Izzy Cole
Vocalists Han and Jim of dual-fronted band Hot Milk sat down with Impact’s Izzy Cole to discuss everything from their fanbase, touring with Pale Waves, and the passion behind their music.
Their kindness and warmth was immediately palpable when, upon expressing my initial nerves, Jim said “it’s just a chat with a couple of mates!” I began by asking how they were both doing, and how touring with Pale Waves was going. “Good, yeah, we’ve been really good. We had a couple of problems with Jim’s vocals, so we’ve had to come off tour for a week. Bit of a bummer, but we’re gearing up for Monday,” Han said. “The three shows we did were great!” she joked.
“Obviously it was cut short temporarily, but we’re excited to get back and get to know them some more. Another Northern band, good people, and we still have loads of shows to do.” To fans’ delight, Hot Milk are set to be back on tour with Pale Waves by 21st February. “Meeting people of a similar mindset, that’s the whole point of life, isn’t it? You get to expand your circles and make memories, and that’s all you can ever ask for. Forget money, I’m all about experience, me,” Han continued.
I asked about how the two met, and how they knew they wanted to get into the music industry. “We’ve always been in bands,” Jim said, “It’s always something that’s been the driving motivation to get out of bed in the morning. We worked in the industry in our local sector; Han used to promote, and I did technical production stuff. We met and we started writing music with no intention of putting it out into the world.” Han interrupts, explaining that they were living together at the time. “Writing most of the songs in our front room after a bottle of wine! We started putting on gigs in the local Manchester scene and thought f*ck, these songs are actually decent, let’s have a bash. We jacked it all in and took a chance.”
“It’s a genuine love we have which allows us to write songs that are so honest and truthful”
Han and Jim’s connection is clear, and not only through their music. “Me and Jim are always the life of the party, always the ones that are the loudest in the room. It kinda makes sense that we’re the ones who ended up on stage,” Han said. “He’s my best friend,” she continued, “That’s the thing. It’s a genuine love we have which allows us to write songs that are so honest and truthful. It’s the easiest thing in the world when you’re doing it with the person you’re closest to.”
I followed up by talking about my experience of seeing the band at Reading Festival back in 2019, and how their love for performing made the crowd feel so familial. Hot Milk formed in 2018; their massive success in such a short space of time really is testament to their passion and drive. When asked about said success, Han said that “It’s down to a combination of a lot of things. Making use of the 21st century social media, and all that. We’re ready to connect with people and have open hearts.”
“The message that we spread is one of openness, inclusivity, and just having a f*cking party”
“The message that we spread is one of openness, inclusivity, and just having a f*cking party,” she continues. “People can really relate to that, and when I’m looking at the fans, I’m thinking, ‘you’re our people’. It’s beautiful.” Jim follows, “As horrible as social media can be, I think bands could’ve died without it during the pandemic. It’s really helped us reach new people,” and Han replies, “that’s the thing, our music is true and it’s in our hearts. It’s written and produced in Manchester; we do it all ourselves and I think people can tell that in the best way.”
On the topic of social media, I asked how the pair stay motivated. Every post online from Hot Milk is heartfelt and soulful, which really furthers the connection between the band and their fans. “It’s just honesty, half the time. Like, we’re people that feel a lot. We just live by that and put it into our music, it’s just completely us,” Jim said. “There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing. It’s almost like an obsession; the music is like my blood. If I didn’t have this band I would have no focus, no drive, and I think I would’ve just given up by now. That’s why we’re so passionate,” Han follows.
“Jim’s a Mini Cheddar purist”
The two bantered back and forth about various things during the interview, one of them being Jim’s Mini Cheddar habits. Through laughter, Han claimed that “Jim’s a Mini Cheddar purist,” to which he replied, “They’ve done like a Red Leicester flavour, but what the f*ck’s the point when they’ve already got cheesy ones that are good!?” Small moments like this made the interview so enjoyable, and again, the chemistry between the two provides insight as to how the band works so well on so many levels.
I wanted to know more about their most recent track, I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I’M DEAD, so I asked about the meaning behind it and the overall sound. “It was more of a nihilistic existential moment, I think,” Han answers, “We’d gone through a lot of love and loss, and general soul-searching. I got a bit existentially depressed really, and that was the overarching crisis in my life. Jim was the one who had to deal with that, because when your best friend is right there with you, you end up taking some of your woes out on them. He was my carer for a lot of the time, yeah.” Jim laughs, admitting that he can’t even remember writing the track. “It was pretty stressful, in this f*cking bedroom, but looking back now I guess it’s kinda like diary entries? Almost pondering on your own about the world we live in.”
Han followed by talking about a particularly meaningful lyric from the EP. “There’s a line that goes ‘the lies of a retrospective regime’, which is kinda like thinking about the world philosophically and how we have come to this agreement that the society we have now is the one we have to stick with. Is it perfect? Should we be challenging it, because really, what’s the other option? It leads into a whole other debate of, why are we even here and what happens when we die?” she questions.
“Frustration, as well, was a big inspiration,” Jim continues, “being told you can’t do what you wanna do because someone else has decided that this is the way it should be. It’s exactly what Han said, we love challenging stuff.” Han adds, “We always challenge why, and we always got told we can’t do things, so we just do them anyway. Hot Milk is our f*ck you to the world, and to the people that told us this wouldn’t go anywhere.” Jim supports her, saying “If you can give me a valid reason as to why you’re putting us down, then cool, I respect it. But if it’s just because you say so, I’m sorry, but it’s not a good enough answer.”
The EP is out now on all streaming platforms, featuring five songs full of rage, rebellion, and determination, with the band’s message apparent throughout each track. Han gets emotional as she continues, “I want our gigs to be like a little gang, and for people to think, ‘these are our people’. I have such a genuine love for performing; I see everyone and think about how I’ve been lonely my whole life, but suddenly there are these people that understand me. I think ‘wow, is that what it’s supposed to feel like?’” She laughs through tears, saying “I need to eat some chocolate now, my God.”
“I think writing about the pandemic started to get old pretty quickly”
Finally, I asked about upcoming projects and the experience of writing music throughout the pandemic. Whilst for many, this was a mundane time of not doing very much at all, both Jim and Han have been using the pandemic as a time of reflection and growth. “Whilst it has inspired a lot of people to think outside the box and try to produce something new and innovative, I think writing about the pandemic started to get old pretty quickly,” Jim says. “The focal point just felt so narrow. We personally didn’t want to write ‘I’m inside and this is sh*te, blah blah blah’, so it pushed us to think right, what do we wanna write about?”
“We created a parallel multiverse, in my opinion, with our new concept EP. It’s like us, during a period of our lives where everything was so close to going up in flames. We were living dangerously in a way of self-sabotage. It’s a way of turning this pain into an art form and making a story featuring two characters that are mine and Jim’s alter egos,” Han finished. Personally, I can’t wait to hear this new music from Hot Milk – their talent and drive is poured into everything they release. You can catch them on the road throughout the rest of this month with Pale Waves, as they will be re-joining the tour on 21st February in Glasgow, followed by dates in Sheffield, Leicester, Oxford, London and Manchester.
Izzy Cole
Featured image courtesy of Chuff Media. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes made to this image
In-article images courtesy of @hotmilkhotmilk via instagram.com. No changes made to these images.
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