Seven Questions With Hotgirl

Irish quartet Hotgirl have been making waves on the indie scene with their stellar rise ever since the unveiling of their debut single 'Jam' in just 2023.

Having recently released their powerhouse cut 'On The Brink', we chat with lead singer Ashley about all things Hotgirl, their upcoming project and opening for The Libertines as part of the Seven Questions with Music Is To Blame Series.

Introduce yourself and where you’re from. 

I’m Ashley, lead singer and songwriter from Hotgirl. I’m from a town called Drogheda in County Louth, a wee county an hour away from Dublin. It’s quite a rundown town with lots of abandoned buildings and shopping centres, but there’s finally a bit of a scene starting up with venues like McHughes hosting lots of gigs and events like a night market with live music called Spiral. There’s a cool local record store called Big Moon Records who host in-stores also. A guy I know from college started a night called Torann and they bring acts from around the country to play with local bands. The rest of hotgirl are based in Dublin! It’s cool to be able to play with them in my hometown sometimes, like a meshing of two worlds.

What do our readers need to know about you?

I guess people are always surprised that I didn’t grow up on rock music. I’ve always wanted to be a singer, but I never knew what I wanted to sing. I grew up on RnB and afrobeats, and in my final year of school I found out about BIMM and went there to study and that’s where I found out about this whole world of rock music that I had batted off for song long, assuming it was all just screaming, sad men like it seemed on the surface. But I fell in love with it and a bunch of other stuff that most other students grew up on. I think that coupled with my past love of singing along to RnB records is what gives hotgirl a bit of an edge.

What have you got coming up that you’re most excited for? 

We’re releasing our second project ‘Blast Off’ in April. I wrote the songs between the release of our first project in December 2023 and June 2024. At this time I was going through a very transitional period, coming out of a tumultuous relationship, no job, no money. But music was what kept me going, especially after such positive reactions to the first project. When we found out we were going to record with Neil Kennedy at his studio in Southampton, I started writing about what was going on in my head, or in my subconscious. Lots of unburied feelings finally came to the surface and I’m excited about letting them go into the void.

What’s the best run-in you’ve had with a fan?

This isn’t really a ‘fan’ run in story, but during that time when I was unemployed and broke, I also lost my phone and obviously couldn’t buy a new one. I was at the bus stop and needed to ring my dad for a lift, so I asked this girl who looked around my age. She kindly let me use it and afterwards she asked me if I was in Hotgirl and said our music came up on her Spotify! I was very embarrassed, but continued to ask strangers for their phones. 

What’s been your biggest ‘I’ve made it’ moment so far?

Playing in the Olympia Theatre opening for The Libertine’s was insane start to finish. The best day ever.

What are your three “desert island” albums?

The Juliana Hatfield Three ‘Become What You Are’

Sorry ‘Anywhere But Here’

Elliott Smith ‘Roman Candle’

Sum up your sound in three words

True Rock Religion

Lana Williams

@_lanaajade

Image: Niamh Barry

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