The alternative-pop duo of Andy Clutterbuck and James Hatcher will be hitting Aussie shores in September, and if you don't already have tickets, it may already be too late.
Their 2019 shows were immediately upgraded, and still sold out. It's no wonder when a quick glance on Spotify shows 4.3 million monthly listeners, and they haven't played here in three years.Insanity considering their marketing process, or rather lack thereof. "There are definitely some artists who have a big machine behind them – bringing the songs together, having huge financial backing to make it a success," Clutterbuck told The Line Of Best Fit November 2021.
"However, more than ever before there is a place for artists like us, who make a lot of the music at home and rely on people finding the music somehow, sharing it with friends and spreading it organically. And that feels less like a business to us."
The pair released two albums of electro-pop, to instant success, in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
Their next offering, a 2020 mixtape 'No Song Without You', was recorded in a cabin with just a piano and guitar, reflecting a change of pace. The tracks provide a warm, melancholy feel, akin to taking a bath with a glass of champagne.
Their latest offering, 2021 album 'Let's Just Say The World Ended A Week From Now, What Would You Do?', reflects another sonic divergence, merging into a sophisticated pop.
It boasts an impressive resume of collaborations. Khalid, Griff, Pink Sweat$ and 88 Rising's NIKI all feature, and compositionally it benefits from no less than Sam Smith, Reuben James, Joy Crookes, MNEK and Arlo Parks co-writing songs.
They were clearly trying to outdo themselves, since past collaborators include BTS, Georgia, Tom Misch, SG Lewis, Bruno Major and Anderson .Paak.
Regarding their sound, they delineate: "In the past, we've limited ourselves, saying 'Can we really do that?' Now we've sidestepped the rules and done whatever we wanted to do," they told Euphoria in 2020.
"We want to constantly evolve. It's really important to us that we offer something new with every album or mixtape that we release.
"A band that we really look up to in that respect is Radiohead. The development and change they've gone through over the years is incredible to see."
When asked by Esquire in 2021 what they would do if the world was ending in a week, the boys showed a comedic side. "We'd build a bunker in our garden," Andy says. "I've worked on it for three months."
"The truth is we're both family orientated people," adds James. "Our families are from the countryside.
"So we'd go back home and just hang out with all our family and all the kids and grandparents and all that kind of stuff.
"A bit of a boring answer but that's the reality, all that matters is family and love and having nice people around you."
"Yeah, it's the same for me," Andy is serious for a moment, before reverting. "What would I do differently?
"Just eat any food that I can get my hands on. I'm not worried about body weight or anything like that, just go for it, you've only got a few days left."
Honne is a Japanese word for a person's true feelings and desires, and this is the sense you have when listening to them. That they are pouring out their heart, over instrumentation that speaks in the way words can't.
HONNE 2022 Tour Dates
Tue 20 Sep - The Fortitude Music Hall (Brisbane)Thu 22 Sep - Enmore Theatre (Sydney)
Fri 23 Sep - Forum Melbourne* sold out
Tue 27 Sep - Hindley Street Music Hall (Adelaide)
