i Häxa About Their Four-Parts Double 12" Album
"Our Mystical Language Connects Us"
The album "Part I – IV" by i Häxa is about the four seasons and the four elements. It tells a story that could hardly be more mystical. Musically, it is outstanding, and because I wanted to find out more about it, I invited Peter Miles and Rebecca (Becca) Need-Menear for an interview. Please enjoy the read!
Anne: Hi Rebecca, hi Peter, thanks for taking the time to do this interview!
Becca: Hi! Thank you! Nice to meet you!
Anne: Why and when did you decide to release the album in four parts?
Peter: We wrote and recorded the body of work that became Part I during a four-day window of inspiration and serendipity in September 2020. The music flowed quickly and naturally, the four songs forming one cohesive 16-minute piece. Upon its completion, it was clear that three more pieces should follow: four seasons, four elements, and four sides to a double 12-inch LP at 45 rpm.
Anne: You shared a live session of the song "Eight Eyes," which is on Pt. II on YouTube. The video is quite intense and part of an inspiring multimedia project you created and are releasing via Pelagic Records. It includes your music and soundscapes, plus the audiovisual part, as well as ancient meteorological mythologies. Do you want to tell me about this fascinating project?
"We developed a world that began to take on a life of its own"
Becca: This world seemed to unravel by itself, accidentally taking on a life of its own, almost by magic. We couldn't have predicted its scale when Pete and I first sat down to make music together. There were a few songs that felt like drawing blood from a stone, but for the most part, the songs seemed to fall out into their own spaces.
At the very start of the project when I was going through a difficult period, I performed a rune ritual for myself—drawing out four runes to lead the way.
Little did I know how effortlessly everything would split into four ways: Four seasons (two solstices and two equinoxes) and four elements, each with its own rune which seemed to perfectly describe and represent each movement.
Anne: The songs on Pt.I and Pt. II are "Underworld," "Inferno," "Last at the Table," "Sapling," "Eight Eyes," "We Three," "The Well," and "Fog of War." This sounds so mystical, as if a storyline is connecting them, building a bigger picture or the hero's journey. I don't know if that's the case. If it is: Do you want to tell me about it?
Becca: Each section represents a chapter of a journey. Sometimes, we get a clear view and can see semblances of regular life, and at other times, we fall down abstract holes and into the subconscious. Sometimes, there are sprinkles of being able to see the bigger picture, but just like being human, we really only do get sprinkles.
As we're only halfway through the journey, I'd hate to tell people how they're supposed to feel or how to interpret the album. Similarly to trying to explain a dream to a friend - the true feeling and essence can never truly be shared.
Anne: Which of the eight songs do you like the most? Or would you say they should never be separated and always be listened to two together?
"The subdivision into songs is a concession to the streaming culture"
Peter: The project should be consumed as an hour-long piece of art. The sub-division into 4 parts and 16 songs is purely a concession to streaming culture.
Becca: Even though they do collectively form a world, I personally have soft spots for Sapling and We Three. To me they feel like pleasing completed jigsaw puzzles. Perfectly balanced on their own.
Anne: As I mentioned, your music lives from its contrasts and contradictions, always mirroring each other and showing what's going on on the other side but never encountering each other. This leads to incredibly exciting songs that tell stories you want to experience and can relate to as a listener. Where do you draw your inspiration for this bath of mysticism, clarity, calm, and excitement?
Becca: We approached i Häxa as a means to express ourselves for the sake of creating art, which sounds like an obvious reason to make music, but I'd previously been in an environment where creating music felt more like a business venture, with many, many people to please. Here, anything goes. It's been a lesson in remembering that the best things come from a place of authenticity—creating for yourself first and foremost—instead of trying to funnel yourself through the small hole of what you hope might be commercially viable.
As for mysticism, I've always been drawn to the image of the witch. ("Häxa" means witch in Swedish.) Britain has such a rich history of pre-Christian paganism—which, of course, includes Scandinavian pagan influences from Viking invaders. I adore modern witchcraft practises and very much believe writing poetry can be its own form of word magic.
i Häxa feels like the first project I've been a part of where I can unleash every influence—from cinema to poetry, from spirituality to my own diary entries.
Pete shares my language of talking about music in colours, smells, symbols, and visuals.
He very recently asked me if I thought a particular piece should be more like an icy, moonlit lake or a deep chasm where something is grabbing at your feet, etc., which I adore.
Anne: Your sound is versatile and multifaceted. It's not made to be categorised in any genre, which is a very good thing. If you ask me, please keep it like that! Still, there are a lot of influences and hints you can sense in it. So, is there a musical style or scene you can identify with or name yourself as a part of?
Peter: Thanks so much for the kind words. I don't feel that there's any one particular scene or genre that has facilitated this project, but I can say that I was personally heavily inspired by the likes of Bjork, Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, Radiohead and Goldie.
"I feel connected to pretty much all genres"
Becca: I'm so happy you appreciate the madness. My own music tastes span most every genre so I feel so pleased to be a part of a project that doesn't limit itself to one.
I listen to a great deal of drone music when working and writing. Nothing inspires my melodies quite like a drone. I find it so difficult to pinpoint specific artists as my Spotify playlists are organised by year. They truly are a chaotic mishmash.
Anne: When it comes to founding a project like i Häxa—would you say your home base, London, is still the place to be?
Becca: I was born in London and still reside there. I have a love/ hate relationship with it, but I'm always pleased to return after a trip away. I like to call it the city of a hundred capitals. It's so vast and varied. Now we're well and truly in the internet age, I don't think it matters where you live when creating music.
Peter: I have lived and worked in South Devon for 17 years now, and I couldn't be happier with my environment. My studio, Middle Farm, is on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, a constantly inspiring place to call home.
Anne: Were there other bands for you before you started i Häxa?
Becca: I'm also a part of a band called Anavae. We now create when we feel inspired rather than feeling like we have to, which has been incredibly liberating.
Peter: I was in countless terrible punk bands in my teens and early 20s.
Anne: So, how did the two of you meet?
"We bonded over the recordings for Anavae's album '45'"
Peter: I produced Anavae's album "45". It was during this long and somewhat challenging creative process that Rebecca and I bonded, and the initial seeds for i Häxa were sown.
Becca: It became clear that Pete and I had similar tastes and bonded creatively over specific songs on that album, often going off on our own tangents.
Anne: Is there any possibility of meeting you at one of the festivals this summer? Do you have any other tour dates planned?
Peter: We will be making our live debut at ArcTanGent festival this summer, opening the main stage on Friday.
Anne: Besides performing your songs live—what are your plans for the time after your release?
Becca: I'm currently busying myself getting the visual elements for Part III and IV together—stay tuned!
We're especially excited for November, when our vinyl will be available to the public.
Anne: Thank you so much for answering my questions. It was a pleasure meeting you. All the best with your plans!
Becca: Thanks so much for having us!