Photo: Elizabeth Evans
After originally making her mark as the impactful electronic artist We Saw Lions in recent years, US singer-songwriter Hannah Lou Woods is now cultivating her wondrous solo ambitions with the dazzling debut single 'Fallen From The Stars'.
Lifted from her upcoming debut EP 'Meet Me At The Pine Tree', which is due out soon, 'Fallen From The Stars' makes for a vibrant introduction to her new sound so far. With her sweet and emotive vocals layered across a soaring piano-led production throughout, she is kicking things off with a beautifully warm and immersive opening number here.
So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with her to find out more about her origins and influences over the years.
What was the first band or artist you fell in love with?
When I was first really getting into music, I remember listening to Norah Jones and just loving her piano and voice and her album Come Away With Me. I also listened a lot to Jamie Cullum, and had the fortune of going to see him perform live, and I was just blown away. I was so inspired by his artistry and charisma and talent.
Did you ever form a band when you were younger and if so, what did they sound like?
I don’t know if we were ever officially a ‘band,’ but I played a lot of music with my 4 siblings, and especially my brother Grant who played saxophone. We would just jam for hours on piano and saxophone and guitar and it was something between jazz and pop, some kind of blend, mostly just jamming and playing whatever we felt inspired to do. My other brother Mack would sometimes play bass, and my other siblings Ruth and Hunter were also great singers. Sometimes we’d even all sing 4 part harmonies together for the holidays.
What has been your primary inspiration in writing music?
I write to understand myself and my feelings and the world I live in. I write to try and make sense of what does it mean to be a human on this planet in this time. I write because I have feelings that can’t be expressed by words alone, they need more depth and dimension and context for me to truly express the depth of what I feel - music for me in this way is a form of communication, with myself first and also with others. That’s where my primary inspiration comes from, the need to understand who I am and what I feel, the need to make sense of things, the need to express those deeper feelings from within that go beyond the day-to-day normal surface level conversations. I also find a lot of inspiration from music and artists that I listen to as well as spending time in nature, and just giving myself permission to play and explore new things. Traveling is also something else that tends to inspire me musically.
What is a song you wish you had written yourself?
Oh man, there are so many songs out there that I love. Afterglow or Celestial by Ed Sheeran, I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You by Colin Hay. Look Up - Joy Oladokun. Hard Place - H.E.R. Meet Me There - Nick Mulvey. Am I not enough for now - MARO. All My Days - Alexi Murdoch. The Course - Ayla Nereo. Resilient - Rising Appalachia. And so many more!
If there was any moment in your career you could relive, what would it be?
I really love those moments of true deep connection with people that come when we’re all just being super present in the music space together. There’s those moments when you’re so in the music that you forget about everything else and you just become the music, and the audience is right there with you. Those moments when everyone knows all the words to the song and we’re all just having that beautiful moment of oneness and interconnectedness. Those are the moments for me that I love to replay in my head and they give me fuel and inspiration to keep going. Hearing what people say to me after the performance or messages from fans that I receive that this song helped them in some way or supported them on their path, those for me are the most meaningful moments of being an artist; when your deeper truth resonates with others, we’re reminded that we’re not alone, there are others who feel the same way I do, and knowing that by giving myself permission to feel and be who I am, I can help others feel like it’s okay for them to feel that way too. We can see each other more clearly.
Which artist would you most love to share a stage with?
Probably Ed Sheeran, Sara Barielles, Brandi Carlile, Jacob Collier, Coldplay, Colin Hay. That would be literally unbelievable to me if that happened.
And is there an artist you would love to collaborate with as well?
I’m going to say it’s the same answer as number 6 haha!!! Ed Sheeran, Sara Barielles, Brandi Carlile, Jacob Collier, or Coldplay, Colin Hay.
Where do you see yourself in five years time?
I see myself doing similar things that I’m doing now, only hopefully at a larger level. Perhaps doing more traveling and a little more performing internationally, maybe having more of a global impact, or doing more work with nature conservation and music. Continuing to record and release music, maybe doing some more music mentoring, continuing with a lot of collaborating and creating and enjoying the process and gift of time that I’ve been given to be alive. I guess you never really know where life will take you, mostly I hope to try to just take things one step at a time, following and trusting my inner voice as I go, trying to stay true to that, and to take care of myself amidst it all, while at the same time doing what I can to keep adding a little more beauty to the world.
Hannah Lou Woods' new single 'Fallen From The Stars' is available to stream now. Watch the new video for it below.