Hawxx: Exhale and Feel the Catharsis

Rewind the clocks to June, and self-proclaimed queer feminist punk metal band HAWXX are on the cusp of releasing their second full-length album, The World Splits Open, and in every sense, it is nothing like anything they’ve done before. Catching up with the band ahead of the release, they describe the recording experience as “the filthiest thing we’ve ever done”. Spending three weeks on a farm in South Devon, the band became completely immersed in the process, playing live, a replication of their “magic” stage performances, and a wild juxtaposition from their previous polished style. Vocalist Annouli says, “you can really feel the magic in the walls from all the other artists that have recorded there. We were completely true to ourselves. That’s how we needed to be captured, it would only be diluting our energy otherwise.” The album sounds exactly as it was created: cathartic, passionate, and angry.

The World Splits Open is, in many ways, a deeply spiritual album, and throughout its production, and partly down to the setting, the band were able to form a powerful connection to nature. Annouli describes it as, “there’s a fundamental belonging underneath the chaos of life. We all belong here just as much as this rock, and this tree, and this bird. I’m so not alone.” While the album perfectly expresses the bands anger towards the current state of the world, there is also a hope and positivity throughout, and as they explain, a lot of the themes of the album happened spontaneously, playing out as they spent time working on it. This can be pinpointed to specific moments, and Annouli recounts waking up on the day they were going to record Sacred Water, and wondering if they should include a song from her childhood in Greece about connecting with water. While she wasn’t sure, the rest of the band ran with this. Drummer Jess says, “I love it. It’s just like, make the way for nature.” As the recording progressed, everything started to just feel right. Guitarist Hannah adds, “you just get this euphoria of it working, and it clicking. There’s a natural rhythm, even the fact that we didn’t use a click, I think all of the songs breathe. It’s special.”

Throughout the album, grief is a theme that is embedded in the songs, and Annouli explains that while both personal grief and loss is expressed, there is also a wider, collective grief at the state of the world, and how the band are navigating this feeling. On Resistance is Justified, the first single, HAWXX channel this pain into movement, action and energy. The track was written for their friend Jordan Devlin, who served time in prison on charges of terrorism, for damaging an Israeli weapons factory. Though Jordan has now been acquitted, the song remains true, and its message directly conveying Annouli’s anger. While music is of course an outlet, the band didn’t just want to leave their listeners sitting with pain, rather offering a solution.

Annouli explains, “you can allow grief to eat you from the inside and change you on a molecular level, or it can bring you closer to aliveness and connection and belonging. There’s an element of hope, while everything is collapsing around us, there is a way to live, and to have a soul response.” Not only is this level of optimism for the benefit of the listeners, but for HAWXX themselves, so they can play the songs live instead of reliving the pain.

Speaking out, especially on political issues, is never an easy task, specifically in the time we are living in. For bands like HAWXX, it may seem to come effortlessly, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t take a toll on their wellbeing. When writing Resistance is Justified in particular, the band explain how they had to discuss any risks, and ensured everybody involved was safe. Annouli says, “there’s an amazing, empowering side of it, but we’re also tired with the risks associated with it. I think we know who we are and what we stand for, and all we really have is to say the things that are in our souls, and tell the truth, and we’ll take the consequences.” Like many bands, music is their outlet for everything they’re feeling, so it would be unnatural to not speak up. The band cite their connection as friends as why they can navigate difficult situations, explaining how communicating with each other, checking in, and making sure they stay united enables them to take care of themselves.

The connection and trust the band members have with each other is vital to the operation, allowing them to pour their hearts out into the music. In recording The World Splits Open, they built an amazing relationship with producer Pete Miles, and Annouli explains, “he was very emotionally invested in the project. Often, we’d come back from a tape and he’d be in tears.” Making the album wasn’t easy, considering the emotional weight, and Annouli reflects on how people may respond. “This album is like one long exhale for all of us, so hopefully that’s what people will get out of it too. Maybe empowerment, and mobilisation, but before you act you need to be able to feel aligned with yourself and exhale, to feel that catharsis.”

The World Splits Open is out now via self-release. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS131 here.