Navigating the Intersection of Private and Public with Honne.
The guys of Honne almost died before their show on Friday.
Well, that’s clearly an exaggeration, but one taken directly from James and Andy, the duo that make up Honne.
The way they tell it, they went for a run over the Williamsburg and what almost claimed their lives was not the traffic, but the run itself (and maybe the smog).
Running outside is a very public act. One could choose to loop on a treadmill in their own home, but going outside requires a bit of bravery (and perhaps the right outfit).
In many ways, that decision to run outside is a metaphor for the group: so many of the elements that surround Honne reflect a move from the private sphere to the public sphere. This duality and tension are constantly at play.
Let’s start with the name.
Honne (pronounced Hawn) is a Japanese term that means true feelings; the kind of feelings you keep from yourself. The opposite of Honne, a word called Tatamae (pronounced tatt-a-mae), is “what you give, your public persona,” defines Andy. “We fell in love with the words and the meaning,” he further explains. By calling their group Honne, and one of their albums Tatamae, the group has internalized and represented that duality; the public and the private nature of feelings.
And yet the metaphor continues.
Until recently, Andy, the singer for the synth pop duo, would sing in the privacy of his home, and James would be the one who started the writing process. “I’d often write the music, send it to Andy, and Andy would write lyrics and the melody on top,” James explains. Until a couple of weeks ago, James had never even seen Andy record a vocal take. “Normally I’m just at home, sat on a chair like this. It’s not stood up or in a professional way at all. Just sat down with a mic,” Andy shares. “I was terrified,” he says of the process that used to only be in the privacy of his home.
The first time they had played a gig they were surprised to have people singing along. The song the audience grasped onto, “The Night,” circulated quickly around London. “You sort of see it online, people liking the track, but you don’t really know what it’s going to be like when you first play it,” notes James. “But even from the first gig it was pretty special.”
And the fans know it’s special too: The sold out Bowery Ballroom was the first of several sold out US dates for Honne.
At the top of the show on Friday, ambient music enveloped the audience first, in complete darkness, accompanied by a voice. As the music grew, the voice invited the audience: Close your eyes and listen to Honne.
Yet another invitation into the private world of Honne.
You can catch Honne at SXSW!
Tour Dates:
3/16 Austin, TX – Wild Honey Pie “The Behive” @ Swan Dive (SXSW unofficial – 2:30pm 30 min set)
3/16 Austin, TX – Communion @ Blackheart (SXSW official – 1am 50 min set)
3/17 Austin, TX – Noise Pop/After the Gold Rush IV @ Sidewinder (SXSW unofficial – 5:30pm 30 min set)
3/18 Austin, TX – Disco Disco Naïveté x B3Science x Hype Machine (SXSW unofficial – 1pm 30 min set)
3/18 Austin, TX – FADER Fort (SXSW – 3:45pm 25 min set)
3/18 Austin, TX – CLASH @ British Embacy (SXSW official – set: 12am 30 min set)
3/19 Austin, TX – UTA/X Ambassadors @ Stubb’s (SXSW official – 10:10pm 35 min set)
3/22 San Francisco @ Rickshaw Stop *sold-out
3/23 Los Angeles @ Troubadour *sold-out
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