Today we’d like to introduce you to Hang Him To The Scales

Hi Hang Him, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

Hang Him To The Scales was established in Brooklyn, New York in 2021 Summer. It was a period filled with uncertainty and depression. The band was formed as a way to escape or simply keep us occupied. Like many other indie bands, we started off as a regular weekend hobby, practicing once a week while everyone else worked full-time or being full time students.After spending a year hiding away in our $180/month rehearsal studio, we started playing live shows around mid-2022. Being an all-Asian band somehow makes us stand out from the NYC indie music scene. We’ve been excited to have performed at a lot of venues (including Terminal 5 recently)in NYC and beyond including two sold-out shows as well as indie music festivals like the New Colossus Festival 2023, Moonvibez MusicFest 2023, and Bacchanalia Festival 2022. We’ve been through some roster changes and the band evolves as it continues its journey. Hang Him To The Scales currently has 7 members with Will on drum, Loto on Guitar/Vocal, Lezhang on guitar, Yena on bass, Francis on vocal/chorus, Shangguan on keyboard and Xiran on the traditional chinese instrument called Pipa. We’re proud to share our second official EP titled “You May (not) Ask” released on May 27th 2024.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

Not at all. All the band members have jobs or school so making time for writing music, rehearsing and playing gigs is not always easy. We want to reach more listeners and fans, but as an indie band, we struggle to get exposure. Hang Him To The Scales is still very much a small band in New York; however, we are passionate about what we do and will continue to promote and play as much as we can.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

We are now a 7 piece band including drum, guitar, bass, drum, keyboard and the traditional Chinese instrument Pipa. We specialize in making shoegaze and dream pop songs. Incorporating Pipa and other Chinese instruments is a big part of our music and brings something different to the shoegaze scene.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?

As a band that mainly writes songs in English, we’ve taken a risk in releasing an entire EP in our mother tongue, Chinese. There’s uncertainty with whether this will reach the right audiences, but May was AAPI month, and we would like to do something special while embracing our own cultural identity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/hhtts
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hhtts_band/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hanghimtothescales
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/hhtts

Image Credits

Projewel.cheng
frameyourlovephotography
lezhang wang
ashleyart_art
norino_shi