In 2020, whilst the world ground to a halt Hippo got to work, with late night jams over zoom birthing a beefy new album ‘New Normal’ set for release in Spring 2023. The phrase new normal emerged at the start of the global pandemic, with the realisation that things would never be as they were before. Not just in global health, but in the political rhetoric, environmental demise, and across borders and international relations. A new normal also brings the promise of hope - we may not return to as we once were, but perhaps we can make changes for the better…

The music on ‘New Normal’ examines the world through this lens, and features heavy collaborations, earnest melodies and a tangle of enticing grooves, stirred into the trio’s bubbling froth of textures and tones.

Honk! has so much that we love about it, but not least that it guest features the monstrous talents of Gary Alesbrook! I’ve had the pleasure of playing with Gary in bits and pieces for the past decade, so to finally get to include him in our music was such a treat. We tracked the bulk of this live all together in between lockdowns, desperate to get it in quick before the next one came along.

Come for the Hippo, stay for Gary’s peerless playing.

Fun fact: after recording this with us, Gary left immediately to record some cutaway music for BBC One’s Bargain Hunt