Interview: HINA's Debut Album 'Descending Dreams'

HINA is on a roll, earning a prestigious Top 20 finalist placing for the 2026 APRA Silver Scroll Award | Kaitito Kaiaka with her standout single 'Coucou!', and today sharing with the world her debut album Descending Dreams. The songwriting project of Amy Boroevich (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Raukawa), HINA's first ever long player was recorded with producer Navakatoa Tekela-Pule and engineer Paddy Hill at Roundhead Studios. The stellar cast of contributors also includes James Milne (Lawrence Arabia), Dave Khan, Tiare Kelly, Stenn Frances-Deare, Hamish Milne, De Stevens, Finn Scholes, and a string quartet featuring Sandy Niu and Olivia Wilding.

Out today at good record stores and via new digital platform Lume, HINA spoke with interviewer Tasha Tziakis via Zoom about the genesis of Descending Dreams, her personal growth as a songwriter, next week's launch event with full band plus special guest Na’amah, and more...

HINA: Descending Dreams - Album Release Show
with special guest Na’amah
Thursday 6th August - Kāhui St. David's, Auckland
Tickets on sale HERE via UTR

Tasha Tziakis: I wanted to start by asking a little bit about how the album itself was built. As you are a multi-instrumentalist, as well as vocalist, what was that like delegating and sorting out all the different components in that recording process?

HINA: Interestingly I did all the initial writing and demos just at home, literally in this room. And then when it got to the actual recording, (I) just handed over the reins to the producer of the record, Navakatoa Tekela-Pule, and he pulled together this all-star band of incredible musicians.

It was really humbling and inspiring because I was like, “Oh, this is better than anything I could have ever made myself.” These people play their instruments so much better than I may ever play them. So that was kind of the playing process.

We (Navakatoa and HINA) worked together on the post-recording stuff, pulling together harmonies and extra instrumentation. And then the strings came together. We sort of halved it down the middle. Then the mixing was quite collaborative too with Paddy (Hill).

With the live band that you are playing with at Kāhui St. David's, is it the same band that helped you record or is it a different band?

There's two original recording members. Hamish Morgan is on the drums and he recorded the album. And then Dave Kahn is doing all the things that Dave Kahn does, like electric guitar, pedal steel, viola, the works.

Two new additions who didn't record on the album is Fenn Eichner — we met playing together in Anna Coddington's band — and then Fran Patacini. Fran and I met sort of through music, but the first time we played together was with Arahi.

It's always nice having those collaborators kind of come in and out and do those different kind of formations because it adds flavour to everything.

On Descending Dreams, 'Coucou!' is now a Silver Scroll Award nominee!

It's so crazy to think about.

How's that journey been for you? As somebody who has been a performer for so long, what do those kinds of accolades or nominations mean to you now in your practice?

When I first started out as a songwriter, I always thought of Silver Scrolls as like the pinnacle of songwriting in Aotearoa, which, yes it is. Along the way, I've sort of been thinking, "Oh, I don't need external validation. I don't need other people to validate my art." But man it helps. It feels really quite surreal.

I'm like, "Me, really?" Alongside a raft of just legendary songwriters at the moment. So it's really meaningful, very inspiring, and also like stoking the fire under me to keep going, I guess. Because it can feel like you're sort of just putting things out there and hoping for the best.

A track that I would really like to talk about, because the title really grabbed my attention, 'Hope Has Teeth'. What is this song about?

This one in particular is about how I feel like a lot of people, including myself, see hope as this force of optimism. Something that can be really empowering and keep you buoyed along in the river of life.

But this song is kind of about how hope can be really destructive as well and keep you holding on longer than maybe you should have — thinking that there's some kind of honour or valour in holding onto stuff that hurts you. That, I guess, can be extended to the rest of the record. A lot that is seemingly positive and optimistic on the surface is maybe not all that it seems.

I'd love to talk a little bit about aesthetics. Through what you wrote on your Substack; this album is: "Unintentionally a record of love, but it's also becoming a record of return." You wear a leotard so often in these visuals. Is this a kind of returning to an inner child of some capacity?

I think unintentionally! The leotard almost didn't happen in a way. Because when I did the photos for the album with Ebony Lamb, it was my second go at getting photos done. I'd already tried earlier in the year and they were beautiful photos. They were amazing, Francis Carter took them. But the album had changed and morphed even just over that period of time, they were like a whole different world.

So Ebony and I tried again. I kind of just thought, "Oh, I'll just take this leotard and tights." And I mean, it might not be anything, I had all these other outfits. Then we got to the end of the day. I said to Ebony, "Oh, look, I've got this random idea, maybe we could try it." She was like, "Wow, yes, perfect, put it on’. There's some photos from that shoot that we instantly were like, "That's the shot, that is the shot."

We talked about why, and she'd obviously listened to the record before coming to the shoot. She was saying how there's sort of a vulnerability, a softness and a bareness to the outfit while showing the form and the shape of the body without it being sexualised.

It's more like a presentation of the self. It's just me being very honest and vulnerable, which I do in my writing. It kind of made sense to do it in the imagery. Funnily enough, I did ballet as a kid. I've sort of returned to that as an adult. Then (it) kind of ties into the whole arc of one's life, so to speak.

For the people that have been listening to you since day one, what are you most excited for them to hear in the album, now that you're passing off the interpretation to them?

I'm most excited for them to hear how my writing has changed, and how collaboration has influenced the sound. From my first EP, that was just me alone at home. My writing — there was a bit of metaphor and stuff — but it was quite literal. It was just about my experiences and kind of one lens.

Now in this album, there's multiple lenses of different perspectives, all sort of layered on top of each other. Then obviously you just get the wonderful maximalism of what everyone else contributed. I'm excited for them to see growth.

Would you say that this is your most ‘full’ sound that you've had in your discography so far?

Definitely, yeah. I think it's really funny when I first started, I was talking to Nava, and I was like, "I really think I want to do a real minimalist album." And he was like, "Yeah, cool." Then the more we got into it, we were like, "Oh, this is really not minimalist at all. This is huge."

There's seven people in here.

[laughs] There's seven people in here. There's a four-piece string quartet to go on top.

With the album release show on the 6th of August, you are having Na’amah opening for you. Have you known them for a while? How did that kind of collaboration start up?

I forget when exactly I met Na’amah. I think I met her through Fran, because her and Fran are friends. Then I think I saw her play guitar and sing live first. It was just like it was an incredible moment. I said in the caption of my Instagram caption, it was love at first listen. It seriously was, there’s such a special thoughtfulness with how she writes on guitar, and her lyrics and her melodies.

I remember listening and thinking, how does anyone not only play and sing together at the same time like that, but write like that? Where do you begin to think to write like that? She makes incredible, beautiful music. She has a very still, calming presence. I'm really excited for people to experience her and her music first. I think it'll really settle everyone after a work day.

I love that. Is there anything else that you'd like to leave us with today, Amy?

Vinyls!

Will they be available to purchase at the show or can they pre-order on Bandcamp or other platforms?

Both actually. They'll be live on Bandcamp. And they'll be in JB Hi-Fi and Flying Nun. But yeah, Bandcamp's probably the best place to get them or they will be for sale at the show. I think I'll just sit out the front and chat to people.

Oh beautiful!

You know, be like one of those old school medieval vendors.

Clanging a bell.

Yeah. That's too funny.

Thank you so much and have a lovely rest of your night. Stay cozy, but you look pretty cozy as well already.

I've never done an interview in a dressing gown. This is a first.

I think you should do it more, it's a real flex.

Yeah, I think it's like, I've set the standard now. I can't go back.

And it matches the album colour aesthetics. This is all just branding, bro.

Thank you. You've totally validated my dressing gown. I'm like, yeah, it's the brand. It's cozy. It's intimate. It's warm. It's perfect.

'Descending Dreams' is out today on vinyl LP and major streaming platforms.