The HAIM sisters on soul-baring songwriting and their most recent album

Alana, Danielle and Este, the Californian sisters who make up pop-rock band HAIM, talk to PORTER about soul-baring songwriting, making it on their own terms and how they quickly adapted to make their most recent album a success. When their tour was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, the band took it on themselves to launch their album with Zoom classes and instrument lessons: “I feel like we are in a super-cool exclusive club that no one wants to be in – everyone who tried to put out a record during quarantine should at least get a T-shirt. But seeing a thousand people across the world dancing to moves you made up did feel pretty heart-warming,” says Alana Haim.

The tour for Haim’s latest album, Women In Music Pt. III, was announced before the pandemic, and Alana explains that they had to quickly adapt: “We had all these plans. We were going to do a tour right across America, only playing delis, then go to England, then Australia. We played one deli in New York, then got to Washington DC, and that was when lockdown became a reality. We took a flight home on March 12 and have been here since.”

Alana continues to talk about how they took their plans into their own hands: “Even my body was like, getting in to tour mode. It was like, ‘Here we go, get ready to eat Pizza Hut and chicken wings for two years. […] Any crazy ideas we had, we were like, ‘Let’s do them’. There were no rules. We had to work out how to release this album, we really went back to the drawing board.”

Alana talks about how it has not been easy being a woman in the male-domiated world of rock music and why being the first female band to be nominated for Best Rock Performance at the Grammy Awards means so much: “The amount of times we have been told ‘No’, or that it wasn’t going to work, or people have told us how to play or dress, or that we should look differently… It feels like every step forward, we had to take five back. We could have given up so many times, but we kept going – and we did it on our own terms. No one gave us a roadmap on how to get here. But here we are.”

The album garnered wide acclaim and the band received their first nomination for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Este describes how it came to fruition: “We were in a such a crazy and reflective place. We had been on tour for so long. We are so lucky we get to do what we do, but we were on a hamster wheel and I think we thought that when we left to go on tour, we also left our problems behind. Well, we know that’s not true. Eventually, you have to confront what you are running from. And it just so happened that we decided collectively to do that after touring our second record. Depression, health scares and the loss of a loved one – it all came to a head. It was time to talk about it, and we did. And I don’t think it’s ended [by] writing the album. One of the lessons we learned is that it’s a life-long process to work through stuff.”

The trio found the writing process easier and more fluid than their previous two albums, explains Este: “Songwriting is like a tornado, and we pray it blows through. It used to make me laugh, when I was at UCLA, that there were songwriting classes. But there’s not one way of writing a song. I know our process is very different…”

Alana suggests that they each approach songwriting differently: “My songwriting style is, ‘Why not write a song about a booty call? And 3AM was born! That was a great day for my whole family. We don’t have secrets, but I do think my sisters want there to be!”

Danielle talks about how the band often collaborate with self-proclaimed “fourth Haim sister” Taylor Swift, who added a verse to their song Gasoline: “She has always loved that song, so we thought it would be cool if she reimagined it. We texted her and she replied straight away. The next morning it was in our inbox.”

Alana talks about their childhood, growing up in San Fernando Valley and its sense of community: “I feel like we are Valley folklore now, rather than specific LA folklore. Growing up in the Valley, you’re kind of the butt of everyone’s joke – everyone thought you were super-uncool and had no idea what was going on. But it also gave you a unity; our producer Ariel is from there – when you find out someone else is from the Valley, it’s like, ‘I got you’.”

For PORTER’s shoot, HAIM were photographed by Olivia Malone and styled by Sean Knight, wearing Dries Van Noten, Stella McCartney, Khaite, Gabriela Hearst and more. All items can be purchased straight from the shoot via the NET-A-PORTER app, available on Android as well as iPhone and iPad, and through net-a-porter.com.

Interview highlights

Alana Haim on launching an album in a pandemic: “I feel like we are in a super-cool exclusive club that no one wants to be in – everyone who tried to put out a record during quarantine should at least get a T-shirt. But seeing a thousand people across the world dancing to moves you made up did feel pretty heart-warming.”

Alana Haim on quickly adapting when the pandemic hit: “We had all these plans. We were going to do a tour right across America, only playing delis, then go to England, then Australia. We played one deli in New York, then got to Washington DC, and that was when lockdown became a reality. We took a flight home on March 12 and have been here since.”

Alana Haim on how the band took plans into their own hands: “Even my body was like, getting in to tour mode. It was like, ‘Here we go, get ready to eat Pizza Hut and chicken wings for two years. […] Any crazy ideas we had, we were like, ‘Let’s do them’. There were no rules. We had to work out how to release this album, we really went back to the drawing board.”

Alana Haim on being a woman in the male-dominated world of rock music: “The amount of times we have been told ‘No’, or that it wasn’t going to work, or people have told us how to play or dress, or that we should look differently… It feels like every step forward, we had to take five back. We could have given up so many times, but we kept going – and we did it on our own terms. No one gave us a roadmap on how to get here. But here we are.”

Este Haim on how the band wrote their most recent album: “We were in a such a crazy and reflective place. We had been on tour for so long. We are so lucky we get to do what we do, but we were on a hamster wheel and I think we thought that when we left to go on tour, we also left our problems behind. Well, we know that’s not true. Eventually, you have to confront what you are running from. And it just so happened that we decided collectively to do that after touring our second record. Depression, health scares and the loss of a loved one – it all came to a head. It was time to talk about it, and we did. And I don’t think it’s ended [by] writing the album. One of the lessons we learned is that it’s a life-long process to work through stuff.”

Este Haim on how the writing process for this album was easier: “Songwriting is like a tornado, and we pray it blows through. It used to make me laugh, when I was at UCLA, that there were songwriting classes. But there’s not one way of writing a song. I know our process is very different…”

Alana Haim on how they each take a different approach to songwriting: “My songwriting style is, ‘Why not write a song about a booty call? And 3AM was born! That was a great day for my whole family. We don’t have secrets, but I do think my sisters want there to be!”

Danielle Haim on collaborating with Taylor Swift: “She has always loved that song, so we thought it would be cool if she reimagined it. We texted her and she replied straight away. The next morning it was in our inbox.”

Alana Haim on growing up in San Fernando Valley: “I feel like we are Valley folklore now, rather than specific LA folklore. Growing up in the Valley, you’re kind of the butt of everyone’s joke – everyone thought you were super-uncool and had no idea what was going on. But it also gave you a unity; our producer Ariel is from there – when you find out someone else is from the Valley, it’s like, ‘I got you’.”

To see the full interview, head to PORTER or download the NET-A-PORTER app for iPhone, iPad and Android.

See also: Model Aweng Chuol on being a ‘camp Black woman’ and breaking down barriers