Gretel Hänlyn

Name, where are you from?
Gretel Hänlyn, Acton, West London.

Describe your style in three words?
Eclectic, dynamic and grungey.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
Probably the first one I went to, which was Take That on 'The Circus' Tour when I was about nine. My mum took me and we had to leave at 10pm coz it was a school night. I didn’t understand gigs and what it meant at that point, and it probably wasn’t actually the best gig I’ve been to, but it was the first time I’d experienced anything like that before.

If you could be on the line up with any two artists in history?
Jeff Buckley without a doubt. To be in the same room as a voice like that and to hear it for myself would be an honour, let alone to be in a line up. I’d also say The Stooges coz Iggy Pop is such an outrageously rock n roll performer. Apparently, he used to get his d*ck out a lot and really piss off his crowds. Brilliant.

Which subcultures have influenced you?
Growing up in London, I guess I’ve been influenced by quite a lot of different cultures and subcultures. The most obvious one is probably grunge though, it’s influenced every part of my life, from music to clothing. Not attitude though, I’m still a bit too nice.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
Lou Reed. It’s a hard question coz you never know who is actually going to be interesting and who you’re going to get along with until you meet them, so I’m not dying to meet anyone in particular. I chose Lou Reed though because I love hearing a story. There’s a reason he was such a great lyricist and I think it’s coz he just had so many stories, and he often played storyteller in his songs.

Of all the venues you’ve been to or played, which is your favourite?
The Omeara. The architecture and details are beautiful and really complement great music. I went there to see Tamino in 2018 and combining a venue like that with a voice like his was ethereal.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
Sibylle Baier. She’s a German folk singer/actress who recorded an album’s worth of incredible songs in the '70s but never released anything while she was alive. Decades later her son compiled the recordings into a CD for family members but it got released in the end. Her voice is so Germanic and beautiful and her approach to songwriting was so interesting, it’s not like anything I’ve heard before.

Gretel Hänlyn recently released her new track 'Apple Juice', taken from her forthcoming EP 'Slugeye' which is due for release on 5th May 2022.

Gretel will also perform her first headline show at Bermondsey Social Club on 10th May 2022. Tickets are now sold out but details can still be found here.