Han Mee & Jim Shaw – Hot Milk ‘Injecting Passion into the 'Bloodstream' with Their Debut Album’

It's been a wonderfully packed-out year for Manchester emo power-pop group Hot Milk. After three EPs and touring extensively over the past few years, the band have released debut album A Call To The Void, a true labour of love that digs into concepts including loss, helplessness and grappling with the unknown.The four-piece have also finished supporting the legendary Foo Fighters on their Australian tour, while also completing their debut Australian headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne last week.It was nearly 3:30pm on a Friday afternoon when Hannah "Han" Mee (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Jim Shaw (vocals, guitar) sat down on a couch at the Sony Music offices in Pyrmont for a chat.Having arrived in Sydney early in the morning from Melbourne, Mee and Shaw were still tired from travelling, but that didn't stop smiles from lighting up their faces as they reflected on recording the new album across Manchester, Los Angeles and Stockholm - three very different cities. Shaw was the first to think back on the experience.I think each city gave its own flavour. We started out in LA - we always like to start it out there because the weather's better, you're in a better state of mind. I mean when we were there, our state of mind wasn't great, because we'd just come off three months of touring... we were just burnt out. We were lucky to work with Zakk (Cervini, co-producer), who's been there since the start with us. He understand what Hot Milk is and brings the best out of us. We got four songs done and brought them back, and they helped shape the rest of the record, which was done in our little shipping container in Manchester...Here Mee chimed in about the Stockholm part of the album recording process.Then we wanted to do the vocals with someone who we know processes them really well, because we sometimes struggle to get a good vocal sound in that shipping container because it's a shipping container. So we went to Stockholm to do the vocals, but then when we were there, we felt like the record wasn't fully finished. We actually wrote a dance-y ending song, which was kind of informed by the house music of Stockholm. So it was accidental, but happy accidents happen for a reason. I didn't have a super good time in Stockholm, because there were only four hours of light a day (it was winter). I found it quite difficult being there at that period of time.However, despite that difficulty, it was clear Mee thoroughly enjoyed album-making experience, and she teased that at least part of the next record should be recorded right here in Sydney.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5-ICWr3lx4We then dived into one of the most emotional songs on A Call To The Void called 'Forget Me Not'. It's a powerful track written in Stockholm that expresses the Shaw's grief over the passing of his granddad through dementia.Sadly I did lose my him around the time we went to Sweden. I've been messing around with those chords for a really long time and tried writing lyrics and melodies to it - nothing really stuck or worked. We all sat in the room and yeah, the record just didn't feel finished... We want it to be a bit more cyclical to link up with the first track.It ['Forget Me Not'] was definitely cathartic. I struggle to put into words what I'm feeling a lot of the time, so to write it was like 'facing your demons', if you know what I mean? Just talking about it with Philip (Strand, co-producer) and Hannah...As Shaw said this, Mee proceeded to go through a few of the prompts she went through with him to open him up to his feelings and write the lyrics for the track. It was apparent through this exchange that Mee brings out the best in Shaw, and vice versa.Shaw then reflected on the hugely supportive presence of his grandparents in his life.My grandmother was a really good pianist. She played organ in church and stuff like that. They've always been really supportive of music, so it was nice to have an ode to them on our first record.'Breathing Underwater' is another deep track, reflecting on the often crippling feeling of helplessness we can experience. The two musicians reflected on the ray of sunshine that keeps them sane when faced with that feeling, with Mee answering as she looked fondly towards Shaw.Honestly, it's usually you [Shaw]. You're usually the one I end up turning to who keeps me going... or shows. Being busy and on tour, the band... I'm quite all-encompassing when I feel something, I hold onto stuff for quite a long time. So the only thing that has mainly got me out of stuff has been being excited about the future of our band, and my touring family pulling me out of it. Also my friends and my Mum being like, 'Pull yourself together!'. This band has saved me in more ways than people will ever know. They'll come up to me and go, 'This has saved my life', but what they don't know is that it's done that for me too. It goes both ways.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNxff61oyqoThe flow of A Call To The Void comes from the band not overthinking the album writing and record process, which can often be a very hard thing to do. When asked whether overanalysing things has plagued them while songwriting in the past, Shaw leans back as though trying to hold back his answer.Yeah I think so... we're kind of perfectionists, which is really to our own detriment. Producing the record, I'll spend way too long overanalysing guitar tones or listening to something and being like, 'That's not good enough. Re-record it. Do this, do that'. With this [A Call To The Void], having a hand-in date, I had to think about it subjectively and be like, 'Okay, what really needs to change? Is this good enough - yes it is. How about this? No, but it's got feeling. Okay, let's put this together'. It's Mee who ends up pulling Shaw back from that state of overthinking, speaking further to the powerful dynamic the two musicians have.Things became very introspective as we turned to the new album's title and it's key concept of 'the void'. Mee turned inward as she contemplated what the concept meant to her.The title is a translation from the French saying, 'L'appel du vide'... Say you're driving home and you're like, 'I could just crash into that tree'. It's about the darkness in you and the dichotomy of the light and dark inside your head.I think it was that meaning and also the fact that we felt like we were on a precipice and we didn't know what was coming. For me, I've always had an inner darkness that's like a black cloud in my head. So for me the title made sense, and I remember when I thought of it I was driving at night and was like, 'That's probably the title'. I think the album title was what came last, as well.

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Shaw then piped up with his definition of 'the void', reflecting on the pressures that were presented to the band as a whole.For me the void itself was do or die. We got the point where we had to do our first record, which could make or break the band. That void was the unknown... we've given our entire lives, made sacrifices, jumped into this band.Our chat took a turn to the group's debut Australian headline show in Melbourne at The Gasometer Hotel last Thursday. Mee thought back candidly to the energy at that first show, which was admittedly a slow-burner.For the first few songs, I was like, 'Come on. We didn't come all this way to fuck about, what're you doing?'. It does take people a while, though. Especially if you've got a support band that maybe they don't know. Then we come out and we're like an assault on the senses, and if you've never seen us before, it's a bit like, 'What the fuck is this?'. Then obviously after a couple of songs, they're like, 'Alright this is what we're doing'. I don't allow them to slack, you know? It's not happening...But it was great. By the end, everyone was clambering on top of each other and everyone was sweating... There was probably a lot of spit involved, which sounds like a horrible orgy, but it was an orgy of the senses.Mee then looked back at Hot Milk's relationship with Foo Fighters. It's one that Mee looked upon with fondness and respect, particularly in relation to her favourite member Pat Smear.They've always been very supportive. Ever since Dave first heard a Hot Milk song, he's been on board. It's really weird how he even heard the song in the first place. It's one of those mad universe moments where you feel there's like a glitch in the matrix. He came and watched the show the other day, and Pat Smear comes into the dressing room and goes, 'Great show! Can I have a CD?'. I gave him a t-shirt instead (who carries CDs, you know what I mean?)...Foo Fighters have always been supportive of new bands, and we happen to be one they see something in, for some reason. We're just honoured. I'm not really a musician to be honest... It's just funny. Interview by Genevieve Fellmoser

Stream A Call To The Void here

Hot Milk – A Call To The Void tracklisting:

1. Welcome To The…2. Horrow Show3. Boodstream4. Party On My Deathbed5. Alice Cooper’s Pool House6. Zoned Out7. Over Your Dead Body8. Migraine9. Breathing Underwater10. Amphetamine (featuring Juilan Comeau)11. Forget Me Not

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZtEkpz12RQ