INTERVIEW: Havana Brown releases new single 'All Day': "As women we always feel like we are never good enough - but based on what men want."
Singer, writer, producer and DJ Havana Brown first burst onto the music scene in 2008 when her first compilation album Crave was released and she supported Rihanna at her Good Girl Gone Bad tour Australian shows. Her first single in 2011, ‘We Run The Night’, peaked at number 5 on the Australian singles charts and a remix featuring Pitbull hit number 1 on the US Dance charts and also made the top 30 on US Billboard singles chart. She has since scored 3 more US Dance number 1 singles, four Australian top 40 singles and has collaborated with artists including Bebe Rexha and R3hab. She has recently released a new single ‘All Day’, a smooth R&B-pop-dance fusion that is the perfect kick off to the Australian summer. We recently caught up with Havana to find out more.
Congratulations on the release of ‘All Day’, what a very summery swaggery tune! Can you talk us through the creation of this song?
Yes, sure. I guess it was probably over a year ago when I started really honing in on writing my EP or album. Really early on in the piece on this particular day I had an early session and a late session. My early session had gone into the second session and it was a late night. I had already gotten a little bit delusional, I was a bit fatigued, everyone was, and you start just having a bit of fun and laughing. And we wrote ‘All Day’ which was a little bit different from what you hear now. It had the same melody and concept, but maybe had some lyrical content in there that would not be…appropriate for radio, let's put it that way.
That was very well put!
Well at the time I didn't really think much about it, I thought it wouldn't make it because it was, you know, inappropriate. But then a couple of months later I listened to the track and I was like ‘Hang on this is really good. It feels good. I feel good when I hear this.’ I wanted to release something like this that's a bit lighter and poppier because a lot of the stuff I've released always had a little bit of darkness to it. I thought it was worth going in to rewrite it, so we went back into the studio and we re-wrote the verses and this is what you hear now. Now, fortunately, we’ll get some radio airplay!
It's gorgeous and you are right. I know some of your earlier stuff while always very sexual and strong you've had to come across as quite fierce. Whereas this song, there's summer, there's breeze but there's also still that swagger. I think that's important and I think that's where the listeners are hearing your voice.
I feel like right now there’s so many serious issues that are happening in the world and sometimes just hearing something that's a little bit lighter and not too deep or doesn't make you focus on any political situations, it can just take you away and make you feel energised and feel positive about the world too. Sometimes you just need a break from actual reality.
That’s true. Reality's pretty grim globally at the moment. But you know what there's still summer and there’s still love.
I think the great thing is that there's a great change happening and a positive change. Obviously a lot of bad things happen in that in amongst all that, but great change does happen.
Now I want to talk to you about the video. There’s cars, there’s dance moves, I see seductive looks over a box of popcorn, I see you in a giant ten-gallon cowboy hat. First of all what was that like to shoot, and secondly, was that in Australia because it’s the most LA video I’ve ever seen! Talk me through it.
I wanted it to feel like a group of friends that hang out after the clubs, you know when you had a few drinks when you're having so much fun and you go to the kebab shop and have some food. It's almost the best part of the night. But I wanted it during the day because the song is bright, I wanted it to be sunny. I wanted it to have colour. I worked with the Jáen Collective and they found this great spot in Blacktown, it's an old-school drive in theatre. It also has this amazing diner with a 70s kind of look, it was just the perfect location for this song. I got to work with the great choreographer, Blake John Wood, who I've worked with many times before and the dancers are absolutely stunning and incredibly talented. Because this kind of came about very quickly I knew what I wanted for outfits and I didn't really need to get a stylist. So I just hit up exactly who I wanted, what I wanted to wear. I had an idea for the pink hat, the pink fake fur trench and the pink outfit, and one of my best friends Effie Kats made that outfit. She was in China at the time and literally the day before the shoot she sent that piece of fake fur that I’m wearing around my neck from China on a Sunday and it got to me on a Monday in Blacktown.
Oh, I love it when things like that work.
I know, she was like ‘I don't understand how it's going to make it to you, but they seem very confident that they can get it to you.’ I’m like ‘oh wow I’m in shock.'
There was probably some dude on the flight wearing your jacket.
And loving every second of it, right?
Can I ask you with your songs, you sing often about relationships, we’ve got club nights and most predominantly your strengths particularly in Women In Pop's favourite, ‘Warrior’. What is the message you feel most dictates your music?
I like to think about things without fear. I like to feel powerful without feeling like we're being boxed in or that you shouldn't feel like this. When I first started DJing there was a lot of backlash from people that didn't like a female DJing and the men in the industry would create lies, you know, to discredit me. They weren't really happy that things were going well and people were liking me as a DJ. I guess ‘Warrior’ was ‘you can say whatever you want, it doesn't matter to me because I’m on my own mission.’ You can't bring me down. For me that was a very personal song. But also there's songs like ‘Big Banana’ which is very tongue in cheek. At that point, there were a lot of males that would say whatever they wanted about all the features that they would like in a female - that was okay to say. The men could say whatever they want about females and we would just accept it and it was normal. But as soon as a female says it, she's a bitch or she's difficult or ‘that's just horrible’ or ‘that's not a lady’, all of these things come out. It's like hang on you've been talking about girls and how big you would like them and how you want a small waist but a big arse and that's okay, but when a female asks for what she wants it's now not acceptable? A lot of men hated ‘Big Banana’ because I guess it touched a sore point, but maybe they were put in a situation that females get put in on a daily basis. We always feel like we are never good enough but based on what [men] want. So it was about making them feel a little bit vulnerable, making them feel what we may feel all the time.
That is such a brilliant point. The music industry is clearly dominated, run, managed, created by a certain type of man. I wanted to know what's the DJing scene like for female performers?
To be honest it's just come so far now that it's unrecognisable to me. When I talk about when I first started DJing and there were no females and how the men reacted and didn't really like it and they resented it, that doesn't happen anymore. I don't see that happening, even if it does it's on a very small scale. I think it's now very much the norm that a female can DJ. Or you know, that females can be musically inclined and be able to DJ entertain a crowd. They do it very well. It's all about being the best DJ. You know what I really wanted in the beginning, it was about it not being whether you're female or male it should just be DJ Havana Brown not female DJ Havana Brown and I feel like now it's gotten to the stage now where you don't have to mention ‘oh, she's a female.’ Because you don't go ‘oh male DJ David Guetta.’
We should all stop doing that.
Yeah and I’m really happy to see how it's changed, and it's just become normal and it's good to see the change. It's nothing like it used to be. But, you know, I understand how it is. When something is brand new or something hasn't been done before, people don't understand it, they fear it. So I guess that's probably what was happening in the beginning.
That's so true. Maybe that's our throwback. Every time a male DJ comes on we should say ‘go male DJ’. And just see how that goes.
Yeah exactly. That's what I mean, does it have to be? If you're going to do female you have to do male.
It's equality people.
Yeah, and you know what, one thing about ‘Big Banana’, it was mainly popular virally and in the clubs and stuff like that, and it sold very well. But they didn't really like to play it only because they thought it was polarising. Then they were playing this Flo-Rida song that throughout the whole entire chorus it’s saying ‘blow my whistle / I want you to blow my whistle’ and it's like hang on, that's okay to say and you can put that out into the world and that's what girls should be okay with hearing. But then a girl just being a bit cheeky, that's not okay?
Exactly, Rihanna and Miley Cyrus are strung up on the slut shaming merry go round for doing what the boys have been doing forever.
Yeah, exactly…exactly.
Can I ask you before you go - what is the best piece of advice you have received with regards to your music career, or advice you can give to other people?
Oh there's so many lessons. I guess one that my manager really helped me with is to know your value. And know the business side of things as well. It's good to be creative but also you want to be looking out for your own interests and make sure you fight for yourself. Now I’ve been in the music industry forever and a day, there have been stories of people being ripped off or signing the wrong deal. You can be easily put in a corner and made to feel like you're not worth anything, not worth the value that you should be. Because when you work extremely hard you don't want to then one day be thinking ‘I’ve got nothing to show for it’ or you know, you don't want to lose that zest for life and the love and your passion all over business. If you do the business right in the beginning, you'll never lose your passion. You won't become jaded. And I see that a lot in the industry.
And lastly, what is up next for Miss Havana Brown?
Well, obviously new music. A new album will be coming out and I'm touring. That's what I've been working on for a long time so it's good to see it come out and see people's reactions All the stress that you go through, sometimes it's like ‘why am I doing this to myself?’ It's good to just finally get the music out there and have such a great response.
‘All Day’ is out now. You can download on iTunes and stream on Apple Music or Spotify.
To keep up with all things Havana Brown, you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
