Perhaps one of the most captivating elements of Tiggi Hawke’s artistry is her ability to catapult listeners into an immersive journey: one that travels through electronic landscapes and ends in a euphoric symphony. Dropping her latest single, “Giants”, it would appear this trend is far from finished. With punchy production meeting an atmospheric pop melody, “Giants” is at once an empowering anthem as well as an introspective narrative about chasing elation.
In his own words, Tiggi explains, “While I don’t want to push my interpretation of ‘Giants’ on other people, it’s a song of personal liberation for me. ‘Giants’ really reflects my internal journey since the last single and how making my new music has made me feel. It’s definitely a move in a different direction from my previous music, but I’ve never felt more myself than while this was being written, and going through the process of production and visuals.”
To celebrate the release, we caught up with Tiggi to discuss the inspiration behind “Giant”, its kaleidoscopic visual, and what is next for her. So to steam the video now and for the full interview, head below…
Hey Tiggi! How are you? How has this past year been for you so far?
So far, this past year has been incredible, so I feel fantastic! It’s been terrifyingly out of my comfort zone a lot of the time but I’ve enjoyed pretty much all of it, even though I didn’t expect to sometimes.
Let’s take it back to the beginning, what is your earliest memory music? When did you realise that music was your calling in life?
I don’t know if I can pinpoint the earliest moment exactly, but my dad likes reminding me of when we would have songwriting competitions in the car on road trips to pass the time when I was a child, and I can only hope things have gotten better since then! I always wanted to follow music as a calling but I don’t think I ever thought it was a viable career, growing up I didn’t know any people who were doing music full-time and it was only when I met my now mentors that I saw what the industry was like and how many different paths there are. I know my parents weren’t shocked when I told them about my plans and I can’t imagine it any other way.
Do you often find yourself channelling your personal experiences and own emotions into your music?
Absolutely! I find it much more honest and more meaningful to pull ideas and emotions from things that I, or someone close to me, have experienced, otherwise sometimes I do struggle to connect to what I’m writing and that’s something I never want to come across in my music. I like to try and keep the exact story or topic a bit ambiguous though because the ideal thing for me would be that someone could listen to a song that I’ve written and feel like I’ve written it just for them or about a situation only they know about as that’s when I feel most connected to music personally
So, huge congratulations on the release of your new single “Giants”! How was your overall experience producing the track?
Thank you!! Honestly, I know this sounds clichéd and expected, but it was like a dream. From writing it on a camp with Mali-Koa and Jaded to making the final decision on mastering, I genuinely couldn’t have asked for a more enjoyable process or indeed, better people to work with. Everyone’s been brilliant and so open to trying different things, I can’t thank them all enough!
The single celebrates the start of a new creative direction for you, can you tell us more about your process here?
The only major thought I had for this next body of work was that I wanted it to be the most authentic representation of me that I could possibly do. I’ve loved working in a more dance-based direction for the past few years but I’ve always had this idea in my mind of what my music was at the core of it all, so I promised myself that this new direction would be the most representative of my brain yet. I’ve been working with new people both musically and visually so I’m incredibly excited (and terrified!) to be taking this step because it feels very exposing in a way as I’m learning more about myself and how to say no sometimes
The accompanying music video for “Giants” is also a lot of fun. What did you want the music video to reflect about yourself?
Like with the music direction, I wanted something very similar for the visual aspects too. It’s not my natural instinct, to invite someone in to look at my brain and the way I imagine some songs and, occasionally, myself to be but I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Dan Sanders, Oliver Kane and Sam Hampson who were completely incredible. Somehow we all magically started on the same page and then they came through with some perfect ideas that we grew on and developed. I’ve never had something so close to my imaginings be translated into real life before!
What was the production process like making the video?
A literal adventure! Oliver and Sam did a lot of scouting and suggested locations in the Lake District so we headed up there to film for 3 days and it was so much fun. I’d never done a video shoot for more than a day before so instantly it was something new and they had found the perfect team so it was an amazing experience from start to finish. They’ve also introduced me to a world I’ve wanted to explore for a long time by showing me the power of VFX. There are so many aspects to it and so many unreal ideas that can be incorporated, it’s genuinely as amazing as I imagined and I don’t know if I can ever go back!
What do you hope people can take away from your music?
I hope that people can feel the emotion that’s gone into it and that they can relate to that in their own way, musically or lyrically or otherwise. As I said, I try not to go into too much detail about each song, I don’t want what it means to me to be the only thing that it can mean and to take away any potential connection, so that’s very important to me
If you had to describe your overall sound and vibe in one word, what would it be?
Euphoric.
And finally, what are you most excited to do next in your career?
I’m excited to release the rest of this body of work! I have so much more ready to go and all lined up, it’s been a journey and I can’t wait to share it with everyone and get back to singing it live for you too!