Interview by Kris Peters
Sydney masters of musical mayhem RedHook are finally bearing the fruits of their five year extended cycle with the release today of their debut album Postcard From A Living Hell.
Since forming in 2017 RedHook have very much been a band who have shunned convention and expectation, refusing to look for short cuts on the long road to musical recognition.
Instead they have focussed their time and efforts into the one thing they have control over - the music - along the way earning the ears and respect of a diverse range of supporters who have each felt like a part of the musical journey RedHook has steadfastly chosen.
With a relentless touring schedule and led by the enigmatic and precocious talent that is Emmy Mack, RedHook are a band who connects with their growing fan base on more than a plutonic level.
Through a succession of well received singles and a refreshingly honest yet still respectful approach to their craft RedHook have found themselves playing with and alongside some of the biggest bands in history at Download in England and Rock AM Ring as well as Good Things and now The World Is A Vampire Festival on home soil.
Throughout it all the quartet have remained grounded and approachable, and as Emmy says during our recent chat, this album is as much about the people in RedHook's corner as it is about the musicians who created it.
"Honestly, it's hard to put into words," she measured when asked how she is feeling now the album is finally out for public consumption.
"I'm so overwhelmed. This past 24 hours alone has just been insane. Getting so much love and so much positivity... I'm feeling very grateful."
After taking their time in putting together a body of work to truly represent the band and their music, we ask Emmy why now is the right time to unleash hell.
"We're late bloomers," she laughed. "I think it was just time. We put out the debut EP during COVID, so I dunno... For me, this is more for the fans. A lot of people have been wanting us to do this. I kind of don't like... it hurts me to put out an album, only because I feel sad for all the songs that we don't get to release as singles that don't get that little time in the sun. This is for our fans and for people who have been listening to us and supporting us for the past couple of years that we've been a band and I just hope that it lives up to their expectations."
In the full interview, Emmy talks about the importance of building an audience rather than rushing music out for the sake of releasing something, her main focus musically going into the album, the mixture of styles and genres and how that reflects RedHook as a band, which of the musical styles she prefers to perform live, the album title and how it came into being, why RedHook have Stand Atlantic to thank for that, their current run of shows as part of The World Is A Vampire tour, hanging out with Billy Corgan, their upcoming headlining national album tour, packing up and shipping off to the UK straight after and more.