Hello Humans,
We’ve just finished 13 shows of the Hana Piranha "Heart of Darkness" tour, starting in Edinburgh and finishing last night London, and I wanted to sit down and mark it properly before the tour haze clears and I'm on to the next thing.
Every tour I complete (and there have been many) comes with it's own joys and challenges. And this tour felt very significant.
For the first time in my career I was part of a four act, all female-lead bill including HVIRESS, Emberhoney, Catherine Elms and Hana Piranha, and that was something really quite special.
Backstage conversations ranged from hormones to burnout to trauma to navigating the industry as women making some quite unusual and dark alternative music. Then we’d walk out and every night, and channel all of that into a show. There was a lot of mutual respect and shared experience, and the whole group (boys included) really bonded by the end of it and we're all quite sad it's over!
It will be nice to get back to regular showers, a normal bed and some kind of routine but being part of a little tour bubble for a while is so good for the soul.
Speaking of soul, the shows themselves were electric but also intimate. In this strange era of streaming and AI taking over our creativity, standing in a room of real people choosing to be present is radical. Some fans had travelled for miles to see us and it was lovely to make lots more face-to-face connections.
Personally, I always feel very at home on stage, and it was nice to wield the bass and cut my teeth on the new songs.
We also released our new single and video Valentine during the tour, which if you haven't seen - watch it now, it's got a killer ending ;)
Anyway, each night Emberhoney and Catherine joined us on stage for it, creating this layered choir moment that became my favourite part of the set. It brought me back to my church choir singing days, but a darker, witchy version.
As I wrap up this February chapter, my next "Behind The Veil" Video episode will feature the best (and worst!) bits from the tour and give you an idea of what it's really like to spend that much time on the road...
Also, if you don't know Catherine Elms or Emberhoney, I highly recommend their music.
On a more personal note, I’m experiencing some fairly intense physical and mental health issues that are developing, and it’s been challenging. There were days on this run where I was hanging on by a thread, but still got up on stage each night. I’m proud of myself for doing that, and I'm forever grateful to be touring with my friends who have been nothing but supportive.
There’s no decompression window either. Tomorrow I go straight into a teaching residency in a prison in Lancaster, so I’ll be largely unplugged from the internet until the end of the month. I wanted to check in here before that happens, and I'll pop back up when I'm on the other side.
In the meantime, you can expect my new EP "Marcelle" to be released at the end of the month, along with a big announcement, as I will be rebranding and relaunching Patreon with a fresh 2026 perspective! It's exciting!
Thank you for being here and supporting me in this way. Touring is never easy but it is only possible because you exist and continue to be part of my Patreon community.Thank you.
Love,
Mishkin