5 Questions With: Hazel English

The singer stops by to talk about inspiration, creativity, and collaborations

Hazel English. Photo: Janell Shirtcliff

Good morning!

Today we’re talking with L.A.- based Dreampop artist Hazel English

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Everyone should move away from home, at least for a little while. It can be novel not to know where the grocery store is. It’s also a trial by fire, and few things reveal your character quicker.

On the cover of her Never Going Home EP, Hazel English sits next to a large suitcase- ostensibly full of songs & dreams. In real life, she was already a long way from home, having left her native Sydney for the Bay Area as part of an exchange program.

In Oakland, she met fellow newcomer—and fellow Aussie ex-pat— Jackson Phillips of Day Wave fame, and a musical partnership was born.

Together the duo put together 2017’s Just Give In EP, a record packed full of enticing melody and summer vibes. Enlgih’s brand of dream pop not only takes you to another place but to another time. To hazy summer days. To young love. To dreams and new horizons.

On these records, it never rains.

Beautiful sugary pop that will have you longing for warmer temps and longer days.

Those two EPs are now packaged together as one, and that was my on-ramp to her music. She followed those with several singles and 2020’s Wake Up LP. Last year, she dropped her Summer Nights EP, which made a lot of best-of lists, including my own.

I recently caught up with English via email. Our chat has been lightly edited for clarity/flow.

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Can you color in a little bit of your background for readers that might not be familiar with your story? How’d you wind up in the Bay Area (and now LA)? How did you get your start in music? 

I ended up in the Bay Area through an exchange program, and then I just fell in love with California, so I decided to stay.

I was playing around town at different open mics and that kind of thing, meeting lots of people. Then one day, at a book shop I worked at, I met Jackson Phillips, who had just moved to Oakland and was down to try making music together. The first song we recorded was “Never Going Home,” and things just progressed from there.

In my review of the Summer Nights EP, I described it as “...sometimes something that reminds you of sunny days at the beach is what you need most- especially if it's already snowing in October. WHICH IT TOTALLY IS AS I TYPE THIS.” 

To be clear, that was-and is- meant as high praise. This was also a record made at the height of COVID lockdowns. A time when we were all looking out the proverbial window and plotting an escape. How much did life during lockdown affect the direction this EP took? Can you give a little background on your mindset during the making of Summer Nights?

Yeah, so Jackson and I started working on the EP right before the vaccines became available. So we started writing over zoom, which was interesting.

I had been looking back at my high school years and feeling nostalgic, so that influenced some of the lyrical content, and I wanted to capture that first crush feeling and how intense everything feels when you’re young.

It was fun to tap into this space because everything at the time felt so contained and kind of inert, so I wanted to explore the rush of feelings that comes with young love.

 “[Summer Nights] is a song about the intoxicating feeling of developing a crush on someone. I thought exploring the buildup of tension sonically would be interesting because, to me, the anticipation is the best part.”

Any plans to work together with Phillips again? 

We work together fairly frequently. It’s a very easy and natural kind of collaboration which I appreciate. We have been working on some more stuff together. 

You followed Summer Nights with the “Hamilton” single last August. What’s next? Back to the studio? Out on the road? What’s 2023 look like for you?

Probably a mixture of both. I definitely want to get in the studio, but I’d also love to get out and play some more shows too. More songs to come soon ;)

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5 Questions:

1. Describe your music style in one sentence

A nostalgic dream.

2. What music was playing in your house(s) growing up?

Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Abba, Bee Gees, Cat Stevens, and Enya.

3. What are you listening to these days?

Steely Dan and a bunch of ambient music.

4. What are your 5 Desert Island Discs?

• Jorge Ben Jor- Samba Esquema Novo

• Sam Cooke- Ain’t That Good News

• Pink Floyd- The Dark Side of the Moon

• Curtis Mayfield- Curtis

• Paul Simon- Graceland

5. If you could collaborate with any artist/band, who would it be?

Brian Eno

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Hazel English- Summer Nights EP, 2022

(Click the record to listen on your platform of choice)

To connect with the English and buy her music, please go to the following:

Bandcamp | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify

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Thanks to Hazel English for stopping by, and thank you for being here,

Kevin—