Introducing: Hadda Be

We recently covered Mercurial, the dynamic single from Brighton/London post-punk outfit Hadda Be. After having a deep dive into their Another Life album (check out the Spotify link below), we decided to chat with the band to talk Pixies, Flo Rida, and their writing process.

Mercurial by Hadda Be

First up, could you tell us a bit about Hadda Be?

Hello! We’re Hadda Be. We started making music under the name Foundlings in 2018 – in that year we released our first singles and did our first UK tour. 2019 saw the release of our debut self-titled EP. Due to some silliness that came our way, we changed our name to Hadda Be in 2020.

The following year we released our debut album, Another Life, which is really rather good, we’d have you know. We’ve been up and down the country playing gigs for a while now and our music lies somewhere between post-punk and melodic indie, amongst other things, depending on our collective mood.

What motivates you and inspires your music and aesthetic?

I think, at this point, creating and performing music has become something that’s essential to us. I couldn’t imagine not creating music; the inspiration comes from the people we meet, the things we read, general goings-on, other musicians – everything, basically. Aesthetically, that comes down to what’s on offer at the local Crisis charity shop. We do like creating music videos that reflect the moods and imagery of the music we create – which you’ll see in the video to our new single, Mercurial.

Horizon by Hadda Be

Who or what would you say has had the most influence on your sound?

It’s hard to say with much certainty; a Venn diagram of our individual tastes would be an interesting read (for us, at least). Which is to say that there are plenty of examples of points of inspiration where only a couple of us overlap, but then plenty others where I think we have a consensus. Pixies – a word that describes at least a couple of bands in reality – tend to come up a lot when we’re discussing dynamics, song structures etc. So, I’ll say that: Pixies.

Do you have specific roles when it comes to writing songs within Hadda Be?

There’s no formal denomination, but there are patterns. Songs tend to arrive pretty well formed via Oliver or Matthew (or both), and then get put through the Hadda engine by everyone via a meticulous process of playing around them until it feels right. Whole sections, or whole parts might be written by anyone from the band, and to this day no one’s been precious about it.

It’d probably surprise us to learn just how much of a song has happened under the radar (as in, how much we’ve changed about a part without ever really saying so much). There’s a real trust and respect between us all like that. Lyrics come from Amber and Oliver.

Misery by Hadda Be

How does the creative process work with the band being based in different cities?

Our tendency to get songs into a whole-band-playable state before we bring them into the practice room is helpful (being geographically diffuse means that jamming around time is at a premium) – but then it’s genuinely exciting to hear how much (and how quickly) those germs of songs can develop when they’re finally played out as a full band.

We tend to hold our ideas pretty lightly, even when we’ve tracked a load of guitars etc. in Logic (other recording programmes are available). Keeping the space open for a song to develop organically is important to us, and might even be encouraged by being in different cities!

What song by another artist is guaranteed to get you up and dancing, or singing along?

I’d like to hear You can give it [but you can’t take it] by Sassyhiya live again soon. Can’t guarantee it, but I’ll go on record saying it’d probably get us all up and grooving. (It’s a tune! Mark)

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?

I heard a story recently about Flo Rida never checking his Insta DMs, then doing it one day and seeing hundreds of artists asking him for a collab. And that, apparently, is why there was a glut of “Feat Flo Rida” tracks a few years ago. We await his response.

Was there a specific theme behind the lyrics of your recent single Mercurial?

They’re definitely inspired by the complete mess of things at the moment. I suppose there’s not a clear ‘message’ in them, but that feeling of being de-centred, unsure, shaken, etc., presides. Always interested to hear what other people read into them – different lines seem to stick out for different people.

Do you think the track signals a departure from the sound of your Another Life LP?

I suppose you could say that Mercurial is a development of our sound. We’re taking more time to think about our music from a wider perspective, considering the sonic environment that the songs inhabit and the journey we want to take people on that may not be defined through more traditional song structures. At the same time, it’s natural for us to develop as a band as we go on.

What’s up next for Hadda Be after the release of the Mercurial in terms of new music, videos…?

We’re doing a lot of writing at the moment, taking our time over album number two, so that’s the main thing. We’ll be gigging aplenty in 2023 and releasing as we go. We’re trialling new material at live shows at the moment, so if you’re interested, I’d recommend getting down to come and see us.

Check out the band’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram socials news on upcoming gigs and releases. You can stream Mercurial and more music from the Hadda Be on Spotify, Bandcamp, and Apple Music.