Words by Emily McConochie //  Image by Joe Agius

Keepsake – Hatchie’s woozy, industrial-leaning debut album is out today, and comes through with all of the lusty 90’s nostalgia we’ve been looking for.

Having cemented herself as an honorary member of the dream-pop hall of fame, Harriette Pilbeam – better known as Hatchie is filling the void of dreamy 90’s, industrial-pop with her debut album Keepsake. Staying very much in her own perfectly curated lane, Hatchie has proven an unstoppable force within one year of relentless touring, writing and releasing a full length album.

There is something inherently enchanting and cinematic about Keepsake. It reminds me of watching Ten Things I Hate About You or Clueless back in the day and is drenched in emblematic Cranberries-esque nostalgia with very hot and heavy motifs. Hatchie chooses to pluck and exhume these reminiscent notions of love, loss and lust with undeniable and unstoppable creative prowess. The Brisbane-born musician spoke to us about her journey so far, her plans for Keepsake and what is in store for the future of Hatchie –

Hatchie is touring the USA from June to September, so if you want to catch her in Australia, you’ll have to snatch yourself a ticket to Yours & Owls festival on October the 6th in Wollongong (info here)

Firstly, congratulations on releasing ‘Keepsake’, it must feel good to get it out there?

Thank you so much, yeh it’s all very exciting!

We’ve been following you since your debut EP ‘Sugar and Spice’ in 2018 and can’t help but feel that you’ve come a long way since then. Can you tell us a little about what’s been going on for Hatchie and how your feeling about Keepsake?

I’m feeling really good! Getting the music out there feels like a bit of a ‘this is it’ type moment. You want to get everything out there as soon as possible and then the day comes and you panic! I know I’m so lucky in that my audience has grown so much in the last year but me putting out music a year ago is very different to putting out an album now. There are more eyes on me, more online forums and it’s a bit weird knowing how many people would be judging and hearing. So it’s a little scary but I’m feeling really good about it!

You seem surprised at your own success, how have you handled Hatchie’s fast progression and exposure over the last year?

Yeh I mean it’s been hectic. We’ve been doing a lot of performing and touring with even more coming up. I think we did around 30 shows a month and some days we would do two radio sessions during the day and then play a show at night – so essentially three shows a day, which was full on and exhausting but we all learned a lot about ourselves. We definitely got thrown in the deep end over the last year, especially in terms of touring but we also definitely learned a lot and are more prepared for Keepsake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI4aHUVQBgI

From interviews I’ve watched, you speak about the ‘domino effect’ that began when your music first started taking off. Do you think this still rings true or have you grabbed the reins a little bit?

I think depends on what aspect you are looking at, particularly in the last six months I’ve really learned how to say what I want, whether it’s in the studio or in an interview, photo or video shoot. I’m still figuring it out and sometimes it moves faster than I can keep up with – there’s always a tour coming up or a show coming up or something. But I’m a lot more confident now, so, I’m looking forward to being even stronger and getting this album out there.

On that note, what was your creative process in writing ‘Keepsake’ and can you tell us a little about the album?

Well, I tried to open up a few new tasks for myself in terms of approaching songs in different ways. You know, I experimented with different pedals, synths, and methods of writing but for the most part, it’s just me in my room starting from one tiny idea and trying to make it a lot bigger.

The album isn’t one big concept, it’s really just songs about topics that mean a lot to me – especially growing into being a young woman and learning so much about yourself through about relationships – whether they are romantic or just as friends… I guess it’s just a really introspective record.

I receive a lot of comments about my music being quite cinematic and I really like that because I naturally write from that fictional place. It’s more interesting than the every day and I like to store that sort of more romantic side of myself in that space. I think it’s cool that it shows from me writing in my room to people listening to my music somewhere else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwdXi0I8vsQ

You’re well known for your synthy driven, dream-pop soundscapes. ‘Keepsake’ seems more industrial leaning, what were you inspired by in creating that sound?

I really wanted to cover new ground, just because with the EP I felt I was in danger of cornering myself. Which is fine because I had a really clear vision and I definitely did exactly what I wanted to do with the EP. But, I really didn’t want to play the same thing over and over. I tried out some heavier things, more industrial, some acoustic and definitely still a lot of dreamy songs because I feel I’m at the beginning of my career and these are just stepping stones onto the next thing.

Just curious, did you always want to be a musician?

Yes, I came from a musical family so definitely! Pretty much, when I was a little kid I was always like – yep I’m going to be a singer or a pop-star or something. Then when I was a teenager I felt it was not going to happen and wasn’t realistic… Which really bummed me out because it felt like a silly dream, I felt like I was one of those kids who say “I’m going to become an astronaut” and then you know… becomes an accountant.

Well, I think we can safely say that didn’t happen… How did you break that bleak reality for some and have a go at a music career?

Well, I kind of steered away from the performance side of it for a few years and took music up as a hobby after I graduated. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a performer so I studied the industry side and only in the last few years performing became less of a hobby slowly became serious… It happened quite naturally, which is cool because I came back around to what I always wanted to do and I guess it’s kinda happening haha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ELnVRJMFhw&feature=youtu.be