Introducing: Hana Piranha

Alternative rockers Hana Piranha have crafted an intriguing sound that fuses heavy guitars, orchestral arrangements and dark lyrical content and they describe as “dark, genuine and intense.”

The band is led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Hana Maria, who was born in Wellington, New Zealand, where she began learning violin and piano aged three, before moving to England at the age of 12. She trained to be a concert violinist before discovering a passion for songwriting in her late teens. She released a first EP in 2011, which she describes as “the first step in a very candid documentation of my rather dark personal journey.” Several lineup changes followed but, in 2014, guitarist Jim Beck approached Hana after seeing her play at a nightclub, and the pair have since co-written two albums and been joined by Andrew Lane (drums) and Mishkin Fitzgerald (bass).

Late last year, Hana Piranha signed with Not Saints, the UK’s only record label for musicians in recovery. And Hana told us: “Life and art are closely intertwined for me as an artist and signing with this label was a significant move. Our new album Wingspan came from a place of growth and empowerment and publicly reinventing myself as a sober musician has been an important step for me in my musical and personal journey.”

We first discovered the band around the release of last year’s single Lorelei, which opens up with a light electronic pulse that continues under Hana’s laid-back vocals. Guitars creep in alongside big cries of “Lorelei,” which give way to engaging vocals that drop back into a mellow verse. An extended chorus follows, before funky electronic sounds give way to a more intense rendition of the chorus.

On the track, Hana told us: “Lorelei has had a significantly greater reach than previous songs, thanks to the hard work of our manager Simon and Chris and Jax at Not Saints, and the reception has been overwhelmingly good. It’s a hard-hitting electronic rock song that tells the story of an abusive relationship using cold spoken word in an anthemic chorus. We love Nine Inch Nails and I think listeners will definitely hear the influence in this song.”

Lorelei comes from the band’s most recent album Wingspan, which was released in November. It includes the encapsulating I Wanna Leave, the dramatic Requiem, moody Left Me Here To Die, which features a delicious violin solo, and a personal favourite track Elixir Of Life, which you can check out in the stream below.

The band’s members bring a range of influences to the table, with Hana largely influenced by Nine Inch Nails plus the likes of Garbage, PJ Harvey and Lana Del Rey. Andrew brings an element of rock’n’roll to the mix with bands like Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age and Led Zeppelin, while Jim and Mishkin are into theatrical bands like Muse and My Chemical Romance.

And on what inspires them to write music, Hana told us: “Life and art co-exist for me and the themes are often to do with desire, nightmares and the ongoing battle with a very self-destructive side of me. Oh, and of course the end of the world.”

There’s plenty more to come from Hana Piranha, with more content on the making of their music, the visuals around the album and the stories behind their songs. There’ll also be new music videos and gig dates to be announced soon.

And Hana added: “Wingspan is an album for anyone who feels out of place in the world. It’s an album about claiming your space and filling your potential. I went through a lot of my life feeling smaller than I am and this album is a real pronouncement of my own expansion. It was written from a place of deep personal growth and I guess I really hope that it inspires people like me to feel seen and understood. If you’re reading this, I hope you’re able to connect with it.

You can follow Hana Piranha on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, find out more about them on their blog, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp and YouTube.