First of all: if you don’t know Hannah Grae yet, go and check out her music, you can thank us later. The young, Welsh artist took the stage of the FreeDome tent at this year’s Sziget Festival with such professionalism and confidence that one could easily think that she has many years of experience behind her, but that’s not the case. In fact, she released her very first single, „Propaganda”, less than a year ago, which was followed by her debut mini album focusing on her school experience, „Hell Is a Teenage Girl”, this April, and her brand new song, „Screw Loose”, came out today.
Hannah says that it was written during one of the hardest times of her life, but she loves to dance to it – and many, many people danced to it along with her in the audience at Sziget. Besides tracks from her first mini album and some new songs, she had another surprise for her Hungarian audience, as well. For each of her shows, she makes a handmade crochet hat in the colours of the flag of the country she’s performing in, and then throws it into the crowd. We had the chance to chat with her a bit before her phenomenal concert, and during our interview, she told us about the things she did in her free time in our capital, Budapest, her album, touring, her dream collaboration, she shared a message with her Hungarian fans, and of course, we taught her a little bit of Hungarian, as well – exclusive interview with Hannah Grae from Sziget Festival.
We’re so happy that you’re here in Budapest. Did you get the chance to look around and explore the city a bit?
Yes, I did, actually. We went out into the town yesterday, we went thrift shopping.
Thrift shopping?
Yeah! That was fun! And we went to some cool Hungarian restaurant.
Okay, did you try any Hungarian food?
Yeah! Oh my God, I forgot what it was called. It was like a doughy thing… Langoo?
Lángos?
Yeah, yeah. That was good. So good.
It’s amazing. So you released your debut mini album „Hell Is a Teenage Girl” earlier this year. Well, first of all congratulations on it, it just love it so much.
Thank you.
What is the message that you hope people take away from the record?
Umm, just that I think I wanted people to see some kind of hope.
Because when I was in school, there was nothing really in music that talked about school experiences outside of relationships and stuff.
I just wanted people to feel like there’s an end because you don’t when you’re in school. You feel like this is going to go on forever.
And what is the most important thing that you learned during the creation process of the album?
Oh, that’s a good question.
Writing that project gave me a lot of closure. I think it taught me that I don’t have to seek that closure from people. I can write about it and feel it in that way.
It made me feel very excited for the future.
Which song was the hardest to create on it?
In terms of production or concept?
Either in terms of production, or in terms of lyrical content. Whichever you’re feeling more comfortable with answering.
Probably „Jaded”. I wrote it about a friendship and it was really hard to write about.
I think friendship break ups are often harder than relationship break ups.
Probably that.
And which song of yours would you show to a person that doesn’t know you yet?
Uhhh… Probably „I Never Say No”.
Really?
Yeah!
Love that. Okay. And if you had to pick a theme song for your life, what would it be?
Out of any song?
Yeah, not your own, but any song.
Probably… Oh my God, it’s so hard. Umm… Probably „What’s Up”, 4 Non Blondes.”
„What’s Up”? Yeah, okay, actually, I love your cover of it. It’s amazing.
Thank you.
Besides your own songs, you shared quite a lot of covers of some amazing artists. Who would you like to collaborate with the most? Who is your dream?
Taylor Swift, the big one. I’d love to sing with Hayley Williams. I think that would be epic, I would love to do that. Or Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day.
Will you see Taylor on tour next year?
I bought tickets!
Same, so exciting. So, you’re on tour right now, so let’s talk about concerts and festivals a bit. Do you have any pre-show rituals that you always do before every concert of yours?
Yeah, I’ve decided to just have like, 20 minutes before my set to warm up and just be in silence for a bit. That’s helped a lot. Also, I finish my crochet hats in that time that I throw into the crowd.
I was gonna ask you about the hat. Did you make one for this concert?
Of course! Of course I did!
Alright, and how much time does it take to make one?
It takes a long time. Well, it’s like, two hours per hat. But I left them all quite last minute, so the day before I left for tour, I was just like, making them all day.
And what’s one thing that you just can’t leave at home when you’re travelling for a concert?
That’s a good question. Probably my headphones. It’s a boring one, but one time, I forgot to bring them, and I was very bored.
Yeah, hate that. And what’s next for you? Can we expect to hear some new music from you in the future, in the near future?
Yes, you can. There is something brewing in the mix. I’m very excited about it. Also, I play a lot of new songs in my set, as well, on tour. So yeah, something’s coming.
Finally, is there a message that you would like to share with your Hungarian fans?
Yeah.
I feel like it’s cliche, but just be yourself, do whatever you want, that makes you happy, and if it makes you happy, it shouldn’t make you sad. Just go and do it.
