An interview with Tanukichan
Hannah van Loon talks about her new EP 'Circles', her Incubus fandom, becoming an "accidental shoegazer," opening up big tours for Melanie Martinez & Alvvays, and her love for building decks.
Hannah van Loon is such a big fan of alt-rock veterans Incubus that it has become one of the better-known facts about her. When she sits down to write a song with that band’s surf-bro anthems in mind, she somehow creates gauzy, fuzzed-out shoegaze symphonies. I don’t really understand how she does it.
Releasing music under the name Tanukichan, van Loon never planned to make music that fell into the domain of shoegaze. She credits her friend, producer and collaborator Chaz Bear (aka chillwave pioneer Toro y Moi) as the one who suggested her sound to feature layers of soft-edged guitar fuzz and whispery vocals. Together they recorded her 2016 debut EP, Radiolove, along with albums Sundays (2018) and GIZMO (2023), but now it’s time for van Loon to move out from under Bear’s shadow.
After serving as the support act playing arenas and amphitheatres for the likes of Melanie Martinez and Alvvays in 2023, Tanukichan has made a quick return with her new EP Circles. She found a new partner to work with in Franco Reid, a producer and fellow Incubus enthusiast who thought they could cook up something special. Reid was right about that, helping van Loon channel those Mike Einziger riffs first for a quick one-off, last year’s “NPC.” And we get five more songs that make up Circles, including one featuring current shoegaze darling Wisp, who no doubt had Tanukichan on her mood board when it came to sculpting her own TikTok-boosted sound.
Your bio says you learned the guitar through playing songs by The Beatles and Incubus. If that’s true, how did you get into making noisy guitar pop as Tanukichan?
Honestly, Chaz [Bear] had a lot to do with the sound. When I started my project, I just had some songs that sounded kind of different. Some of them were similar, and then Chaz was like, “I'll produce your EP,” and I was, “OK, sick.” So he took the songs and pushed them in a new direction..
So you didn't go into the project having a certain sound in mind?
Not exactly. I don't know. On one of the earliest EPs, the song “Tomorrow,” Chaz definitely added more noise to it, but that is closer to what I started with.
Did it sound like any music that you were listening to?
A little bit. But sometimes I feel like the stuff I make is pretty noisy, and there's a lot of stuff that is prettier. Like on Sundays, there are a lot more cleaner guitars and synths. I don’t try to make shoegaze exactly, but it ends up there. I think part of it is just what works for the songs and the way my voice sits. I want to write music that has a certain intensity, you know, but my voice is so fluffy. But it works with the harshness of the guitars and brings it to the place that it wants to be.
So you're kind of an accidental shoegazer?
Yeah. I love My Bloody Valentine and stuff like that. I definitely listened to them a lot, but that wasn’t my intent. Not exactly.
Tanukichan is often called a collaboration between you and Chaz, however, you didn’t work with him on Circles. What led to that decision?
Well, Franco [Reid] just DM'd me and he was like, “You're wearing an Incubus shirt. Do you actually like the band?” And I was like, “Hell, yeah! I love the band!” But it was just funny because the tour before that I was hella listening to Incubus in the van and my band was always putting on their headphones. So he hit me up randomly and we started writing some songs together, trying things out and it just felt really easy working with him. But also Chaz can be really busy, so it just worked out with Franco. He was always sending me ideas and being super proactive. I was really rolling with it. So we came up with a bunch of these songs and we were like, “This should be an EP.”
Some random person messaged you and asked you if they could work with you. How often do you reply to requests like that?
It depends. Sometimes I do and it's kind of cool, and sometimes it's kind of weird. You never really know until you get into it. But he just seemed chill. Plus he had played drums with Halsey and stuff, but he's just into production now.
What did that mutual interest in Incubus bring to the studio?
You know how you said I’m accidental shoegaze, well, sometimes it's kind of like that where we’re like, “Oh, this direction is really sick.” But then I'm not a rap-rock singer, so then it ends up having elements of that and whatever works. Maybe not on the first two songs that came out, but there's another one called “Low” that definitely has Incubus-style riffs on it. There's that alternative element in there, I would say.
Were you trying to do that or did that just come out of you?
I don’t think we were explicitly ripping stuff off, but intentionally aiming for this direction and going for that vibe.
Have you ever tried covering Incubus before?
I haven't but that would be fun. Maybe I will do it someday.
I don’t really know Incubus. They’re a bit of a blind spot for me. What am I missing?
That’s hard to say. I feel their music is cringy, with super-positive lyrics delivered so emphatically. The guitar playing is so sick though, and the rhythms are really complicated, but it's still pop music. It's pretty fun and I think their sound is unique.
Was there anything you were trying to do differently with Circles from GIZMO?
Interestingly on GIZMO, I was intentionally trying to do something more nu-metal-influenced. Like with the song like “Don't Give Up,” I was trying to go more in that direction. And I think with Circles, I was letting it do whatever and just trying to have more fun with it.
Did that kind of freedom come with working with Franco because he was new and maybe offering different ideas?
Yeah, I think so. It was also just like a different time. I was writing GIZMO over the pandemic and I was burnt out from touring, so it was a weird time for me. But for Circles I was writing it after touring so I was back in a good place. Even songs, like “It Gets Easier,” I was saying it real fast and thought it was a throwaway song. I didn’t care about it that much. But Franco thought it was cool, so I kept it. Sometimes I get way too analytical, and a song has to be a certain way. I just needed to be a little more light-hearted with it.
I feel like the EP is an underrated format often overshadowed by the LP. At least in the past it was. What made you decide to release Circles as an EP instead of holding on to these songs for another full-length?
Well, I think I just wanted to put something out again. And it was also the first time working with Franco on something. So I think that was part of it too, just to tackle something smaller where we were saying, “We're just going to do this and then put it out.” And not have it be a bigger endeavor. I'm just trying to keep things rolling.
How do you feel about shoegaze becoming such a widespread trend in music?
It's interesting to see that it's still gaining steam. I was kind of like, “Oh, I thought we already did that.” I think it's cool. I feel like for me, like you said, “accidental shoegaze” is a good way of putting it. What I do is not super intentional. I feel like I get a little lumped in there, which is fine and cool, but it’s not necessarily what I'm trying to do.
Do you feel like you're part of any scene?
Yeah. In the Bay there are more people doing it now too. I think I want to try to to differentiate myself more. But I think it's cool that people are into it and they can still find ways to make it interesting.
How did you first hear that your music was considered shoegaze?
I think it was from a writer, and so people started calling it that. I remember when we were making Sundays, we were definitely referencing ’90s music, like Chaz was into Smashing Pumpkins. I mean, it doesn't sound like the Pumpkins, but it sort of ended up in that place, maybe of a similar era.
One artist who identifies as shoegaze that is getting a lot of attention now is Wisp, who guests on “It Gets Easier.” She has blown up really fast. How did that collaboration happen?
That was just Franco. He was working with Wisp and said, “Maybe we should get her on a track?” And I was so down for that. Plus she is similar, so I was super down. This sounds kind of lame, but I thought, “Great! I don't know how to sing a verse on this song, maybe she can do the second verse.” The timing worked out and she already knew my music and stuff too. But we haven’t actually even met even though she’s in San Francisco. She worked with Franco in L.A. to track the stuff. We've talked a little bit but she’s just touring a lot.
Last year you played dates with Melanie Martinez, who I’m familiar with because my daughter is a big fan of hers. How did you find performing to more of a mainstream, younger audience like hers?
It was cool. I didn't know how that was going to go either. It was definitely nerve-wracking singing in front of 8,000 people every night, but I was surprised at how people responded to it. I tried to pick songs that I thought would maybe fit a slightly more pop aesthetic. They were down with what I was doing. It went over really well.
Right after that you did a big tour with Alvvays and Alex G, which I saw you play. What did you take away from that experience? I imagine that tour felt more relatable for an artist like yourself?
I was so excited for that tour. I really like Alvvays and I'm just a huge Alex G fan. So that was a dream come true. So sick. It was really fun. It's kind of scary playing shows like that, but I was just really happy that I was there. It was a great opportunity. It’s pretty sick opening for Melanie Martinez, but this just felt more appropriate, because of the similar styles.
I was listening to the Talkhouse podcast where you and Chaz were chatting about woodworking. Is that a hobby or is that a job?
Oh yeah, I’ve worked in woodworking for a long time. I’ve been focusing on music the last year or two, which is awesome, but it was always half and half: woodworking and music, for many years.
Did you build custom pieces for customers?
I was freelance, so I would work with some people on other jobs, but my main thing was building decks, which I really enjoy actually. But I made custom doors for like this artist couple. That was kind of fun. It was something a little more complex made out of solid mahogany. And I make furniture for myself sometimes.
So if you ever get tired of music you have something to fall back on.
Yeah. But I also just really enjoy it. Like I see myself kind of bringing it back in other capacities when I can. I like the design aspect of it too and the practicality and the mathiness of it. The detail orientedness is kind of fun.