Messed!Up
After releasing two albums, I’m Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me, and Big Swimmer, King Hannah still don’t waste time taking time off to relax. With Hannah Merrick’s soft and dark voice and Craig Whittle’s powerful guitar-driven melodies, there’s no end in sight. The duo is constantly touring and pulls off shows that leave an unforgettable experience among their fans.
When the band popped by Hamburg to play a sold-out Knust, we sat down with Hannah and Craig for a chat.
As an opener, I’ve been going through your socials a lot, and you’ve shared many pizzas on social media. Which one was the best, and where did you get to enjoy it?
Hannah: It must have been Italy.
Craig: It must be Italy, yeah.
Hannah: But did we have one in Italy? I don’t remember eating one in Italy, actually.
Craig: No, it was all pasta! What was the best pizza you ever had?
Hannah: Ever? That’s really hard.
Craig: Our favorite style of pizza is the Italian style. Like the kind of Neapolitan style.
Hannah: So thin.
Craig: Yeah. Thin and fresh, with mozzarella.
The cheese is also different than the American one. It’s a whole different game.
Hannah: It’s a whole different game. I mean, like the Chicago one.
Craig: I mean, that’s not pizza.
Hannah: No, that’s a pie.
Craig: But I even like the New York slice. It’s funny how different pizza is.
Hannah: Even pizza in New York is so different. It’s greasier, it’s a lot greasier. They put like a piece of paper between the pizza and the plate that catches the grease. They don’t do that in Italy. In Italy, you pick it up and it’s just flour.
And the bread, there is so much less bread. You know, when you cut it with your cutlery, it falls apart like I don’t know.
Craig: Yeah, the American is very cheesy.
Hannah: And it’s way better cheese. It’s not plastic cheese. I think American pizza probably has very plastic cheese. Good question (laughs).
How would you describe your music in three words?
Craig: Honest…You said what? (Hannah breaks off)
Hannah: Well, I was going to say ‘Never stop swimming’.
Craig: Okay, you do that one.
Hannah: ‘Never stop swimming’.
I remember you playing here at Knust in 2022 and many similar venues across Europe, but as an opening act. How does it feel to sell out venues like Knust and Paradisio in Amsterdam today when you were still playing support slots three years ago?
Craig: Yeah. I was just talking to Connor, our bass player, about this. Like, it’s mental playing these places and then open up for people and play these huge places and then two years later sell out our own shows. I mean, we feel very grateful for it. It feels like you put in the time and the work, and then the next time you come, it takes off.
Hannah: It makes you think, ‘Okay, we’re doing something right’. This is going the way we wanted to go. You know, you don’t want to come here as a support act and then not come back. The aim is to grow and get bigger, and I would be concerned if it didn’t go that way. So, it just means we’re doing something right.
Craig: Yeah, and it feels quite good. It feels quite quick as well because the Dive show that we played here last time you saw us doesn’t seem that long ago.
Hannah: We’re just so grateful to everybody who’s come back. It’s incredible, it really is.
It seems like you’re always on the road; you’re playing at so many places. I read that America had a huge impact on you and that what you saw kind of shaped Big Swimmer. Are there also other places beyond America you have the same feeling for?
Craig: I mean, everywhere kind of has that, a little bit, I guess. The European visit is a bit more familiar because it’s so close, so we’ve been to these places before. You know, we’ve been to, like, New York and the bigger places, but driving through Texas and stuff was something we’d never done before. But Scandinavia was that for me as well – never been there – and there are parts of Italy as well, which I think are like that. You can’t believe how beautiful some places are.
Hannah: And the Netherlands as well, even parts of Germany that we’ve seen for the first time, like all the beautiful villages that are so quaint, and everyone’s riding bikes and everyone’s really happy and healthy. That was so nice to see.
Craig: You get to see the towns and the places around the big cities. I think that’s like the most inspiring.
Did you also meet some great people along the way?
Craig: I mean, since we started touring five years ago, we’ve met like some of our favorite people ever. And people who come to a lot of our shows as well, that we’re really good friends with now, and stuff. So, we feel very lucky.
Have you ever thought about a concept album?
Craig: Not really. I mean, it’s cool if you can do it. But we haven’t thought like that.
Hannah: No, but who knows?
Craig: Who knows? Big Swimmer was a lot about America, but it was never in ourselves that we have to talk about the America tour; there are songs that aren’t about that. Guess it was just what was inspiring at that time.
What’s the inspiration behind “Milk Boy (I Love You)”?
Hannah: Well, it was a true story. In Philadelphia, that’s where that came from. I just wrote it down quickly, so when we got home, we could remember the details.
You caught the atmosphere of that moment.
Hannah: It’s quite scary, isn’t it? You get like, ‘Whoa!’. It feels like that, actually. I’m glad it’s coming across. God, it was scaring everyone (laughs).
Craig: That was our attempt at it.
Touring as much as you do must be tough at times. What helps you stay sane on tour?
Hannah: I think good organization is very, very important. Boom boom boom! Being super organized helps a lot. It keeps me sane.
Craig: We want the show to be as good as it possibly can be, so that occupies a lot of our mind. A lot of the time in the van on the way to the show, we talk about the night before and what we can do better.
Every time?
Craig: Yeah, I would say every time, and it’s like, ‘Oh, maybe we should try this, we should try this’. We’re always constantly trying to think of ways to better the show and to better the sound of the show. So, I think that keeps us focused.
We don’t take it for granted that we’re playing these shows. We don’t try and phone it in for a certain show, but always try to make every show as good as it possibly can be.
Hannah: And there’s rarely a night when you can be in bed for like 10 pm, it just doesn’t happen. But if there’s a night off where we haven’t got a show, make the most of having a night off and going to bed in time. I think its super important.
No partying and stuff?
Hannah: No, no, no, just go to bed (laughs).
Craig: We’re too old for this.
Big Swimmer just turned one year old; congratulations on that. I guess it’s not too early to ask what’s up next?
Hannah: After this tour, we’ve got a few random shows, haven’t we? Good ones, Paradiso being one of them. We’re going to start writing album number three and will take our time with this one. I don’t want to rush that.
Craig: We have already started writing a little bit, haven’t we? But we’re excited to have like a big chunk of time.
Hannah: Yeah, a chunk of time and space.
After spending seven years in the band, you must have many memories. What’s your favorite memory of being in this band?
Hannah: So hard.
Craig: I mean, there are so many of them.
Hannah: Selling out New York for the first time was very special.
Craig: Yeah, that was our first time in America, wasn’t it?
Hannah: Yeah, the first show in America, in New York, and it was sold out. And that was always the plan, so that felt great.
Craig: And also, one of the first shows that we ever did outside of the UK was the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg. That was in 2020, I think. We were so nervous playing that show because our record label is based in Germany, and they were all there. So, it was our first time playing abroad and the first time playing in front of them.
When we went off stage, we were like, obviously, very happy, and then everyone in the room was shouting ‘King Hannah’. Do you remember that?
Hannah: Yeah.
Craig: So that was like, ‘Oh, we did a good job on our first show’.
Hannah: And it was in front of our label, the whole label. The owner of City Slang was there, and he’s so tall that you can’t miss him. And our manager was there, our booking agent was there, and everybody who has signed us was there for the first time.
Craig: Because you do feel like an imposter.
Hannah: And it was sold out.
Craig: Yeah, and you do kind of feel like we’re not a real band, and don’t really deserve to be here. You just don’t want to screw it up.
Hannah: But also, you wanted to prove that you were supposed to be there. You know, we were like, ‘You signed us. We’re going to prove to you that you signed us for a reason. We’re here. Don’t drop us’ (laughs). It’s a good feeling because it puts you on edge in a good way.
*****
The interview is a collaboration between Messed!Up Magazine and Renés Redekiste.
Journalist: René Biernath
Photographer: Richie Racoon
*****
King Hannah pages
