Since bursting onto the scene in 2017, setting our hearts and dancing feet ablaze, Haiku Hands have caused an electric stir within the Australian music scene. The trio create infectious, feel good music, and their 2017 track “Not About You” cemented them in the alternative/electronic stream, making them ones to watch. Consisting of Sydney sisters Claire and Mie Nakazawa and Melbourne-based pal Beatrice Lewis, the group have become known for their dizzying, enthralling, and exuberant performances.
After a bleak couple of years of empty dance floors, there’s never been a more pertinent time for Eora/Naarm based collective Haiku Hands to tour their 2020 debut self-titled album. The powerhouse outfit are currently in the middle of their Australian tour, gracing our cities with a sonic cloud of pure joy, and have just announced announced shows across the US/Canada.
We sat down to chat to Haiku Hands about touring, the cult of personality, and their viral hit.
Best Before: Hey, Haiku Hands. Congrats on the album! You released an album full of bangers in September 2020, at a time when you couldn’t exactly go out and dance. What was that like?
Claire: Yes, that really was challenging. It felt a little anticlimactic, but it was nice to think that it was brining a vibe to people who were at home, and could hopefully help them stay connected to dance and the party life, keeping that energy in people’s lives while everyone was in lockdown.
Absolutely, and now you’ve got the chance to tour it properly! You’ve been doing some gigs, I saw recently you were in Adelaide, how was it?
Claire: Awesome!
Bea: It was such a good gig! Personally, it took me a little minute to get back into performing. Then, the last few shows have felt like a portal opened and I’ve probably felt more elated in those shows than I have combined in the last two years of lockdown. I felt like everyone was up for it as well; it was this cool circle of energy happening between us and the audience, like people felt open and ready to connect and get into it.
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Claire: Like we were all virgin dancers again, or like virgin celebrators! And, that day, dancing was allowed back in Adelaide. Funnily enough, one of our last shows before lockdown was in Adelaide, and they knew the next day you couldn’t dance any more or go out. I remember we crowd surfed, and it was such an intense crowd, it was fantastic. Hopefully it’s the end of a weird period.
I totally feel like every time I’ve gone out in the past two weeks, there’s been a new level of unhinged and everyone is so keen for it.
Bea: [Laughs] Yes, absolutely!
Mie: Yes, I’ve been going out and I went to a few gigs like Genesis Owusu, and the supporting band 1300 brought so much energy and they were so good. Absolutely no one was chatting to friends, everyone felt so engaged and ecstatic! Everyone walked out elated. We’d forgotten how good that feeling is.
“I started doing more of my art after doing a chunk of music, and it changed my art. It’s more expressive and daring, which was really fun to engage with.”
I find it really interesting that Mie and Claire come from a primarily visual arts background. What was your journey into music and making that your main focus?
Claire: There’s a close relationship between the community of artists and musicians. Often, you’d be at a venue or a party, and half the people would be artists and the other half musicians. So I guess, culturally, it started mixing. I started off making album covers, or film clips, and then I saw the scope for all the other visual elements within music.
Then I wanted to try the other stuff as well — what’s it like performing, or songwriting? It is also more of an extroverted form of expression than visual arts, and I wanted to open myself up more, be more vocal, and talk about ideas more than just symbolism. So that’s one of the aspects that drew me to wanting to transition from the more individualistic practice of painting. With this, you’re more connected to community, and there’s more collaboration — that was my segue. But also I was always at festivals and I was like, well, I’m spending all my time here anyway. Might as well be a player, rather than a consumer.
Mie: Yes, I feel very similarly to Claire. Visual arts is very introverted — I’d be at my studio by myself all the time, and it was quite lonely, but it’s also a different headspace. Then, when I started performing, it was eye-opening to be able to engage with other people and myself in another way. As I started learning more about music, it felt quite similar. I started doing more of my art after doing a chunk of music, and it changed my art. It’s more expressive and daring, which was really fun to engage with.
“It was pushing through barriers of breaking apart my ego to be brave enough.”
Bea as a music producer I guess your point of different would be working for other people, and having this permanent collaboration?
Bea: Yeah, absolutely. I actually got a really nice grant from the Victorian government for my solo album. So that feels very different to work out and change headspace for. I’m equal parts looking forward to and not working by myself, because I haven’t done it in a long time. It’s like how Mie described painting, very introverted and a different headspace.
I can imagine. Well, because of all your different backgrounds that collaboration is super important. Do you like to challenge each other to step outside of your comfort zones?
Mie: I was talking to Claire the other day about writing and recording, and how I’m really still understanding how to use my voice and everything I can do with it. That’s really challenging to me, but I like taking up the challenge. It can be really confronting and quite hard but the reward feels really, really good. It’s been rewarding and satisfying, but it’s still confronting hearing my voice outside and coming back in.
Claire: For me, it was pushing through barriers of breaking apart my ego to be brave enough. To push through and feel confident enough to be able to record and just telling myself that I can do this. It was also the confidence and the self-belief that I’ve developed through my exhibitions and putting myself out in that way, and then taking that into the music realm — being open to creativity and letting, go instead of being blocked. It’s like a creative muscle.
“Post lockdown, artists just aren’t putting that much time into the online. There’s been a bit of like social media burnout, like people have lost interest in engaging with it.”
I like that. In photos or videos, you often have your faces obscured, blurred or covered. Could you tell me a little about this?
Mie: My concept of it was wearing the masks, and then our matching outfits on stage are a unifying element to us. Within unity comes strength — it’s stepping away from the individualism.
Claire: Initially, I wanted the audience to connect with the art itself, the songs and the lyrics. And have it be less about the cult of personality. Because it’s not about…
Bea: You? [laughs]
Claire: Yeah, [laughs]. I wanted people to notice our offerings, not us.
Yeah absolutely, cult of personality is just people being obsessed with you rather than what you’re producing.
Claire: Definitely, and especially five years ago, it felt like the peak of that, like selfies and social media and individuals were really elevated then. At the time, we were a bit different coming out that way, it set us apart a little!
Mie: It also takes away the pressure of being a personality, because there is so much pressure to be like a musician, but also really interesting and funny on social media. It’s like, I just want to stay in my studio and not put energy into making a TikTok.
Bea: Post-lockdown, artists just aren’t putting that much time into the online. There’s been a bit of like social media burnout, like people have lost interest in engaging with it.
Claire: Yeah, we also just don’t have time for it anymore. Instagram used to be fun and the best way to reach an audience, but now with the new algorithms, it’s disheartening to see that you’re only engaging with less than 300 people. And we just don’t have the time to learn TikTok. Hopefully, we’ll just keep making music that will get popular through a TikTok!
You do have the music for a sick TikTok dance routine! Okay spitfire round. What venue, Australian or international, would be a dream venue for you to play at?
Claire: I’ve always wanted to play at the Amphitheatre in Byron, maybe headline the amphitheatre at Splendour or Falls.
Bea: Mine for some reason is Glastonbury, I just want to play there now.
Mie: Both of them sound good!
Amazing, and is there a city in Aus where the audience brings the best vibes?
Mie: Brisbane actually comes to mind. I have, like, three friends in Brisbane, and none of them came to the show so it wasn’t because of that. People were just going crazy, it was sold out, and it was amazing. I was so surprised and so so stoked.
Bea: Brisbane was the first one I thought of, too!
Do each of you have a favourite track to play live?
Bea: I have so many, that’s a hard question! I love “Not About You”. I love “Onset” and “Supervillain” currently.
Claire: Yes, “Supervillain” and “Onset” came to mind for me, too.
Mie: We’ve just started doing “Mechanical Animal” again. We took it out and brought it back because we wanted to make the show even weirder.
Thanks for chatting, it’s been a pleasure. Hopefully catch you at the metro theatre!!
Mie: Actually, I never dreamed of it. I actually can’t believe we’re playing at the Metro, so amazing!
Watch Haiku Hands’ recent video for “Conclusions” here:
HAIKU HANDS | UPCOMING TOUR DATES
Thu 21 April — Mojos — Fremantle, WA
Sun 24 April — Out of the Woods Festival — Busselton, WA
Thu 28 April — Max Watts — Melbourne, VIC
Fri 6 May — The Zoo — Brisbane, QLD
Sat 7 May — UC Hub — Canberra, ACT
Lead image by Cybele Malinowski.