Hailaker is the pen name of formidable music-making duo Ed Tullett (aka Lowswimmer) and Jemima Coulter. After the unfurling of their eponymous debut in 2019, 2020’s Holding saw the band’s early shoots blossom through widespread appreciation and heightened expectation for further success. ‘Labradors‘, from their sophomore album, outpaced early single release and Paul Mescal playlist track ‘Famous‘, as their Spotify most-played track, hinting at a burgeoning fanbase hungry for new releases. Like so many creatives, however, the COVID-19 lockdowns hamstrung Hailaker as they seemed to be hitting their stride, as the restrictions meant they were no longer able to create and refine concepts face-to-face.
After the pandemic, however, Hailaker planted new seeds for further success: something that took root and eventually burst forth in the shape of their facetiously titled but full-throttled third album, Serenity, Now, which dropped last month. We spoke to Jemima (Hailaker) to get their reflections on the duo’s latest release, the challenges of collaborating across multiple creative projects, and more…
FAULT: Everyone experienced challenges in reconnecting with the world and their peers post-COVID but you’ve been quite forthcoming on how you essentially had to rebuild your personal and working relationship after an enforced hiatus. Creativity notoriously thrives in adversity, but that clearly wasn’t the case for you in this instance: what changed during lockdown that jeopardised your partnership?
Hailaker (Jemima): Damn this sounds like we weren’t getting on! We’d been writing together pretty regularly for about 3 years by 2020 – both of our first two albums were finished by then – so suddenly having to stop that was a bit of a shock.
I think, for both of us, Hailaker really exists when we’re both in the same room. We talked a lot in lockdown about working on stuff remotely, and we did that with ‘Wavepool’ – our collaboration with S. Carey – but I think when it came to writing a whole album, I’m not sure it was gonna work. The magic of it is being in the same space, bringing everything in your life with you and just sitting down at some instruments and seeing where it goes… it’s just really hard to get that same feeling over video call.
Also, I mean it’s kinda mad ‘cos it’s 4 years ago now, but we were also pretty young and just generally going through our respective quarter-life crises. I think in some ways having a bit of space was a really good thing for the project and it helped both of us develop as musicians and people. When we came back together again it was with a huge amount of energy and a deeper artistry than before.
Thankfully, any creative concerns seem to have been quashed with the release of Serenity, Now. Beyond the ‘Seinfeld’ reference, were you alluding to anything specific with the album’s title?
Well, I’m gonna be honest, I’ve not seen ‘Seinfeld’ apart from a couple of episodes Ed’s shown me… like, I know the bass riff. That particular lyric in the first track ‘Makeweight’ was Ed’s idea and I think it appealed to us because it’s just a really funny concept. Shouting “Serenity, Now!” to manifest it feels very, very applicable to how life feels sometimes.
The writing and stories in Hailaker songs are often just about people who are feeling very mediocre in their lives, there’s a little bit of self-depreciation that runs through the first two albums lyrically. We’ve never really written from ourselves, but almost from something like a Hailaker character. In Serenity, Now it feels like the character is maybe a bit more comfortable with themselves than before, bit older, bit less self-critical… but still yelling “Serenity, Now!”
It’s a nice change to interview a band after their album has dropped; it’s refreshing to be able to get a different perspective post-release. How do you feel about the album now? Any glaring regrets or standout achievements you’re holding onto? Or are you already thinking about the next project?
We’re thinking about the next thing! We finished this record a year ago so it’s settled in our heads now. I think it’s been a really important record for us, it feels great to have it out and to have taken such a big step sonically – it’s a way bigger sound than either of the previous records and it feels good to show everyone all the different sides of the project.
You both have independent music projects outside of Hailaker, whether that’s as solo artists or in collaborations with others. What are some of the opportunities and, potentially, difficulties associated with having so many different, occasionally overlapping creative outlets?
So many opportunities for collaborating and also just using each others network for more of the behind the scenes things – artwork, design, bio writing, photos etc. – that’s my favourite thing about it. It’s hard because we both have different priorities at different moments depending on where we are in each of our campaigns so balancing the work load is tricky, but it is what it is: we do this because we love making music together and everything else is kinda extra.
This is a question I often ask because it seems so pertinent at this particular moment in time: how are you with genre definitions/labels? Is it helpful for you/others to describe you as ‘folktronica’ (or anything else)? And, separately, do those descriptors sit comfortably on your shoulders?
Mmmmm… it’s hard because it’s not like we’re a scene band. Genre for us isn’t an identity in the way it might be for other bands. It’s just something that’s useful for other people to describe the music and to place us within the current music landscape, but it’s not something that’s very integral to who we are. In that way it’s kind of up to whoever’s describing us: I can’t really start getting picky about other people’s references.
I don’t really get the whole ‘folk’ thing: folk to me is like fiddle and squeezebox stuff. I feel kinda embarrassed to be grouped into that because of the history and depth to that music. That sort of music is deeply, deeply rooted in communities and places and tradition, and it should be held in its own special place in music. We don’t touch on any of that: it’s a totally different world. I think most of our music is somewhere in the pop/alternative spectrum now, but it’s always just been about playing with different styles and moods.
Which do you prefer: the process of writing a song or the act of performing it?
Writing! The whole project is centred around us writing together. I personally love performing as well, but as I’m speaking for Ed as well, the writing is the most important thing.
Who would you most like to collaborate with and why?
Paul Mescal – we’ve seen him sing a little, play a little guitar.. and he keeps putting us on his playlists so I think maybe he just needs to come down and get on a track.
Who is overrated/underrated?
Little Simz is incredible, I don’t wanna hear about Drake and Kendrick anymore – I just wanna hear about Little Simz.
What can we expect from you in the near future? Anything you’re particularly looking forward to?
We’ve got a couple of headline shows in September in London and Bristol which will be really fun. We haven’t played live since 2019 so it’s gonna be amazing to get out there and be with everyone.
What is your FAULT?
Too overthinky… too much time in the detail swamp.