Where creativity meets connection
HotWax are a band set on experiencing life at its most intense. In the past two years, the Hastings-via-Brighton trio – Tallulah (vocals/guitar), Lola (bass), and Alfie (drums) – performed over 180 shows, honing debut album Hot Shock, a record of adrenaline-jolted anthems about abandoning fear and leaping towards the future. The band recorded at London’s RAK Studios, capturing the ‘explosion of colour’ energy of their gigs. HotWax play loud and with abandon, but have a vulnerable pulse underscoring their songs. It’s this balance that see HotWax en-route to become the UK’s next big crossover rock act.
As this uncompromising trio prepare to rock Brighton’s The Great Escape, we grabbed them for 12 burning questions...
Welcome to The Great Escape 2025! How does it feel to be part of a festival known for launching new talent?
Hey, thank you! It feels great, it’s always such a good feeling to be apart of any line up packed with so many great upcoming bands, especially when it’s in Brighton, feels like home and its gonna be a lot of fun to see so many familiar faces, it’s gonna be special.
For people discovering you for the first time here in Brighton, how would you describe your sound in three words?
Passionate dirty guitar
What’s the journey been like getting to this point — playing a showcase in front of new fans, press, and industry folk?
It’s been a packed, full-on on exciting journey. We played Great Escape in 2023 before we had even released our second ep. Since then, we have toured so much and gained a lot more confidence and recently put out our debut album. Playing at an industry festival is always nerve-racking but a hopeful cool way to meet new people.
Do you approach a showcase festival like this differently from a typical gig or headline show?
Not really no, you always wanna put the most energy and love into all these things equally, you want it to feel real.
The Great Escape is packed with new sounds and fresh faces — Will you have a chance to discover any other artists at TGE, or any that you want to see?
I really wanna see Carne, Goodbye, Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Picture Parlour, The Pill, Slag, The Molotovs, Tvod, Witch Post. But its always crazy busy so we will see what we fit in.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given as an emerging artist in today’s music scene?
Just to really stick to your guns and believe in what you are doing, never stop writing and playing the music you love, it can be so easy to get swayed in this industry but you will be unhappy if you don’t trust your instinct.
Brighton has a buzzing creative vibe — have you explored the city before or been inspired by it in any way?
We are from Hastings which is an hour away and went to music college there where we met Alfie our drummer. We started playing loads of shows there when we were about 17 and met so many likeminded bands in the scene at the time like city dog, honey badger and mindframe. It was the first time we really felt a sense of community with people our age. Brighton has definitely inspired us and I love spending time there.
What’s one thing about your live performance that people might not expect until they see you on stage?
Alfies not a woman and we know how to use our pedal boards
If someone only had time to listen to one of your songs after the festival, which one should it be — and why?
I would say chip my teeth for you, it was the first song we recorded when recording the songs at rak for the album and the feeling I had sat in the control room listening to it was so exciting. It was really the first time I have been so so happy with the way something sounded, and I think that song sums up the album quite well and our sound at the moment, quite chaotic but heartfelt and guitar driven.
How important are festivals like this for breaking through in the music industry today?
I think really important, it really gives a chance to so many bands to be seen by people who have power to help them and push their career further. It is also important to check out the alternative escape shows too, there are so, so many amazing artists playing that every year. when we first played great escape in 2023 we met lots of people and did lots of our first interviews and things and we now have lasted connections with those people.
What’s next for you after The Great Escape — any releases, tours, or surprises on the horizon?
After the great escape we will be announcing more dates, we have a summer of festivals and writing and planning more things for the future. There is more coming xx
Finally — complete the sentence: “The Great Escape is the perfect place to…”
Drink morning cocktails, get ur steps in and watch an insane number of bands.
Hotwax play Brighton’s Fabrica (3:15 pm) and Chalk (8:15 pm) on Fri 16 May, as part of The Great Esacape 2025
Image by Louise Mason
SALT Staff Writer
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