Witchcore duo HVIRESS (pronounced Heiress) return with their second single "Golden Apple" - a pop-tinged dark electro gem with a saccharine-sweet video to make your eyes cry sugar lumps…..

We were so intrigued with the track and accompanying video that we thought it best to get in touch and arrange an interview with the duo. We chatted about their fascination of the occult, the importance of classical music, their ‘come dine with me’ menu and what constitutes a perfect day….

You’re a duo called HVIRESS (pronounced Heiress), and is made up of Hana Piranha and Mishkin Fitzgerald and you play incredible dark electronic based music, tell me something about yourselves that not many people would know?

Hana has had 17 previous lives, she's actually been here for 2000 years. One of her lives was as a pirate wench.

Please tell me how you met in the first place?

H: Mish and I met at music school and were immediately drawn to each other when I saw her playing a note on the piano using just her mind. It was then that we realised we shared a love of the occult and could incorporate that into music.

We both perform and tour in other bands but when we come together as HVIRESS, it’s like our shadow selves collaborating. Except that Hana doesn’t actually have a shadow. She lost it in a bet with Loki

 

I read that you both come from sheltered religious backgrounds (one Catholic, one Protestant), with a strong focus on discipline and achievement, did this upbringing allow you to indulge in music in a big way?

M: For both of us, playing at church was a big influence on our development as musicians. Being the accompanist for the choir and congregation taught me how to construct and experiment with chords using melody and note letters.

H: Classical music is very rigid so playing in church with my dad was hugely important in teaching me to improvise.

 

You both share a love of rock music, which bands in particular were you drawn to? Why these bands? Were you saddened when Meat Loaf passed away?

M: We’re both pegans (pagan vegans) so the passing of meat saddens us greatly.

You’re taking part in ‘Come Dine With Me’ on Channel 4 and you have to rustle up a 3 course meal for your guests, what’s on the menu?

H: My cooking style has been influenced greatly by my inability to cook so I would say I’m quite minimalist. My three course meal would be:

Starter: Frozen peas. They’re a great tasty, crunchy snack.

Main: Bulgur-wheat-no-salt. This is a patented recipe of mine and is kind of self-explanatory.

Dessert: Peanut butter. I would provide my guests with a spoon and their own individual jar.

Hana – I understand you have classical music roots, please tell me more (which instrument, level attained etc.)

H: I started on violin and piano at the age of three and trained to be a concert violinist up until college, when I discovered the dark side instead.

Mishkin – You have a fascination with occult practices, was this something that you picked up recently or has it always been an interest of yours? How do you weave these practises into your music?

M: I got into the occult when I discovered I could play music with my mind. I have since invented the Circle of Witch, which is a similar premise to the Circle of Fifths, only slightly more obscure.

Your debut single ‘Arrival’ received some positive press from the likes of Jpgchief, RGM, Turn Up The Volume and MangoWave, how does it make you feel when you read nice things about your musical creations?

H: It would make me feel warm inside if my heart wasn’t so cold.

We’re off to the pub to carry on the interview, what would you like to drink? Any snacks?

M: Laudanum

H: Do they have frozen peas?

Tell me about your writing process, do you follow a set pattern when it comes to creating music or does it happen differently every time?

M: I suppose you would describe our writing style as a bit like a séance – we get together in a room and invoke the Goddess for divine inspiration.

You collaborated with composer and producer Garry Mitchell (Birdeatsbaby) to write your first self-titled EP (was this Arrival?) how involved was Garry in the writing process?

H: Garry is a local wizard who we often collaborate with. He composed the backing for Arrival.

The track was mixed by LA songwriter and producer Evan Rodaniche (Cage9), how did you come to work with Evan in the first place?

H: I met Evan in LA through my friend Jason Achilles, who owned a studio next door to his. He produced my third Hana Piranha album “Waiting to Burn” and it was then that we realised he was also a wizard.

If you were asked to nominate 3 acts to perform at a HUGE music festival, who would you choose and why?

M: We would definitely nominate ourselves because we love huge music festivals. It depends on the festival but our dream is to play Witchfest, so for that we would also nominate Emberhoney because she also invokes the Goddess for her dreamy, smokey speakeasy style.

H: The third act would probably be Abba, for they are constantly bewitching us with their melodic pop. We also have a suspicion they may be witches too.

You work with Scott Chalmers to create your visual art, what is it about Scott’s style that you like?

M: It's dark. Darker than a shadow... at night

Is this a long term working partnership?

H: Well we currently have him under a binding hex spell, so we imagine yes.

Moving on to your brand new track which was released on 11th February, it’s called ‘Golden Apple’, please take some time to explain the track in more detail

H: Golden Apple was inspired by The Judgement of Paris – a story from Greek mythology where goddesses Aphrodite, Hera and Athena compete for the Golden Apple – a symbol of beauty. It’s a song about strength and power.

You have created an awesome video to accompany ‘Golden Apple’ which is rather interesting, I’ve watched it a couple of times now and still end up none the wiser come the end so I hit the play button again, is there a hidden meaning that I’m missing?

M: Look out for occult symbols in amongst the saccharine aesthetic. The tea party isn’t quite as cute as it seems.

The video is somewhat different from your debut track ‘Arrival’ in that the imagery is a burst of pink and pastel tones compared to the use of ‘noir’ in ‘Arrival’, where did the idea come from for this?

H: We thought it would be fun to do something that completely jars with our usual dark style, so went for a “pastel goth” vibe. It was a difficult video to prep for as we didn’t already own anything pink.

Musically, the song is a taunting, school-yard anthem with tribal undertones and even some classical piano and strings, a colourful contrast from the apocalyptic epic of "Arrival", are you looking to retain the dark-electronic theme throughout all of your music?

M: The Goddess always gives us beats and synths to work with – and who are we to argue with the Goddess.

Your music and videos could be seen as ‘creepy’, (not in a bad way), is this your intention or are you just trying to channel the witch-core vibes into your sound and visuals?

H: We’re just a couple of creepy people doing our thing.

Describe a perfect day…..

M: When Hana lets me hold the wand.

I’ve come across a lot of ‘core’ genres in my time, hard-core, grind-core, even cattle-core but never witch-core, please take a moment to explain the genre to anyone who may not be in the know

H: It's witchy... to the core. With beats.

 

Are you hoping to play some live shows and maybe some festivals in 2022? If any are confirmed, please let me know when and where.

M: We really hope Witchfest gets back to us, we've written several strongly worded letters. Piratefest would be cool too.

 

You’ve only just released your second single but I’d like to ask what is in the pipeline for HVIRESS?

H: More music, more magick, more mushrooms... and snacks.

 

Lastly, would you rather be able to teleport or read minds?

M: We already knew you were going to ask that question, so probably teleportation.

We’d like to thank both Hana and Mishkin for sparing the time to chat to us and let us take a brief glimpse into their world. Their latest single ‘Golden Apple’ is available to watch and stream now. If you wish to keep up with their musical happenings, head to any of their social channels, they’re all listed below for you (now THAT’S magic!)

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