Biography
British duo Hawthonn craft drone-folk and ritual ambient from esoteric and occult themes. Electro-acoustic sound design merges with ominous organ drones and ethereal vocals throughout their haunting, dream-like music. Besides numerous self-released recordings, the Brooklyn-based Ba Da Bing label issued both 2018's Red Goddess (Of This Men Shall Know Nothing) and 2021's Earth Mirror.
Phil Legard and Layla Legard, based in Leeds, formed Hawthonn in 2014. The pair had already collaborated on music and photography, while Phil had issued numerous albums via Xenis Emputae Travelling Band, Ashtray Navigations, and additional projects. Hawthonn's name references the Hawthorn tree alongside the late Jhonn Balance of Coil, the duo's chief musical inspiration. Their self-titled debut surfaced in 2015, crediting both members with fox-skull and spiricom alongside electronics, accordion, harmonium, field recordings, and vocals. Cellist Simon Bradley and vocalist Lovernios Legard supplied further contributions. Early downloads of Hawthonn bundled the bonus release Holophones together with a PDF documenting the album's creation. Sea-Spiral Spirit, gathering previously unreleased material, appeared in 2016.
Ba Da Bing released Red Goddess (Of This Men Shall Know Nothing) in 2018, an album centered on feminine energy and menstruation. A cover of Coil's "Fire of the Mind" surfaced on Halloween, followed the next month by the meditative drone piece The Well Head. The duo issued the live recording Ystwyth in 2019. Proceeds from a 2020 cover of Enya's "I Want Tomorrow" went to bail and mutual aid funds along with racial justice organizations. Vulva Caelestis, compiling unreleased material and prior compilation tracks, was issued in 2021. Hawthonn also shared a split album with COLDSORE&1Ö; their contribution, "Kelco Jökulhlaup," was partially recorded inside the Greater Kelcow cave in the Yorkshire Dales, U.K. The full-length Earth Mirror, drawing from occult magick and witchcraft, marked their return to Ba Da Bing.
Phil Legard and Layla Legard, based in Leeds, formed Hawthonn in 2014. The pair had already collaborated on music and photography, while Phil had issued numerous albums via Xenis Emputae Travelling Band, Ashtray Navigations, and additional projects. Hawthonn's name references the Hawthorn tree alongside the late Jhonn Balance of Coil, the duo's chief musical inspiration. Their self-titled debut surfaced in 2015, crediting both members with fox-skull and spiricom alongside electronics, accordion, harmonium, field recordings, and vocals. Cellist Simon Bradley and vocalist Lovernios Legard supplied further contributions. Early downloads of Hawthonn bundled the bonus release Holophones together with a PDF documenting the album's creation. Sea-Spiral Spirit, gathering previously unreleased material, appeared in 2016.
Ba Da Bing released Red Goddess (Of This Men Shall Know Nothing) in 2018, an album centered on feminine energy and menstruation. A cover of Coil's "Fire of the Mind" surfaced on Halloween, followed the next month by the meditative drone piece The Well Head. The duo issued the live recording Ystwyth in 2019. Proceeds from a 2020 cover of Enya's "I Want Tomorrow" went to bail and mutual aid funds along with racial justice organizations. Vulva Caelestis, compiling unreleased material and prior compilation tracks, was issued in 2021. Hawthonn also shared a split album with COLDSORE&1Ö; their contribution, "Kelco Jökulhlaup," was partially recorded inside the Greater Kelcow cave in the Yorkshire Dales, U.K. The full-length Earth Mirror, drawing from occult magick and witchcraft, marked their return to Ba Da Bing.
Albums
Singles
