(Serena Hussain - LVMAG)
Hannah Williams & The Affirmations appear on Jay-Z's thirteenth studio album “4:44”. His title track is bodied around “Late Nights & Heartbreak” which is also the title track of Hannah Williams & The Affirmations’ latest album, released by Record Kicks last November. Jay Z’s album, produced by No I.D. declared that he purposely pitched Hannah Williams & The Affirmations’ song: “I put this sample (that) it starts off with, “I find it so hard/When I know in my heart/I’m letting you down every day.” I remember him hearing it and looking at me like, sighing”. Quoting Jay-Z: '4:44 is the crux of the album… it's such a powerful song and I just believe one of the best songs I've ever written”. This in depth and candid podcast conversation between #LVMAG’s Editor Serena Hussain and Hannah Williams not only records her reaction to the sudden interest in their music, but her thoughts on the music industry, being an Artist, and experiencing another ‘break’ at this stage in her career. “A series of breaks and luck” creating a long and gratifying career. “Late Nights & Heartbreak” has been recorded backed by her new band from Bristol “The Affirmations” at Quatermass Studio in London, the HQ of the British cult band The Heliocentrics and has been produced by legendary UK drummer Malcolm Catto, also known for his work with among the others, Mulatu Astatke, Orlando Julius, Floating Points, Quantic, Dj Shadow and Madlib.Hannah Williams exploded onto the soul scene with her debut album a Hill Of Feathers in 2012. The first single “Work it Out” was an independent hit on the airwaves all over the globe and the official video has garnered over 1.5 million views on YouTube. The story of Hannah Williams seems to be written in lore from day one. Her father was a musically gifted minister and her mother let her join the church choir at the age of 6. Hannah could read music before she could properly read words. Now she's an unstoppable force of incredible, once-in-a-lifetime talent.
