For Hinabi, music was never part of the plan. A lifelong writer and poet, she stumbled into songwriting almost by accident, only to discover an unexpected ability to turn fleeting moments of inspiration into emotionally charged melodies. Now, with new music on the horizon and a growing ambition to bring her music to audiences around the world, she is determined to do things her own way.
Within minutes of speaking to emerging singer-songwriter Hinabi, it becomes clear that she approaches almost everything with an unusual combination of enthusiasm, conviction, and a belief that things will somehow work out. She talks about music, love, and the universe with equal measures of excitement, frequently interrupting herself with new ideas and laughing at her own unconventional approach to the business of becoming an artist.
Hinabi’s arrival in the music industry was hardly conventional. Describing herself as an ‘accidental artist’, she explains that music was never something she had actively pursued. Writing, on the other hand, had always come naturally. A lifelong poet and writer, she had little intention of becoming a singer, let alone embarking on a career in pop rock. “Everything that I do, my poetry, my community, my essays on love, and most importantly, my music, is all about true love,” she explains. It is an idea that now sits at the centre of her artistic identity, informing not only her songwriting but the wider creative world she is building around it.
Her forthcoming record, which she describes as cinematic pop rock, is conceived as a journey through the different stages of love. The record is deliberately varied in its musical influences, moving between rock, ballads and pop-driven sounds. For Hinabi, however, the emotional narrative always comes first. “This is the emotion. This is the story. And so, how can we shape the sound to make it feel like this?” she says of her creative approach.
The emotional connection between artist and material is something she is reluctant to relinquish, even as she prepares to bring the songs to a wider audience. Her forthcoming single, ‘Renegade’, is perhaps the clearest example. Written on a happy day, the song emerged from an imagined version of future heartbreak. Hinabi recalls sensing that a particular emotional experience might eventually unfold and feeling compelled to capture it in music. Its lyrics are devastating, yet the response from listeners has surprised her. When she has shared the track with others, many have described it as hopeful. For Hinabi, this has become an example of music’s ability to carry emotions beyond the circumstances in which they were created. “Once it’s out there, it is ours,” she says. “That’s my perspective on it.”
There is a refusal to fit neatly into the expectations of the music industry. Hinabi is conscious that artists, particularly women, are often encouraged to cultivate a recognisable image or adhere to a particular sound, but as an artist she is largely uninterested in the exercise. Her music can be theatrical, playful, emotionally vulnerable, or rock-driven, while her aesthetic embraces different aspects of her personality and womanhood. “I am everything. I am all of these things,” she says. “I can talk about love and loyalty, and I can talk about attraction and sex. You know, that is part of true love still.”
Rather than waiting for the traditional industry machinery to create a pathway, she is interested in finding new ways to bring her music to audiences. Central to this is the relationship she has developed with her bandmates, drummer and band-leader Dylan Yules and multi-instrumentalist Kaye Syposz. The trio came together through auditions, with Hinabi asking musicians to interpret her vocal demos and develop the musical arrangements around them. What she found was a creative partnership built on mutual respect and a shared understanding of her musical ambitions.
Their next challenge is to bring the music to life on stage. Having spent much of the development process recording demos and collaborating remotely, Hinabi is now preparing for her first live performances and the release of her single. The intention is to create something more personal than a conventional gig: an opportunity to bring people together, share stories and explore the different dimensions of love through music.
When asked what she hopes listeners ultimately take away from her music, Hinabi’s answer is characteristically straightforward: “That true love exists for every single one of us, and there is light at the end of the heartbreak.” It is an optimistic message, but one that does not shy away from the pain that often comes first. If anything, Hinabi seems interested in the relationship between the two: the heartbreak that changes us, the self-discovery that follows, and the possibility of finding something meaningful on the other side.
For someone who describes herself as an accidental artist, she is remarkably intentional about the kind of music she wants to leave behind. Fame and chart positions are not the ultimate ambition. Instead, she hopes to create songs that endure, creating the sort of music people return to at different points in their lives. Whether she is writing about heartbreak, celebrating the possibility of new love or imagining the next ambitious musical project, Hinabi is determined to follow her instincts. She has already spent enough time questioning whether she belongs in the industry. Now, she is more interested in discovering just how far the music can take her.
And if her enthusiasm is anything to go by, she has no intention of doing things by halves.
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