Dublin-based electronic producer Hannah Worrall has delivered her five-track debut EP In The Belly of The Mother. Released under her artist name SPOOKLET; Worrall’s work sees her traverse ambient soundscapes and high-tempo club grooves whilst simultaneously bending genre to work with some of the biggest names in Irish hip-hop and dance; including the likes of SLOUCHO, Silverglass, and Reason To Dance, the self-titled ‘optimistic dance label’ run by Dåser & Fionn.
In The Belly of The Mother sees SPOOKLET dive inwards into the depths of her own purpose, with her development manifested throughout the project as she slowly reveals herself to be a multifaceted being. “As a new artist, it’s hard to build a world visually and sonically. I’m trying to create a character” Worrall explains as she chats to Goldenplec ahead of the project’s release.
“Spooklet is its own thing so I want to create my own world and I hope that through the music, the video, and the artwork it helps create this thing that is Spooklet and what it represents.”
As it’s Worrall’s first major project under the SPOOKLET name, it’s been an intriguing process as she worked to push herself out of her comfort, not only in the textures she was developing musically but also with the more corporate aspect of releasing music including networking, going to industry events and doing everything she could to have her music heard. On top of this, she has also filmed a performance film which has been released track by track in the run-up to the project.
Dryeyes headline show at the Grand Social 22/05/24. Photo taken by Matt Gorman.
Worrall wasn’t always certain, however, how she wanted to frame the performance film and spent a lot of time ahead of recording considering how best to capture her creative vison.
“There’s this idea of being in the womb and reflecting inward, so we covered all the walls and the floor with fabrics to provide that sense of it being one body and being wrapped up in something, a sense of intimacy and vulnerability in a way”.
Born into a musical family, Worrall always knew she loved performing, and that music would play a major role in her life in one way or another. She started writing songs at 11, but knew they weren’t very good. She moved from France, where she was born and grew up, to Dublin at the age of 17 to study in BIMM.
While in Dublin, she was part of the popular rock band Toygirl, and it wasn’t until towards the end of the band’s life that she began learning to produce music, with the help of one of her bandmates who taught her how to use Ableton.
“That was really helpful,” Worrall admits, “because I need someone to point out even the simplest things because I never know how to form the questions to even ask Google”.
When Toygirl ended, she decided to start releasing her solo material under SPOOKLET, with the first single ‘Toughen Up’ coming out in 2022. The name was taken from her Mum’s nickname for her since she was a baby and, in Worrall’s own admission, “once you see it on a poster or on Spotify it looks right, but until then it just sounds a bit weird”.
In The Belly of The Mother features some of SPOOKLET’s most courageous work to date, including the gorgeous ‘Playground’, the third of the five tracks. The track features audio of Worrall’s sister telling her family members about her and her partners engagement.
“It was originally supposed to just be an interlude, a snapshot of that time” Worrall explains, “but it kind of just became a fully-fleshed track I now perform live. The first time I performed it I was really having to try hard to hold back the tears but now it’s a regular in the setlist its just part of the set”.
Her parents are big admirers of the song, which helps as well. “They heard it before it was even finished” Worrall laughs, “It was really sweet showing them. Because I’d produced it and wrote it, the specialness of it wore off but it was really special to see them listen to it for the first time it refreshed the magic of it for me. They really liked it, there may have been a few tears but they tried to hold it together”.
As In The Belly of The Mother is released, Worrall’s attention has already drifted to what’s next, including an idea for a potential remix EP which she wants to get other artists involved in. She has called out for producers and artists to get in touch if they’d be interested in messing around with her work.
“If anyone thinks they could make something cool with it let me know!” she laughs, before noting that beyond remixes she has already begun work on her next few singles. “I’m looking forward to getting a chance to get back to writing after getting out of the business flow of releasing the project. My sound is definitely changing, getting a bit more experiment and a bit darker so it’s a shift from what people have heard so far”.
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