NYC-Based Hank on New Single, Swing Music, and Dream Collabs
Pest control would be the last topic that you would associate with love songs. However, singer/songwriter Sara L’Abriola, otherwise known as Hank, has defied expectations with the release of “BUGS.” The fluttery, indie-pop song finds Hank musing about a past love and how hard it is to get rid of them, the same way about stubborn insects that reside in her apartment. The singer also explains the meaning of the track in their own words.
“BUGS is a song about the self-fulfilling prophecy of a roach problem when all you have is time on your hands to miss someone in a bug-infested Brooklyn loft. The song represents acceptance and how misery can be the only thing to actually get you there.”
Hank
Hank was birthed on April 2021 after an incident where the singer discovered her partner cheating on her during a house party in which they both attended. L’Abriola channeled her masculine side on the creation of Hank. The debut EP Call Me Hank is a hyperpop masterpiece that deals with gender identity, maturity, sobriety, and empathy. It is also where L’Abriola asks herself questions on who she is.
Prior to HANK, L’Abriola was brought up with music as she is the daughter of a jazz pianist. As a result, she became infatuated with swing music, with Django Reinhardt serving as an early influence. In her teens, she travelled the world as a swing guitarist before settling down in Brooklyn as an instrumentalist. At Glasse Factory, we got the chance to speak with the songwriter and reveal more about the up and coming artist’s inspirations and goals for the future.
What is your songwriting process like? Can you walk us down?
“It’s different for me every time. Sometimes I have a chord progression that sort of triggers a specific feeling that I can tap into and then I can write the whole song on the spot or within the day. Other times I’ll be having a really fun time with my friends who I make music with. We’ll start with a beat then start writing over that and call back to conversations and feelings we had earlier in the day for what the song should be about. Sometimes there’s some rewriting involved but mostly we are aiming for an authentic and true experience within the song.”
Aside from swing music, who and what were your biggest inspirations growing up?
“I grew up in upstate New York on the Hudson River. There were a lot of folk musicians and my parents were also musicians. They would cover a lot of Lucinda Williams and Johnny Cash so that was an early inspiration. Then when I wasn’t learning the swing music I would listen to what my friends were all listening to at the time in high school like Phoenix or James Blake or Drake. I love Drake.”
We’ve read over your bio and it says that Hank came as a result of channeling your masculine side. How often does that side appear and how does it influence your life and artistic approach?
It’s always there. I don’t really have a “split side” to me. Hank is actually the most authentic part of me. I like when people hear the music and say that it sounds like me. Having the project definitely gave me comfort in exploring that within myself. I feel lucky to have a platform and place to explore myself as a gender fluid person.
Is “BUGS” inspired by real life events? Have you ever dealt with roaches or any other infestation?
“Oh yeah. I moved into a loft in Brooklyn and it was awesome. All the roommates lived up ladders basically on top of each other
but the building was pretty old and so it led to a bad roach infestation. I hate them. It was so hard to live with them and despite all my efforts I couldn’t get them to go away and it made me so dark. It made me reminisce to times (and people) when life seemed way better. But looking back, now that I’m slightly older (I’d like to think wiser). I realize that those times I would reminisce about had their own sets of problems too. “
Are there any artists you wish to collaborate with?
“I don’t want to put anyone on blast but I would love to make music with the people that I admire like Alex G or Frank Ocean haha that would be absolutely wild. I’m talking dream scenarios here. I guess I think I would just learn a lot from those type of people.”
Do you have a target audience that you keep in mind whenever you work on your music?
“I don’t have a target audience. Anyone who has dealt with the same experience I talk about in my songs are the people that I want the music to resonate with. I do want queer people to hear it though and relate to the queer experience. But it’s not limited to that in the slightest.”
In ten years from now, what would you like to accomplish or see yourself doing?
“I want to have to have a large discography of music. I want to go through different phases, styles and eras. I definitely want to collaborate with other artists too. I love to score music for films and shorts so it would be really cool to be able to do something like that in the future also. “
What are you working on next? Can we get a sneak peek?
“I have a deluxe EP coming out that has remixes and live recordings of the Call Me Hank EP. I love to reimagine songs so I’m excited about it. After that I’ve been working on stuff that dives into different styles and production. I don’t like to be limited to one style. There is always something in them though that is still embodies a familiar Hank sound.”
To learn more about Hank and future projects, follow these pages: Instagram/TikTok/YouTube
Stream Call Me Hank below:
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