I met Hannah for the first time, over Skype in the end of the first lockdown in 2020. Hannah had agreed to take part in my personal project Rear View Window, photographing people in isolation due to Covid, from around the world. I instantly warmed to Hannah. She has one of those personanilities that instantly makes you feel welcome, even if she is 500 miles away in the north of Ireland, and not there in front of me in person. We spoke a little about her great work as a musician and radio host, before I directed her around her house in Belfast. Her house was like a musician’s dream - filled with sound proof rooms, mixing tables, microphones , piano, harp and other instruments. The view was of the Irish sea. What’s not to like?!
It was such a surprise to get a message from Hannah a few months later saying that the Observer were going to do a feature on her and she’d asked her PR to suggest me to take the portrait for the feature.
A week later, Hannah was in London for a 48 hour trip, to record with an orchestra. One day was set aside for the shoot, but unfortunately London was in total lockdown, and the weather forecast was 100% rain. Oh!!!
Hannah and I talked, I suggested a few places where we might find some cover, but that were not very relevant to Hannah or her work. Hannah eventually suggested that we could get access to a music shop in North London called Audio Gold. Talk about a perfect venue! It had the retro recording equipment from the same period that Hannah sampled on her new album Fir Wave. As Hannah explains:
“The specialist library label KPM, gave me permission to reinterpret the original music of the celebrated 1972 KPM 1000 series: Electrosonic, the music of Delia Derbyshire and the Radiophonic Workshop.”
I turned up to the shop an hour before Hannah. The place was filled with second hand record players, amplifiers, speakers, vinyls and anything else you can imagine that has to do with music. It is a treasure trove for all music enthusiasts. A place where all your dreams come true, and the people who work there have the knowledge and are friendly enough to care. It was a perfect fit for Hannah. Not only is Hannah someone who is knowledgable about all instruments and how to combine them with technology, but her passion for all things ‘sound’ fits right in with the ethos of the shop. (And I managed to buy myself a vinyl of the live album Live at Carnegie Hall - Bill Withers - I love it!)
Hannah seemed like a good friend from the first word we spoke, remotely over Zoom. We’ve kept in touch since - and although we have only spoken a few times, it feels like I’ve known her for ages. Some people just make you feel at ease when you speak to them, and Hannah is just one of those people. Apart from the good news that Hannah has released the album Fir Wave - she is now also back on the air waves with her radio show Night Tracks - a show that gives that nice comforting feeling.
Shot for Observer New Review
