INTERVIEW: Hels Pattison

Image by Victoria Wai

There is an absolute sea of musical talent in Newcastle right now, and Hels Pattison is making a hell of a lot of waves in it. Hels is releasing her EP Just What I Do on 17^th January, and it’s an absolute masterclass in powerful, classic songwriting.

Recorded between two stellar Northern studios – Blank and Polestar – and produced by Sam Grant, the EP is a tale of love found and lost, with adventurously raw sonics which allow Hels’ delightful vocals to soar alongside her band (Alex Ferry on bass, Aneeka Johnson on drums and Zachary Savage on guitars).

“The EP is essentially every flavour of heartache, and weaves a linear narrative.” Hels explains. “The opening track On The Horizon is a hopeless longing to be saved from the mundaneness of life. Better Person is the attribution of internal happiness onto a saviour. Please Don’t Break My Heart describes the desperation of not wanting to lose that happiness. And Just What I Do is the final act of avoiding the heartbreak by ending the relationship first.”

We really set out to achieve a different sound on each track, which I like to think we were successful at!

You can really feel how much of herself Hels has put into the music, and not only lyrically, but sonically too; each track is gently intriguing in its own way. “We really set out to achieve a different sound on each track, which I like to think we were successful at! Please Don’t Break My Heart was recorded as a live take, with Zachary – my guitarist – and I together in the room to give it a more intimate and natural feeling, with minimal overdubs. Whereas Just What I Do was built by incrementally adding layers of subtle effects on the guitars, some synths and choice harmonies to give these little pops of intrigue to what is otherwise quite a simple song.

“Something that was refreshing (if unnerving!) was the decision to keep the vocal tracks relatively raw. I’m sure plenty of vocalists would agree that reverb and double tracking a vocal puts us much more at ease, but Sam Grant really encouraged me to keep the vocals relatively unprocessed to maintain that intimacy that the whole EP emanates.” It’s choices like these that make Just What I Do that extra little bit special, combined with Hels’ musical past, comprising some delightful influences.

“I was raised on old school country & western, and southern rock, like Mary Chapin Carpenter and Lynryd Skynyrd. But more recently I’ve been obsessed with that effortless emotional sound of artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Ethel Cain. I try and fuse these influences, taking a bit of traditional country storytelling and sprinkling in that deeply frank and honest lyricism from the sad girl indie side of things.”

If that sounds like your vibe, get your ears around this record. You can catch Hels and her band headlining The Grove on Friday 17^th January, and it’s sure to be an absolute delight.