HONNE On Their Return To The Philipines And Working With RM

HONNE’s return to the country, for a three-city stop no less, couldn’t have come at a better time.

HONNE is no stranger to the Philippines. The British duo has been in the country multiple times, with each visit serving as another treat for their Filipino fans. But their return to Manila last May proved to be something even more special. Not only did the trip end their four-year hiatus from the Philippines, but it also included stops in Cebu and Davao, a rare occurrence for international artists. And, most especially, HONNE’s Manila concert marked the first time they’ve held a solo show in the country. Yes, believe it or not, this was HONNE’s first time to headline a stage by themselves.

It was a moment not to be missed by their fans, which is why thousands of them flocked to a packed Araneta Coliseum for what became the sweetest of reunions. The inclusion of their long-time touring partner, BEKA, as an opening act, was the cherry on top. Before HONNE got on stage at Araneta and wrapped the Coliseum in pure vibes, they sat down with NYLON Manila for a quick chat where they opened up about their Manila reunion, working with BTS’ RM, new music, and more. See what they had to say below.

How’s it like being back in the Philippines?

HONNE: Really, really great. We’ve missed it a lot. 2019 was the last time we were here. So, four years. And yeah, it’s just we’ve instantly sunk back in and I feel like we’re back at home. It’s lovely.

How is it different from the past times that you’ve been to the Philippines to being back now in the country?

HONNE: Well, we’re locals now. I think this is the first show that we’re playing that’s our own show ever in the Philippines. We’ve done festivals and we did this kind of joint show with Anderson .Paak a little while ago. But yeah, this is our first proper show where we brought our own stuff and have been able to do our own production. We’re excited to put it on.

Why do you like the feeling of having your own show? Do you feel that you have more freedom?

HONNE: We’ve obviously spent a lot of time working on the production and all that stuff. And when it’s a festival or a joint share with someone else, we can’t necessarily do all those things that we’ve worked on for tonight, for this show in Manila that we’ve got. We can do all of it [now]. And yeah, we’re very excited.

Which part are you most excited about?

HONNE: In terms of songs, we’re looking forward to Free Love, Day 1, and Location Unknown. All the oldies.

So, your Asia tour sees you perform not just in Manila, and also in Cebu and Davao How did that come about?

HONNE: Someone suggested it. And we were like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ We’d love to see more of the Philippines. I think we’ve always seen people writing on our social media, like, come to Cebu or come to Davao, every day over the last few years. So, we were like, okay, there must be a bit of a demand for it.

Becca is joining you for the Asia tour. How is it like getting back on the road with her again?

HONNE: I mean, she’s like one of our best friends back home as well. And she’s supporting us tonight as well. She’s playing her own set before us and her music is amazing. She puts on a great show. I’m excited for our fans and I’m sure some of her fans are here tonight as well. They’re going to enjoy seeing that.

We’re big BTS fans. And one of our favorite songs from BTS is produced by you guys. So, what is it like collaborating with RM and will we see anything more, potentially with BTS?

HONNE: I mean, we’d love to yeah. We’ve done seoul obviously with RM. And we have a great connection with him and we’re speaking to him quite often. I think he trusts us with his music and with what he wants to do. So I think anytime that he’s looking to work on a record, it seems like he will always approach us, which we’re very happy about because we’ve loved working with him. They’re all very sweet and if a BTS thing were to come along, we’d happily say yes.

Music-wise, what can fans expect from HONNE next?

HONNE: We just moved into a new studio space together because, in the past, we’ve often written separately. We have a studio together and we really enjoyed the experience of working together on stuff, not just doing it all on the internet. So, we’ve got a nice setup. That makes us feel excited to get in there and we’re working away. We’ve written quite a few songs already. And hopefully, there’ll be some new music this year and within a few months probably.

Interview conducted by Elyse Ilagan

Photos by Vel Cordova

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