H.LLS Don't Want To Be A Mystery

The anonymous London collective on releasing music as they make it and why they’d rather be in the room than on your feed.

H.LLS don't want to be a mystery. Ask them what the project is and the answer is disarmingly simple: "We are a music collective from London." Three people, bright orange squares where faces should be, no names and no personal narrative. What they've built instead is a world you have to physically enter: iPods loaded with unreleased demos handed out at parties, listening experiences, a WhatsApp community with behind-the-scenes access, and an appearance at Paris Fashion Week. Even their collaborations work this way: Claudia Valentina, SamRecks and Ledbyher all step inside the trio's method, and H.LLS describe the effect as "an alter ego you can do whatever you want with."

Since 11 September they've released a single every two weeks, most of them made only recently. They reject the word "project," saying that they "don't like the idea of holding onto music and letting it rot on a hard-drive," and describe the process, simply, as "organic." Touring has shaped that process as much as the studio: "Moving around in different cities and linking up with different artists has been very inspiring." The anonymity, they say, has forced them to be more present in the real world: "It forces people to focus on the music. That speaks first."

As they share another collaboration with Ledbyher, we spoke to H.LLS about what anonymity demands, in-person moments, and how a trip to Paris in 40-degree heat became the source of most of the music you're hearing now. "There's something special about being in a room with 100+ people all on the same vibe," they say. And it's clear the room is the point.

You've been releasing singles every two weeks since September. A run designed to reveal the project piece by piece, how do you hope listeners interact with this project?

This ain’t a project. We don’t like the idea of holding onto music and letting it rot on a hard-drive. This was our way of letting our listeners hear what we’ve been working on in real time. We made most of these songs only recently.

The songs have come together over a relatively short stretch of time. What has the process of making them been like compared to how you worked before?

We’ve been on the road a lot this year. So at times it’s been challenging to work, but moving around in different cities and linking up with different artists has been very inspiring. The process is always the same though. Organic.

Your recent singles feel like different moments of the same night. From the anticipation of 'HOUSEPARTY' through to the darker feel of 'GODIN' and 'VAMPIRE'. Was that progression something you mapped out, or did it emerge as you went?

Our music decisions are always based on feeling first. It’s nice that people can feel this through the music and experience it the way we did when we made it.

You're known as a group of three, but the bright orange squares strip away any possibility of personal identification. What has anonymity demanded of you that a conventional artist setup wouldn't?

Being anonymous comes with its challenges. But the limitations have actually forced us to be more creative with how we connect with our fans. We have to be a lot more present in the real world. Can’t just chat to people on social media stories. That’s why we do our listening experiences, and give our WhatsApp community behind the scenes access to the process with demos and garms. Plus it forces people to focus on the music. That speaks first.

You've collaborated with Claudia Valentina, SamRecks and Ledbyher on your recent singles. Does your anonymity allow for a different creative process with collaborators?

It allows us to create more freely and what we’ve found is when artists work with us, they also indulge in ideas they might not normally indulge in. We’re heavily inspired by Gorillaz. It’s like an alter ego you can do whatever you want with.

You've handed out iPods at parties loaded with your music — the most recent one will include demos you haven't released yet. What does requiring someone to be physically present to hear the work do that a link or a stream can't, and how have people actually responded when they're handed one?

Like we said before, we don’t like holding onto music. We want people to hear it, at every stage. And to be honest, it’s also about the people that listen to our music. We want to give them another way to enjoy it. The iPods sometimes have old demos of songs that we’ve released. But in their early stages, stuff we didn’t end up going with but that we love. It’s fun to show the process in that way. You can’t really do that with streaming.

H.LLS operates across music, art, fashion and physical spaces, and the project keeps insisting on real-world presence, even as so much art now lives on screens. What keeps pulling you back to doing things in person?

We think that naturally as things have moved online that us and everyone around us is craving community and progressing towards IRL stuff. There’s something special about being in a room with 100 + people all on the same vibe.

We’ve always dreamed of adding a bunch of IRL experiences alongside our tour in every city we pull up in. Not just do the show and leave. That’s the end goal.

How was your recent appearance at Paris Fashion Week?

We linked up with colours studios and the show was crazy. And most of the songs your hearing now came from that trip. It was 40 degrees. We linked up with a lot of cool people.

Your last release - 'LIBRA' - the fifth of your promised run of seven singles singles - dropped on 23 October. What can you tell us about it?

Shouts out to LedByHer. We made this is Paris. Might have some more coming with her soon.

'HIMOTHY' is out now.

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