More about: Hussy

Multi-hyphenate Hussy is self-sufficient as they come. Her debut self-titled EP, which dropped two weeks ago via her own label Rock Hag, was entirely written, engineered and produced by the artist—and she plays all the instruments.

The seven-song project shows Hussy's hand and it's filled with folksy, misty ballads and spikier, guitar-barbed tracks with the slackness of the '90s but the tightness of a recently-trained producer.

Here, We caught up with the artist to find out more about her journey into the profession:

Gigwise: What was your first introduction to the world of music?

Hussy: Probably hearing it on the stereo or the TV and just getting completely sucked in. I remember a turning point was rocking out to Sheryl Crows ‘If It Makes You Happy’ whilst playing a tennis racket as a guitar and Nirvana was huge.

GW: How did you originally get into production?

H: Just from being completely obsessed with music on every level and wanting to know everything about it. Trying to figure out how the records were made and who worked on them, how they were made, who played on peoples records. All that starts from scouring liner notes in CD booklets and vinyl records. Watching all those MTV behind the music and VH1 programs, magazines, literally anything. I absolutely love all that. Then I started self-recording with a cassette recorder before I did Music Tech for A Levels and got into using some software. Then I studied a three year degree course in Sound Engineering at LIPA. 

GW: Why did you decide to release music on your own label?

H: At this point I’m a very small artist and I’m just self-releasing anyway so I thought I may as well have some fun with it and give it a name. Being so involved with everything myself in all other areas, I feel like I may as well have some ownership of it in that way. It would be a dream to work with a proper bigger label of course and me doing it under my own ‘name’ isn’t defying working with other people by any means.

GW: Have you any musical plans for the rest of the year?

H: Currently working on what will become my next body of work and will record that properly at some point soon. Also have a support tour at the end of September early October on some of Willie J Healey's tour dates before my headline show on 7 October at the Waiting Room. Super excited for all that!

GW: When you were studying to be a sound engineer, did you always plan to make your own music?

H: That’s how I got started and making music is something I’ve always done: to me it’s always gone hand in hand. When I was studying, I didn’t have a public solo project at that time but i was just constantly recording other artists and learning how to craft those skills and develop my ears. That and playing as a guitarist or drummer in others bands.

GW: What are some of the difficulties that come with producing your own music?

H: There are no difficulties for me personally producing my own music apart from having to endure the sexism that sadly still exists. People undermining your work as a woman. People like to try and catch you out a lot and try and find loopholes into how you did something or see if they can prove someone has helped do your work for you. It’s hard for some people to believe even in 2021. Producing my own music however, I love!

GW: Was there a particular message you wanted to get across on the new EP?

H: I would just love for people to connect to it and hear it as something genuine. 

GW: You’ve done some livestreaming over the last year and a half – has that had a different effect on the music you’re making than live shows would?

H: I’m the kind of person who does whatever I think a song needs to be complete and then think about the live aspect later, I wouldn't say playing live affects the music I write. 

GW: Did any songs come together more easily than others?

H: There’s a good handful of songs which are born all at once as like a subconscious vomit. Those ones were 'Messing', 'Water', 'Lucas', 'Infinite' and even 'I Tried'. 'Moths' took quite a few attempts to get the right feeling and intention behind it and so did 'New Fair'. Those two ended up being a bit different than they started out in my demos. 

GW: Do you have a particular process when it comes to writing and producing songs, or do you prefer to just go with the flow?

H: I’d say the initial stages of creating are subconscious vomit where for me I’m not thinking too much and then working on them after that to be a finished polished thing can take a while. For me it's all about communicating a songs intention and what it's meant to convey. Until it gets there it's not finished to me. The songwriting is the ultimate thing for me and knowing about the technical stuff just helps me to shut my brain off and focus on the creative stuff.

Hussy EP is out now.

More about: Hussy