Mining modernist alt-pop with echoes of ‘90s indie and grunge, Welsh singer-songwriter Hana Lili is firmly on the rise. Her first two EPs, Flowers Die In The Summer and Existential, set her on course for bigger things which have so far included extensive Radio 1support, two stadium shows as guest to Coldplay, and another high profile support with Tom Grennan. Building upon that powerful introduction, Hana now shares her new single Small Talk.
Hana Lili (Press)
Small Talk is an anthem for anxious over-thinkers everywhere, with Hana expressing the whirlwind of self-defeating emotions that come when you feel as if you don’t fit in. Her soft, elegantly enunciated vocal delivers lyrics which acutely articulate such self-doubt as she sings, “It’s easier to stay in the shadows ‘cos I’d drown in the ocean, lie awake in bed regretting every word that I’ve spoken.” The music, however, comes from a much more self-assured place as she takes influence from artists such as No Doubt, The Cardigans and Fleetwood Mac.
Lili says, “I wrote Small Talk because I realised it was something I find difficult sometimes, Small Talk is a song about hiding behind small talk in conversation to avoid being vulnerable. The lyric “you’ll find me hiding in the small talk until I’ve bored everybody in the whole room” signifies the feeling of using meaningless conversation with friends and strangers to avoid talking about your feelings, and prolong the inevitable of addressing them yourself..”
Small Talk was written by Hana Lili, Jez Ashurst and Mark Vallance, and was produced by Jez Ashurst (Maisie Peters, Tom Walker). She first shared the track as the opening song during her gigs with Coldplay. Check out the lyric video below:
Authenticity is something that resonates throughout all of the music that Hana Lili releases. Her lyrics feel like her inner monologue exposed to the world, with honest and candid reflections on the universal experiences that young people go through. A self-taught bedroom producer and songwriter, she has self-released just two EPs to date but they’re already taking her to audiences far beyond her home village ofSully on the south Wales coast. Numerous Radio 1 DJs have already supported her, including Sian Eleri, Huw Stephens, Jack Saunders, Mollie King, Maia Beth and Phil Taggart, while further airplay has also included 6 Music, BBC Radio Wales and Radio Cymru.
Hana Lili - Small Talk Artwork
The support of the local community has been a big part of Hana, whose first language is Welsh, finding her voice. She learned the tradition of telling stories through song via local folk singing competitions, and as she embraced a more contemporary sound, found that the local live music scene provided the perfect outlook to develop her skills as a performer. Having also recently been awarded the PPL Momentum Music fund, Hana Lili is now definitively one to watch.
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