Little May

The Sydney trio’s signature brand of weathered vocals layered with guitar progressions and minimal percussion sweeps proves that Little May are a folk force to be reckoned with.

We chat with Hannah Field ahead of the band’s east coast tour to find out more about your new favourite local singer/songwriters.

MILK BAR: You’re about to embark on an east coast trek to promote your newest single Hide, what are you most looking forward to about the tour?
HANNAH FIELD: I’m really excited to get the chance to play to different audiences (we’ve never played in Brisbane or Melbourne before) , meet new and exciting people, and who doesn’t love a good road trip!! Just hoping we don’t get on each other’s nerves too much…we will though.

MB: Who do you think the Little May listener is?
HF: Someone who loves fine wine and delicious cheeses. Or comparatively goon and sausages.

MB: Can you give us an insight into what we can expect from your forthcoming EP?
HF: We’re taking the natural progressions in sound between Boardwalks and Hide and looking to build on that. We’re currently in the studio adding extra elements to songs like cello and synth and experimenting with where we can go from here.

It’s going to be an exciting record as we’ve been able to push ourselves and get the best results and even after this record is done we want to continue to push sonic boundaries and distort peoples  expectations of what we are.

MB: In terms of writing, what comes first the music or the lyrics?
HF: Honestly it varies so much for us. When we are writing together the music always tends to come first though. Annie or Liz will come up with a little hook or riff and then we go from there. The lyrics usually happen organically or I’ll pull some out that I have written previously. I don’t play an instrument so I tend to focus on writing lyrics/ poems when I have time to myself. So for me individually, the lyrics comes first.

MB:  Where would be your ideal location (or your ideal situation) to write a song?
HF: We have this tree up the very back of my garden and its pretty much a secret, not many people know it’s there. When I was little I use to pretend it was the Magic Faraway Tree and sit up there for hours with my imaginary friends. I would like to build some kind of platform or shelter in that tree and live there for a week. I feel like that would be an ideal situation and location for writing.

MB: You’ve just been added to the Triple J rotation, have there been any crazy places you’ve heard one of your songs?
HF: A really talented young girl did a cover of ‘Hide’ and posted it up on YouTube recently. I watched/heard it the other day and was so excited and flattered, crazy moment for me. I always miss out on hearing us on the radio though!