Hawema on Local Punk, Forming the Band & Finding Their Flow

In a recent episode, Meagan spoke to Damien from Durban’s spice of life - Hawema.

Here are some pearls Damien dropped during the full interview.

Vibe Check, One, Two

After laying down the lore, Damien explains part of Hawema’s philosophy:

"A lot of the sounds we were playing were related to the frustration and anger that most people feel; relating to the state of affairs in our country and how even though we’re South African, we’re lovely and we all love different cultures and shit like that, there’s a kak-ton of racism that still exists in the land. And yeah, just being homies with people from different cultures and walks of life, I think, is a good way to action change against that within your own personal life. So those are kind of the vibes that we embody, and your classic anti-establishment, fuck-the-government kind of punk rock."

Rimshot, No Chaser

Hawema has seen some talent come and go, but every member leaves a mark on the music.

Damien bares the necessities:

"I like everybody’s individual personality to come through. I think it’s important to have a band leader, right? You gotta have someone kind of driving the ship and just making executive decisions. But it’s also important for the band to be democratic and open, and everyone’s got a voice in terms of music writing, and that kind of thing. And so, I was fortunate enough to do a Jazz degree at UKZN, I think I finished about three years ago, or something like that. One of the things that always stuck with me was, the one teacher always used to be like,

bruh, the drummer’s gotta be the best musician in the band.

So we have rotated about three or four drummers. It’s always challenging but there’s always a different kind of groove that comes along, like different accents on different kinds of riffs, and just the way ous do fills that really gives it a new thing. But it’s kind of invigorating to see everyone have their own takes on the old songs, and then their personality on new songs."

Homegrown Flow

Members of Hawema blend their experiences to create a proudly local sound.

Damien describes the process:

"I think like, once you get into the band room, right? Humans are like cultural filters, you absorb all this stuff, it goes into you and then you spend your time practising and playing, and that kind of thing. And then when you get to the band room, we do runs of the songs that we need to have down tight for shows and that kind of thing. It’s not like we’re like, hey, let’s try and do a fuckin’ Neo-soul song. It’s just, someone will drop a groove, or a riff, or a vocal, or something like that. Someone else will try and match a thing that goes with it, and then fuckin’ twenty minutes later you’ve got a new chorus, and then you just go from there. So, I think it’s more of like indirect influences, not direct like we’re trying to latch onto a particular sound. What we rely on to get that sound is just the fact that we all are South African. We’ve done a fair amount of work to ensure that the people in the band reflect a different perspective of that South Africa. And, when the songs are written it comes out, it’s kind of like, inevitable, y’know?"