Hawthonn

British duo Hawthonn produce drone-folk and ritual ambient drawing from esoteric and occult themes. Their haunting, dream-like music incorporates electro-acoustic sound design, ominous organ drones, and ethereal vocals. In addition to numerous self-released recordings, 2018's Red Goddess (Of This Men Shall Know Nothing) and 2021's Earth Mirror appeared on the Brooklyn-based Ba Da Bing label. Based in Leeds, Phil Legard and Layla Legard formed Hawthonn in 2014. Both had previously created music and photography together, and Phil had released numerous albums as part of Xenis Emputae Travelling Band, Ashtray Navigations, and several other projects. The name Hawthonn was created in reference to the Hawthorn tree as well as the late Jhonn Balance of Coil, the duo's primary musical inspiration. The duo's self-titled debut appeared in 2015, with both members credited as playing fox-skull and spiricom in addition to electronics, accordion, harmonium, field recordings, and vocals. Additional players included cellist Simon Bradley and vocalist Lovernios Legard. Early downloads of Hawthonn included the bonus release Holophones, as well as a PDF file documenting the album's creation. Sea​-​Spiral Spirit, a collection of previously unreleased material, appeared in 2016. Red Goddess (Of This Men Shall Know Nothing), an album focusing on themes of feminine energy and menstruation, was released by Ba Da Bing in 2018. A cover of Coil's "Fire of the Mind" surfaced on Halloween, and the meditative drone piece The Well Head appeared the following month. The duo issued the live recording Ystwyth in 2019. A cover of Enya's "I Want Tomorrow" was released in 2020, with all proceeds donated to bail and mutual aid funds, and racial justice organizations. Vulva Caelestis, a collection of unreleased material and tracks which previously appeared on compilations, was issued in 2021. The duo also released a split album with COLDSORE&1Ö; Hawthonn's piece, "Kelco Jökulhlaup," was partially recorded in the Greater Kelcow cave in the Yorkshire Dales, U.K. Hawthonn returned to Ba Da Bing with the full-length Earth Mirror, inspired by occult magick and witchcraft.
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