Honne’s music has been described as ‘futuristic soul’
Synthax Audio UK catches up with producer and musician James Hatcher, one half of the electronic-based soul group Honne, to find out how he’s getting on with his new RME Babyface Pro audio interface.
Honne are an electronic duo who have been gaining a lot of recognition of late. With releases on record labels Super Recordings and their own imprint Tatemae Recordings, their output has been consistently well received by both fans and critics alike.
Having met at university, musicians Andy and James began jamming immediately. After working on various projects together they eventually settled on the name ‘Honne’, a Japanese word that roughly translates as ‘true feelings’ or ‘true self’.
Their music has been described as futuristic soul, combining guitars, synths, drum machines and vocals to produce lo-fi grooves and a smokey, late-night sound (comparisons have been made to James Blake).
Regularly cited as ones to watch by members of the music press, the band have played many a sold out gig across the UK, Europe, USA and Canada, and performed at the BBC Introducing stage at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2015. They’ve also been a feature at festivals such as Field Day, Latitude and The Great Escape Festival 2015, and supported British-Ghanaian singer-songwriter Kwabs on his UK and European tour.
James was kind enough to speak to us about his experiences using RME’s newest audio interface the Babyface Pro, along with the RME Fireface 802 that the band uses for their live shows.
The RME Fireface 802 makes up a key part of the band’s live rig
He started off by giving us a quick description of his process.
James: We both write, record and produce the tracks ourselves. I’ve been using the RME Babyface Pro as the audio interface for recording our current EPs and forthcoming album. I only need a small and simple setup as we don’t record live drums (it’s all 808s/Dave Smith Tempest etc).
I use some outboard pre’s / EQs too, so above all I was after something small and reliable, and also easy to transport and power in case we needed to take something to record on the road eventually.
We’ve used RME for gigging and for recording for a long time, and I know a lot of other musicians who use RME interfaces, so I was excited to finally get hold of the Babyface Pro! I’m really enjoying it. The volume wheel is the most enjoyable bit, ha. It just works so well.
Synthax: Which other pieces of RME have you been using?
James: We use an RME Fireface 802 for live. We take it everywhere we go and it’s proving to be very reliable.
“We use an RME Fireface 802 for live. We take it everywhere we go and it’s proving to be very reliable.”
Synthax: Any other interesting bits of gear in your studio?
James: In terms of instruments, I’m recording a Dave Smith Prophet 08 & Tempest, Nord keys, Moog Prodigy, Roland Rhythm 77, guitars and basses, all going through some 500 series gear – Meris Pre’s, API EQs & Compressors/limiters. Running on Logic out into some Adam Monitors. It’s all pretty straight forward but it does the job well.
Synthax: Can you tell us a bit about how you’ve found the RME in terms of reliability and feature set?
James: We’ve found both bits of gear to be incredibly reliable so far. We like products that are functional, but also look smart and neat, and RME are always great on that front. As I said before, my favourite feature on the Babyface Pro is the volume wheel. It feels great to use and works exactly as you’d want it to. You’ll understand if you try it!
Synthax: And finally, what made you decide to go with RME?
James: Probably mainly word of mouth. Lots of our friends are musicians and RME regularly seems to be the interface of choice.
James says he’s a big fan of the wheel found on the Babyface Pro, which is used for controlling a range of features
Our thanks to James / Honne. The band’s latest release, ‘Gone Are The Days EP’, is available now.
For all related news, upcoming shows and tour dates, check out the Honne website, or follow the guys on Facebook and Twitter.
To find out more about the RME Babyface Pro, click here.
To find out more more about the RME Fireface 802, click here.