» Hen follows her own rules – Interview Something You Said

Hen follows her own rules – Interview

May 23, 2018

Hot off the back of the release of her single ‘In Red’, Adelaide artist HEN has continued to explore the song’s rich and fun themes on screen with the unveiling of the official music video. We have a chat with her:

Hi hon. I mean Hen. How are you today, Hen? What have you been up to this week?
Hey! Today has been interesting, I just looked out my kitchen window to see two beautiful lop bunnies chewing on my plants. Turns out the neighbour’s pet bunnies have burrowed under my fence and came to visit! The week has been a lot of studying (uni exams are just around the corner!) and procrastinating from study.

You’re now the artist formerly known as Julia Henning, right? How comes the recent change of moniker? Is it because you love animals? Or because you’re a particularly clucky, motherly type?
Haha! I mean I do love animals and I can be a bit mothering but the truth is, I never really connected with Julia Henning as an artist name. It always felt clunky. I’d been thinking of changing it for a while but couldn’t figure out what to change to! My friends used to call me JuHen as a nickname but one day during some intense Mario Karting (I was playing dirty) they shortened it to ‘Hen’! and it just felt right! Weirdly I think the ‘Hen’ in Henning is what I used to feel insecure about my old name so it feels oddly powerful to go by it.

Tell us all about the music you’ve been making recently, and how it’s all fallen into place with your new persona. How is it different from the music you were making, and character you felt you fit better, before?
This album is a real turning point for me. It really marks where I started making music for myself, following my own rules. Before I was making music that, while still honest and from the heart, wasn’t truly the sound I wanted to make. I think as an artist your art often reflects where you’re at as a person. On my previous album I was very unsure of myself and lacking in confidence and I think you can hear that in the music. This album is different. I took a year off and just let myself make whatever music I felt like without judgement and I’m very proud of the songs I wrote. They’re raw and honest but catchy and empowering. I’ve never really written a song I could dance to before and it feels amazing being able to chuck on something like ‘In Red’ and feel myself immediately wanting to move. It’s an album of self acceptance and self realisation.

We hear that you’re an animal-loving vegan, and like to rescue kittens in your spare time, so you must be pretty mother-hen like. How busy does rescuing kittens keep you, how many kitten rescues have you undertaken in the past month?
Yep, that sounds like me! Kitten rescue is a full-time job sometimes. I specialise in neonatal kittens who have been orphaned and those guys require 24/7 care with feeds every 2 hours, even overnight. So I often end up taking them to uni or meetings with me. I actually had 5 kittens in a carrier under my chair during an exam once! This last month has been slowing down thankfully because of winter but I’ve been working on a site rescuing many feral kittens. I’m up to 14 at the moment and most have found good homes, which is always the aim. Plus I have 3 fosters at home who keep me busy.

You’re promoting a new record right now, right? Are you worried that your rising success might affect the kitten rescuing schedule? Have you plans to travel and do lots of kitten rescuing on the world stage? What’s next for you, and what’s your dream?
I am! My latest single In Red was released recently along with a super cute music video! Time is a flexible thing, if you want to spend time on something, you tend to find it. I’ll always have time for animal rescue even if my role has to change. Maybe I won’t be on the ground physically doing the rescue but I’ll still be able to help either by fostering or helping with admin or finances. Everything helps! I actually adopted a foster kitten of mine recently, Nina, she’s completely blind and had to have her eyes removed. But she’s the bravest, sweetest kitten you ever did meet! I take her out on adventures with me on a harness and she sits on my shoulder. She’s become so popular in my hometown that I made her an instagram (@ninatheblindcat) which is currently getting far more attention than mine. So who knows? Maybe Nina’s career is the one to take off!? Next for me is releasing this album!! I am so excited to have it out there, it’s been in the works for so long now I just want to be able to share it!