On June 2nd, just 3 days shy of the release of their upcoming release The Prettiest Curse, Madrid-bred foursome Hinds, announced the cancellation of their single. In the tweet, the band explained:
“We are cancelling the release of our single. We stand with the black community in the fight against the violation of human rights, white supremacy, police brutality and systematic racism. Today and always.”
This was not only decided upon as a stand in solidarity of anti-racist movements, but also in support to the protests in defense and memory of George Floyd — who was murdered by police officers in the state of Minnesota. The band also shared via Instagram under the hashtag “BlackOutTuesday” and “TheShowMustBePaused”, an online call from two senior music executives, Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas, determined to “intentionally disrupt the work week… The music industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. An industry that has profited predominantly from Black art. Our mission is to hold the industry at large, including major corporations + their partners who benefit from the efforts, struggles and successes of Black people accountable.”
A day before the release of The Prettiest Curse, the band shared the cancellation of a video viewing party, single release and they’ve even been considering “postponing (again) the album, but unfortunately it’s just not been possible.” For Carlotta Cosials, Ana Perrote, Ade Martin, and Amber Grimbergen what’s truly important is not taking focus out from the current impact and work that must be done to work together with the Black Lives Matter movement. In a statement published via their Instagram and Twitter accounts:
“We don’t want to occupy too much of the public conversation, as we want to keep the focus on what is most important right now – Black Lives Matter. That being said our album is coming out tomorrow. It feels completely wrong to be releasing an album and promoting it during a time where the world seems to finally be listening to the major problem of racism.”
“If during this week you see some promotion, interviews, live videos, etc., they’re all things we did weeks and months ago.”
Which is the case of the interview below with Hinds own, Anna Perrote, who took some time to talk about the quartets third studio album while in self-isolation due to Covid-19 a couple of weeks back.
Well to start, congratulations on the new album! As a band that tours and plays as many shows as you do, what are your thoughts on the recent effects of Covid-19 to touring acts? What does this mean for The Prettiest Curse?
Well being a musician right now is frightening… we rely so much on tours nowadays so I can’t really say much except I hope people buy the album and don’t forget about it the week after we release it.
Is crazy that a band of your caliber still has to go through the whole dynamic of “are YOU in the band?!”. With this album, I feel you get it out of the way right off the bat. You know it’s there but you’re ready to surpass that exchange. What has inspired the growth and upfront take on it within the first tracks of The Prettiest Curse?
We knew we wanted something different with this album. We had already done a DIY one (Leave Me Alone), and a pure rock and roll one (I Don’t Run). With this last one we made a point on the fact that we didn’t use anything else but our four instruments. That’s really what pushed us to do something different, just to change to evolve and not write the same songs again and again.
The Prettiest Curse production feels more intentional and allows for each of you to sound amazing! It feels very elevated, and we still have catchy harmonies, and that lo-fi vibe that is characteristic of Hinds. The albums stands as a very textural and complex work. Do you feel some of the other records allow for you all to channel and cave the path for the sound and vibe in The Prettiest Curse?
It’s been very very fun to record this album. I could actually say that’s its the first time we’ve had fun in the studio. In the past our touring schedule was so tight, that we knew we weren’t gonna be able to go back to the studio at all, so it was pretty stressful (and obviously studios are so expensive that it adds to the sweat). For the first time we stopped, we gave ourselves the luxury of not writing while touring, but just to stop and focus on writing and getting out of our comfort zone. When we started we didn’t know what we wanted but we knew we wanted a change so we started trying a bunch of things, and pretty soon we discovered that we liked a lot the songs we wrote just with a piano or keys on the back.
It’s funny how you can write totally different songs and vibes with the same chords coming out of different instruments. I think discovering that we liked keys was a big step in the change of production and sound. They are, our producer Jenn Decilveo main instrument, so we joined forces to produces that wall of sounds, with loads of layers of guitars, vocals and keys. She is a very talented and spontaneous producer. She always has a mic open and would ask us to play or sing or yell whatever came to our minds, and most of the times that first take was the best one. She pushed us to be more punk, more us.
How was the process of writing this album and what was the theme behind it?
It was fun cause we got to travel to write, and having time allowed us to write a lot of songs (some good but a lot very bad, haha), and then choose between them. I think you really can tell we didn’t write all the songs in the same city or month. I can hear a more colorful palette of themes and sounds. You are not in the same mood if it’s February and you are in London, Spring in Madrid, or if it’s August and you are in Los Angeles. I feel like this album is like a pretty, complete, diary in a way.
The videos for “Riding Solo” and “Good Bad Times” shows you all being this strong, bigger than life individuals. What inspired the vibes and strong personas as part of the imagery in the videos?
I sometimes feel like we are superheroes just ‘cause we survive. Six years in the band we did yesterday! I didn’t realize we look strong in riding solo! We wanted to represent the lyrics. Us surrounded by people but always alone, in constant movement, living in dreams and jet-lag.
I was excited to hear the mix of Spanish and English. How it felt singing in Spanish? Are there any musicians or artists from Hispanic background or Latin America that have had influenced the sound of Hinds? Anyone from La Movida Española even… The lines in Spanish give me the sincere and unapologetic sound of the likes of Ely Guerra mixed with a little bit of Bosé.
Haha cool! I’m glad you liked it! It was a big challenge for us. We were so scared to start! It felt like we had waited too long and we felt a bit insecure. We already had a taste and way of writing in English… so when the time came CC made a playlist with bunch of spanish bands and we started sort of studying them; we would listen and then discuss what we liked. Some of the bands are: Los Punsetes, Mujeres, Carolina Durante and Kokoshca.
What this album represents sonically for Hinds?
I’m really happy we weren’t scared to change and have fun in the studio. I think if the Ana of the past would listen to it, she would be mind blown.
How do you feel about being a strong representation for Spanish speakers and woman identified peeps in indie music?
Proud!!!! We are fighters!
During these weird times, we hope you are all safe and well. What has help you, so far, cope with lockdowns, and the uncertainty surrounding live concerts, art gatherings and such?
Every time I get anxious about releasing an album we have invested so much in during quarantine, without knowing when will we be able to play again, or even sell the album in stores, I try to think about the bigger picture. Like people are actually physically suffering and struggling. And then I automatically stop moaning about it, and to be fair, i’m lucky enough to be very comfortable in my house and with my partner. I’m cooking, painting, learning new things, sleeping, things I haven’t had the privilege to do in six years because of the volume of touring. It’s mad but things like wearing flip flops at home, eating exactly what i want or go to bed at midnight make me so happy cause usually that’s not an option on the road!
What message you have out for those out there waiting to see you all in a show (hopefully) soon? Can we expect an active presence via live streams from the band?
Please wait for us… we miss you and need you!! We have been doing a few tutorials and live performances yeah! We have a brand new album for the world to dance to from home! I hope it helps people feel less isolated, after all that’s what music is about anyways 🙂
The Prettiest Curse is out now via Mom and Pop Records. As part of their solidarity efforts with BLM, the band is reissuing their best-seller t-shirt design and will donate all net proceeds to: Black Trans Femmes in the Arts, African Career, Education & Resource, Asociación de Mujeres Africanas en Canarias, and SOS Racismo Madrid – last two, both located in Spain.