INTERVIEW: Hana Lili on her latest single 'Small Talk': "Being yourself and being vulnerable means you can connect with people in such a meaningful way."

Welsh singer-songwriter Hana Lili creates music that brings together pop, indie and rock in songs that are intimate, candid and relatable, with her influences including No Doubt, The Cardigans and Fleetwood Mac.

With two EPs, airplay on BBC Radio 1 and two stadium shows supporting none other than Coldplay, Lili is quickly becoming an artist to watch.

She recently released the single ‘Small Talk’, a song she first premiered at her Coldplay support slot during the Northern summer. Written by Hana Lili, Jez Ashurst and Mark Vallance and produced by Jez Ashurst (Maisie Peters, Tom Walker), it is a gentle indie-pop track with a fragile vocal from Lili with lyrics that explores the stifling feeling of not fitting in, and dealing with your emotions by doing everything you can to avoid them completely.

“I wrote ‘Small Talk’ because I realised it was something I find difficult sometimes,” Lili says. “‘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.”

Growing up in the village of Sully in South Wales, Lili speaks Welsh as her first language and it is within her local community that her musical journey began. Entering local folk singing competitions taught her the traditional way of storytelling via song, and as she grew older she taught herself to write and produce music in her bedroom.

With lyrics that cover universal themes, Lili has a special talent for allowing you to connect with her personal experiences and adopt her songs as your own mantra and coping mechanism. There is an understated power to her vocals, and listening to her music is like a warm hug - definitely an artist to have on your playlist right now. We recently caught up with Lili to chat all about ‘Small Talk’ and her music career to date.

Hi Hana! Thanks so much for chatting with us. How is everything in your world right now?
Hello! Thank you for having me. Things are good. Currently in band rehearsal for the next show in London.

You have recently dropped your new single, ‘Small Talk’, congratulations it is such a gorgeous song! You have said the song is about hiding behind small talk to avoid being vulnerable. Can you tell me a little bit more about the inspiration behind the song?
Thank you! I was out socialising and realised I was hiding behind small talk and light hearted conversations as a way to avoid being vulnerable. I think I was doing this in hopes that people would like me but it was draining. I learned while writing this song that being yourself and being vulnerable means you can connect with people in such a meaningful way. Writing songs is like a snapshot of an emotion I’m feeling, a diary of some sorts.

There is such a warmness and tenderness to the song, along with a sense of melancholy, set to a lovely indie pop sound. What was the soundscape, or feels, you were aiming for with the song?
I’m a massive fan of 90s indie music. Bands such as the Cardigans, No Doubt. I find with the production being nostalgic and slightly upbeat it correlates to the lyrics in some way. Hiding behind the melancholic feel of the track, is the earnest lyrics talking about going through a hard time and not being able to communicate that properly with others.

What was the creative process like for this song? Who did you work with and how long did the whole process take?
I always start with a trail of thought. Writing random thoughts and feelings. In the lyrical dump of that day I had “I hate small talk” written down which sparked the beginning of the song. I worked with producer Jez Ashurst and songwriter Mark Vallance and we wrote the song in that day's session. The process then involved adding production with Jez, building the track, and I layered the guitars… there’s even an omnichord tucked in the mix somewhere in the track!

I believe you debuted this song when you were performing as the support act for Coldplay earlier this year. That must have been an incredible gig, what was it like?
Absolutely awesome! Performing songs and being on stage is where I feel happiest. The crowd were so welcoming and lovely, it was incredible!  It’s such a fantastic thing that Coldplay have acts to support them on their world tour, it’s a real testament to how great of a band they are. I got to do two nights, so we gotta do it all over again on the second night. It was a massive operation, it just furthered my aspiration to tour and play live.

What role did music play in your childhood? Was a career in music always your goal?
I grew up competing in the National Eisteddfod, which is a traditional festival held here in Wales. That’s where I fell in love with performing. Playing the piano growing up I began writing songs. I also play the flute but that hasn’t made its debut yet (and probably never will haha). 

With music it’s always been a need rather than a want. It’s like that safe space I have where I can delve into my feelings, good and bad and turn them into a song. When I discovered writing songs and then being able to perform them live it’s hard to imagine doing anything else. 

Who were the artists that influenced you growing up?
I would always steal my parents CDs as a way of discovering new music. Bands such as The Pixies, Nirvana, Radiohead, No Doubt and the Cardigans.

The music industry has never been a particularly welcoming or safe space for female artists, mainly because it has been run by older, straight, white men for decades. What are your experiences and/or thoughts on gender (in)equality and sexism in music?
I’m currently working with a project called ‘Merched yn Gwneud Miwsig’ which translates to Women in Music. It’s a project where we as artists encourage girls to write and produce music,  and learn about different sectors in the industry. I’m off to North Wales tomorrow to run another camp. Being a part of the project and being able to encourage young women to produce and take on roles that may be deemed as ‘male led’ has been really cool. Seeing the young women go forth  after the camp, and start producing, writing songs or taking interest in the music industry is amazing.

Growing up and producing music, I felt this internal thought sometimes that was ‘yeah that’s not really producing though’ but in reality it was, I wrote the music and produced it all in my bedroom it was satisfying to be that independent. 

‘Small Talk’ is out now, what else do you have planned for the rest of the year and into 2024?
Lots of songwriting! I’m also finishing up the next single which I’m excited to share. I’ll be playing a London show on the 15th of November in the Seabright Arms as part of the ‘The Great Escape’ First Fifty launch. Which of course will lead to playing the Great Escape next year. So there will be more shows, new music and more songwriting in 2024 for sure!

‘Small Talk’ is out now. You can buy and stream here.
To keep up with all things Hana Lili you can follow her on Instagram and TikTok