HAAi Plains Drifter

Photos: Imogene von Barron

Releasing an album that stands out in the over-saturated world of EDM is a feat worthy of study and recognition.

Teneil Throssell—known more famously as DJ HAAi—has released such an album: Baby, We’re Ascending. EDM has wandered away from its Detroit warehouse roots and the shores of Ibiza to become a mainstay of pop. Its attributes have leaked into every radio hit of the last 20-plus years, and now everyone and their mum is dusting off the Moog and banging you over the head with links to their Soundcloud. So, when we heard HAAi’s new stuff, our preemptive wincing turned to sighs of relief as we were treated to a more interesting form of danceable electronic composition. Baby, We’re Ascending is EDM in a more narrative form, sharper and more expansive, with trapdoors and hidden mazes to be explored, proving that there are still new and interesting ways of making a fun dance beat. We spoke with DJ HAAi a few weeks ago about her new album and the extreme rigors of being an absurdly good DJ.

So you’re playing six shows in six different countries next week?

Yep!

Where? What? Why?

Well, I played in Ibiza on Monday night, I’m playing Primavera tomorrow night, then Manchester, then Amsterdam that same night, then I fly to Ireland where I’m closing a festival, and tonight I’m playing a Gucci/Adidas collaboration release party. So, yeah, this week is sort of a lot.

Fuck, how are you managing? Are you okay?

Yeah, I’m great! I’ve got a half-packed suitcase I’m living out of. I’m playing in these really beautiful warm places, which is great; but knowing that I’m going to be ending in Ireland where it isn’t so warm, I have to be very mindful about how I pack my suitcase. But yeah, I’m doing great.

Congratulations on the new album! How are you feeling about it? How’s the release been?

I’m very happy with it! In the time since it’s been released, it’s been really wild. This thing exists in your head for so long and you get to make it into a real thing, and it goes through all of these processes, and then you put it out into the world, and suddenly it sort of isn’t yours anymore, it belongs to whoever is listening to it. I found that process really interesting and something that I really enjoy.

How’s the reception?

I’m so happy with all the love it’s been getting, it’s been really nice. So many people have been sending these really sweet messages and dm’s of themselves holding the record. For me, that sort of stuff is just incredible.

Rather than just being a sort of Drum n Bass thumper, each track sounds very narrative and like there is a story about it…

That hits the nail on the head, really. That became an intentional choice to try and make that happen. I actually think it came off of getting a weird review for one of my first EP’s, that all of the tracks weren’t really mingling with each other and I found that to be such a bizarre bit of commentary because each song is meant to work together while telling its own musical story, and I feel that within an album, there is more scope to do that. I really tried to emphasize that within this album.

Do you think this album is a representation of you in some way?

I’m a bit hyperactive, and I felt like the way that this album was crafted together, I wanted it to be a representation of how my brain is. Like with the first track, ‘Channels’, it’s super ADHD. There’s no time signature or anything, it’s more like just sound design. There’s an element of chaos to it and chaotic moments, and it’s very representative of how I play music and even DJ sometimes. I wanted to highlight that making an album or any body of work doesn’t have to follow a script. One thing I’d love for younger producers to get from it is to be experimental and not feel bound by anything.

Some of your songs feel like I’m being tricked, like I don’t understand what is happening… Does that make sense? A lot of songs within a genre have a structure and yours do not abide by any predictable structures.

I think it’s just trying not to follow the rules of music. I think a lot of the way that I write is very much a reflection of having played in bands for years and DJing for so long, there is definitely a build-up to moments in songs and within the album, but I try to avoid a set formula. It’s such a gut feeling that I’m trying to put into the music rather than giving it a uniform, each song having its own path.

Did you play in bands before DJing?

Yeah, I was sort of a shoegazer for years. That’s how I moved to the UK, I was playing in this psych/shoegaze band. We split up 6 or 7 years ago, maybe a little more. It was sort of a slow transition into the job that I do now.

What were you playing?

I played guitar and sang, but the singing in my old band was covered by all the other sounds in the track. The point of a shoegaze band is to be noisy so you couldn’t really hear my vocals, whereas in the album, in the moments where I’m singing, I’ve made space for the vocals to actually come through.

What did you do before music? What was your day job?

I was always making music, I think. I learned to play guitar when I was, like, 11, but school just wasn’t for me, so I left school when I was really young, maybe 14, and was a hairdresser for a really long time. I was really passionate about it, too! I vividly remember calling my mum when I was 21 and saying, ‘I just decided that I want to pursue music and I’m going to quit hairdressing’ and my mum said, ‘But it’s your passion!’ It makes me laugh now thinking back on that conversation and seeing where I’m at now with music.

Hairstyling is cool, though!

Oh, yeah, super-creative profession. I worked in a really great salon and got to travel for it and everything.

Hairdressing as a profession for an artist is cool because hair is how you represent the kind of person that you are. Mohawks, buzzcuts, colors, etc. You could be in a suit and tie but if you have a mohawk, that stuff is negated.

So true! This is something that I haven’t thought about until now: the albums that they would play in the salon are a big part of my musically formative years. Everything But The Girl was on the go every day, Groove Armada, Air… I know all of these records so well because they would play on repeat every day. Those albums represent such a vivid time in my life and I know them cover-to-cover, and they’ve definitely influenced the music I made after I left.

Can you talk about your partnership with Imogene von Barron for all of the album’s imagery?

Totally! She’s my best friend, a great creative director, and it made a lot of sense for us to work collaboratively together. We took a trip to Spain to shoot the album cover and all the imagery. It was really nice, she is my best friend, but I’m also just such a fan of her work and everything she’s done, and I was really excited to have been able to work together. I think when you get to a point in life when you get to work with your best friend on something creative, it’s such a magical thing.

Alright, one last question: I talk to a lot of bands about how they make their performances engaging, and they can use the stage and jump around. You, being a DJ, are a little more enclosed and limited. How do you make for a fun and engaging live show?

I mean, I jump around a lot. My sets are sonically quite dynamic, I am very effects-focused when I’m mixing, which is cool and a reflection of my personality again being a little hyperactive. I’ve also done loads more with light and visual spectacle. I’ve been working with this really old friend of mine from this band, The Horrors. He started doing a lot of digital art working with AI and moving backgrounds, and we’ve turned that into live visuals. For me, that’s been such a huge part of my biggest shows at festivals—having a visual connection to the album and the music.

Interview: June 9th, 2022