Hana Lili takes us through the unbridled emotion and pure earnestness that went into the five songs on her beautiful, boundless and boisterous new EP.
Undress Me
Undress Me was written about a relationship that ended. It’s those moments, where it’s just the both of you, zoomed in, where you realise the last thing you want to do is get undressed, deep down knowing it was over, before it was. I wrote this on the piano. I spent ages on the verse lyrics. I really wanted the story to be told properly, but also wanted to allow myself to paint him as a bit of a villain.
Ur Girlfriend’s a Lawyer
I kind of like having a picture of what the song is, especially when it’s heavier, so I know what feeling I’m trying to convey. The songwriting on this song took ages. It was like a very stressful jigsaw. It’s about this guy who has a girlfriend, and it’s like.. well, if she knows and is ok with what happened, then great, but if she doesn’t, well, now I guess she does. Also, there are blastbeats in the middle 8, and I really like that. My drummer does not.
Complicated
Complicated is about the complications of feeling misunderstood by the people around you and in a relationship. It’s sometimes just hard to find the word, and instead of scouring around my brain, trying to justify myself, sometimes it’s easier to explain how you feel without trying to explain it all. Relationships are complex, learning to trust someone again is hard, sometimes there’s lingering trauma from previous relationships that makes it hard to let your guard down.
Sick of Myself
Sick of Myself is about feeling utterly frustrated with your own mind; the racing thoughts and the overwhelmingness of it all. It’s that point where all you really feel is numb. I made this song in Hastings. After messing around with production, me and Benji went to the shops and in the car we wrote the chorus. I just wanted a song that was unapologetically complaining about feeling like shit. I tend to hide the way I’m feeling, brushing it off as a learning curve, but after time, that causes a lot of unnecessary stress. I care a lot about the people in my audience, and want them to know that it’s okay to say how you feel, and it’s ok not to have a reason for why you feel that way.
Not Fair
Not Fair explores grief and losing someone. I’d never experienced that before, and it was weird and strange. I wrote it from the third person. I want people to be able to find their own meaning with this song, and not feel like I’m whining from a selfish perspective. I wanted to have a universal feel where people can connect to it themselves, shout it in their bedrooms, or on a rainy festival day scream it in a crowd of people… so they don’t feel as alone.
