Photo by Anna Paul
The self-titled debut album by Spike is something of a joy despite its melancholy…
The synthpop project of Hannah McLoughlin, her delightfully odd take on songwriting, sampling and interpolation provides a fresh playful take on electronic avant pop seeded by that uniquely British eccentricity, managing to turn an appearance by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli on ‘Sesame Street’ singing to Elmo into catchy electronic pop as on ‘Tiquetonne’!
A captivating live act as Spike, McLoughlin channels her nervous energy into macabre disco dealing with the undead and the inhuman, with a deadpan electronic cover of Warren Zevon’s ‘Werewolves Of London’ a highlight connecting to intrigued new audiences.
Hannah McLoughlin kindly spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about the thought processes involved in making the debut Spike album.
What inspired you to create Spike as essentially a synthpop project away from your more experimental beginnings?
Synthpop is something I’ve created alongside all my other work for a long time, it’s always been in sometime I return. After a long time making freeform work, improvisation, soundscapes etc, I had a very strong urge to make a pop album, embrace song form and fill it with synth sounds I love. This album is a love letter to synthpop.
What sort of synthpop do you like? Who has been most influential in the song-based side of your work?
One of my all-time favourite albums is Roger Doyle’s ‘Operating Theatre’, I also love Rose McDowall’s ‘Cut With A Cake Knife’. In terms of contemporary synthpop, Hannah Lew’s recent album is one of the best I’ve heard in a very long time.
Are you quite traditional in your songwriting process?
Yes, I love working with song form and almost always play with some variation of a classic verse / chorus / verse structure. I normally write songs on my keyboard before beginning the recording and production phase. I usually like to ensure the harmonic structure and melodies are right before I add all the stylistic stuff. Lyrics are the hardest part for me, so I often opt for a word salad approach and see what phonetic shapes best fit the melody.
What particular technological tools and instruments do you like to use in the creative process?
My set-up is very simple; I use logic, my MicroKorg XL and occasionally sample. I have a streamlined set-up where I have a palette of sounds that I like and can work on production quickly and easily. I’m not much of a gear fanatic, I tend to see this as a distraction from the work. I opt for sampling when I get bored of my palette. “YouTube to MP3” is my friend for this.
You have managed to stamp your own personality on your cover ‘Werewolves Of London’, how did the idea come to fruition?
This was initially meant to be an original song. I had the whole verse / chorus structure lined out but was stuck when it came to the melody and lyrics. The only thing I could think of for the chorus was “Awooo Werewolves of London”. I figured I won’t come up with anything better than that and so it became a cover. It was very fun to pick out my favourite lyrical moments from his song and shape it into my own version.
‘Disappear’ appears to borrow the hook off PET SHOP BOYS ‘Heart’, was that intentional?
I remember working on ‘Disappear’ and thinking how it was a very PET SHOP BOYS sounding song. After I finished it, I heard ‘Heart’ on the radio for the first time in many years and realised how much I’d taken the riff from them! I don’t mind though as again it’s my own version of it, somewhere between a reference and a sample – both devices I use a lot in my songwriting.
The striking ‘Tiquetonne’ interpolates ‘Con Te Partiro’ aka ‘Time To Say Goodbye’, it is a bizarre blend of styles but it works, how did that take shape in your head and then as a production?
I’d almost finished the song when I remembered a clip of Andrea Bocelli on ‘Sesame Street’ singing a lullaby version of ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ to Elmo where the lyrics are changed to “Time to say goodnight”. My song is about insomnia so I thought it would be funny to sample this and I then I added a version of the melody as a synth solo in the song. I recently heard the song ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’ by BACCARA, a disco favourite of mine, and realised how much the opening sounds like she’s singing ‘Time To Say Goodbye’, I feel like this might’ve been where I got the idea that the Bocelli melody would work in a disco context.
How did you become interested in using an EWI live, what is it like to use?
I was at the pub a few years ago and spoke to someone who told me about an EWI. I play the flute so getting a synth version of this was a very exciting prospect and I ordered second hand EWI USB off eBay as soon as I got home. I now use it in almost every live set for an unreleased song called ‘Second Sight’. It’s very fun to use as it has a pitch bend and sometimes the software glitches while I’m playing, making it sound more crazy.
You have made videos for ‘Werewolves Of London’, ‘Disappear’ and ‘Dying On The Vine’, how important is this visual aspect of presentation to you?
Making music videos is one of my favourite things about releasing music. As a solo artist, this is one of the few times I get to collaborate with people, and I always like to work with one of my very talented friends. Last year I became obsessed with 16mm film and wanted to work exclusively in this magical medium. It’s very expensive so I can only do it occasionally, but to me it’s the most beautiful form film can take. If I had an infinite budget I’d only ever work with 16mm.
Whereas you have embraced video, your engagement with social media is more limited, how are you navigating the necessary promotional aspect of Spike?
I tend to only post when I am releasing something or when I have a show. I definitely embrace the less is more approach to being online and I think this has its benefits compared to over posting. Doing gigs is, for me, the funnest way to promote myself.
What is ‘Dying On The Vine’ about?
‘Dying On The Vine’ is about holding on while things fall apart, or the moment you realise you have to let go even when you don’t want to. I borrowed the title from my favourite John Cage song, it’s a beautiful phrase.
‘Unending’ references Ursula Le Guin’s Sci-Fi novel ‘The Left Hand of Darkness’ and ‘Event Horizon’ has this black hole narrative, what fascinates you about space and the galaxy?
I am a huge science fiction fan and find the imagery very inspiring. In my album, there’s mentions of time travel, outer space and the supernatural as well as sonic nods to retro-futurist synth works.
With ‘Fortuna’, this is a knowing instrumental tribute to Delia Derbyshire and Daphne Oram, is soundtrack work something you would like to get into? What are your favourite soundtracks?
I’ve worked as a film composer for several years and am currently recording for my first feature film. It’s my favourite avenue for drawing upon my more experimental approaches that are less fixed in form, where texture and raw sounds are the focus.
As for my favourites, of course I’d like to shout the legendary Wendy Carlos for conjuring such eerie depths in her classical reworks and original compositions. I love David Shire’s paranoia thriller scores of the 70s. I recently watched ‘Love Is The Devil’ and adored the dark ambient score by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
‘No More’ is almost like a hymn, what influences did you take in for that?
I like that it sounds like a hymn, it is a kind of farewell song. The alternative title for this song is ‘The Ballad Of The Retired Grifter’. It’s a song about when the jig is up, the parties over, the end of an era. I’m referencing the Irish folk song ‘Wild Rover’ when using the words “No never no more”. I listen to a lot of minimalist female folk from the 60s / 70s so this is my synth version of that kind of songwriting.
The ‘Spike’ album closes with the glorious angelic oompah of ‘You’re Missing’, was it important to end your first album with such a statement?
This song is the emotional peak of the album so wanted it to end with a bang. I also like how the first track is called ‘Disappear’ and the last song is called ‘You’re Missing’, like someone has vanished into another dimension. I sampled real thunder and used it as a transition effect leading into the final chorus, I wanted it to reach dramatic heights for the finale.
Do you have any favourites tracks on the album and if so, why those?
From a songwriting perspective, I think ‘You’re Missing’ is my favourite song, it feels closest in feeling and style to what I set out to create. I also love ‘Unending’ because of how all the pieces of this song came together. I had the chorus melody in my head for a long time. It wasn’t until I found an old tape loop of myself playing flute that I began building the song, and found a home for that chorus melody.
What’s next for you, either as Spike, yourself or in collaboration?
I’m writing a lot at the moment and have a good chunk of album two written. I’m mainly excited to do shows and go on tour, I’m touring with THE TUBS in the autumn and also planning some US shows. I love travelling and performing so my main aim is to do as much of that as I can. Meanwhile, at home I am continuing with scoring work and I’m also running an experimental music night with my friends called ‘A Shopping Trip To Remember’.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to Hannah McLoughlin
‘Spike’ is released by Gob Nation as a vinyl LP and digital release, available from https://gobnation.bandcamp.com/album/spike
Spike plays The George Tavern, Stepney Green, London E1 0LA on Saturday 5th September 2026 – tickets at https://dice.fm/event/k6y37o-spike-lp-release-show-5th-sep-the-george-tavern-london-tickets
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Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
29th August 2026
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