how the process/journey is going so far?
Dogma is out now and this will follow with a series of singles and eventually our EP! We are so excited to have so much new music coming out. We’re very happy right now- we’ve just won the PRS Foundation Women Music Music grant – it’s such an honour and humbling that they have seen potential in us. And it’s made the recording the EP possible so we’re extremely grateful!
Lastly, what would seeing a woman in the headline slot at Download Festival mean to you?
Representation is SO important in the rock and metal scene. It’s as simple as the ‘if you see it, you can be it’ thing. There seems to be this weird idea that there aren’t female rock/metal musicians to perform but there are so many out there…Hai! *waves* So to see a woman headline Download would be powerful and symbolic of the progress we are making!
Thanks so much HAWXX! Their single, Dogma is out now (and we may be biased, but it SLAPS) and the rest of their socials are linked below:
You can find HAWXX on instagram and Twitter @hawxxmusic
You can follow our campaign on Facebook and Instagram @dlgrl2021 (or search #DLGRL2021 on Twitter)
You can sign our petition here: https://www.change.org/p/get-a-woman-to-headline-download-festival
And you can support #BlackLivesMatter using this resource: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-0KC83vYfVQ-2freQveH43PWxuab2uWDEGolzrNoIks/mobilebasic?fbclid=IwAR0FlY3euYo5_guY82SH_mwv7xuMrtQBk-LUKjpqkEFzo2gQqNODojn6ZPM