If you’re looking for your new favorite independent artist or a new album to add to your quarantine playlist, you’ve clicked on the right article! Meet Hannah Richardson: study at the University of Colorado Boulder by day and self-made producer and singer/songwriter by night. She is set to release her sophomore album, Maniac on Oct. 23, so get ready to bundle up, get in your feels and stream! To get to know this rising star, Her Campus connected with her to ask a couple of questions.
Her Campus (HC): When did you start singing and producing your own music?
Hannah Richardson (HR): I started singing as soon as I could talk, but I started getting into performing at seven-years-old when I got selected to be a part of this dinner theater show. After that, I was suddenly doing hundreds of shows for hundreds of people and learning how to entertain crowds. I loved the attention at that age and had zero stage fright, but it taught me the importance of stage presence and charisma. I really didn’t start songwriting/producing until I turned thirteen and got a MacBook for my birthday. I think I spent a total of five minutes on the computer before I opened up GarageBand; my life was never the same after that.
HC: You’re a total professional in your production skills and your amazing voice! How did you go about cultivating your musical ability?
HR: I learned to write songs mostly through trial and error. I first started making melodies off of samples. Over time, I got better at creating more variance in chord progressions and sounds, and that’s when I got more into producing.
Most of the producing basics I honestly learned from listening to amazing artists. I would play songs on my headphones repeatedly and try to re-create those mixes in my production programs like GarageBand and later Logic Pro. In middle school, I would listen to a bad-ass Halsey song like “Gasoline” and have to figure out how to re-create all of the instrumentation without actually enlisting real musicians’ help and buying expensive plugins. That taught me so much about all you can do within a program without buying all these external plugins the wealthy producers can afford.
HC: How have you found inspiration for your songwriting?
HR: Lyrically, I can find inspiration through just about anything. That said, the majority of the songs I’ve written have come from boys (crushes and heartbreaks), people I love and people I love to hate. The rest comes from watching movies or reading poems and books.
Sonically, I find a lot of inspiration in listening to samples. Often, I take a sample, loop it and find a melody for my verse. Then I grab another sample, make that my chorus and build a chorus melody. Samples kind of help combat this syndrome I call “blank page syndrome.” I get so terrified looking at a blank page sometimes; I can’t even start writing. If I put a sample into my project and have something, to begin with, I can often build an entire song from there.
HC: There’s always some figure inspiring us, so who’s your musical idol?
HR: Amy Winehouse has always been such an inspiration because she wrote what she knew and never held back. Her voice is filled with so much soul, and she never cared about fitting into that industry standard. She was 100% authentic all the time and is viewed today as a total icon for it.
HC: Describe your sound in 5 words.
HR: Dark, innocent, dreamy, retro and mesmerizing!
HC: Tell us about your upcoming release, your sophomore album Maniac. What should we expect?
HR: Maniac, is the album I’ve always wanted to make. The project was mostly written, produced and recorded in my bedroom. I sent mixes back and forth to my beloved producer from Nashville and made sure the songs sounded like what I made. I didn’t want anything too perfect, because that’s not what quarantine was about. It was sad and messy and, at times, quite chaotic. I didn’t want this album to feel manufactured. People don’t need that right now. They need to hear from a girl going through precisely what they are but putting out some songs to lighten the mood.
I’d describe this album as retro-infused pop. A little Lana Del Rey meets Amy Winehouse!
HC: Do you have any goals for future projects or in general?
HR: First things first; getting through this year. 2020 hasn’t been great for anyone’s mental health. I am no exception. Although I could act as though quarantine was this glamorous opportunity to focus on my passions and cultivate a musical project, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t spend most days questioning my existence and hating the world. My short-term goals are continuing to make music as well as maintaining a positive outlook. Long term, I want to be a sound engineer, producer, or music supervisor so I can continue to act as a creator long after my voice gets old.
Be sure to look out for Hannah’s upcoming album release Oct. 23 on Spotify! You can find her on Instagram, Spotify and @hannahrsings on most other platforms.
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