HAAi on Community, Connection, and the Heartbeat of 'HUMANiSE'

With her new album HUMANiSE on Mute, London-based, Australian-born artist HAAi dives straight into the heart of what it means to feel alive in an increasingly digital world. It’s a record built on contrast – human warmth versus machine precision – but at its core, it’s all heart.

Where her debut Baby, We’re Ascending felt like reaching toward the sky, HUMANiSE brings things back down to earth. For the first time, HAAi’s voice sits front and center – vulnerable, powerful, and unfiltered. She looks inward to her own story: growing up queer in small-town Australia, finding freedom on the dance floor, and building a chosen family that holds her up through it all.

Featuring close friends and collaborators like Jon Hopkins, Alexis Taylor, Obi Franky, KAM-BU, ILA, James Massiah, and the TRANS VOICES choir, the album feels like a love letter to community – and to the people who make the chaos of life feel beautiful.

In this Beatportal interview, HAAi opens up about rediscovering her voice, revisiting her roots, her tight-knit crew and the importance of staying human when the world keeps getting louder.

You’ve brought your own voice front and center on this album. What made you feel ready to really sing your heart out on HUMANiSE?

It just felt like the right time, you know? I’d sung on Baby, We’re Ascending, which I don’t think many people are super aware of, and I came up singing in shoegaze bands so it wasn’t completely new, but my intention was different this time. Most importantly, HUMANiSE is all about connection and what it means to be human in a world that’s becoming more digital by the second, so using my own voice felt like the most human thing I could do for the story of the album.

The list of collaborators is stacked – from Jon Hopkins and Alexis Taylor to KAM-BU, Obi Franky, and even choirs. What was the most surprising or exciting moment that came out of working with so many different people?

I think just how naturally it all came together. Everyone on HUMANiSE is a good friend and many of them – Jon, Alexis, Ila, Obi, Kam-Bu, Quinta – I’d worked with before, so it felt like pulling together this big, slightly chaotic family. There were moments where the energy in the room just clicked in such a beautiful way - like when the TRANS VOICES, Alexis and I spent a day in The Church Studios recording vocals for New Euphoria and Satellite. Hearing their voices fill the studio was a magical moment. 

I adore working with Jon. It’s always so special because I'm in awe of him as a musician but we’re also great friends that share a similar humour and outlook on life. So we can be completely ridiculous together – and there are some completely ridiculous easter eggs in HUMANiSE – but then switch into deep focus when it’s time to make music. That balance of humour and seriousness always leads to something special.

Every collaborator brought their own energy into the record, which makes it feel really alive and delivers the humanness I was trying to illustrate with the concept. What’s equally lovely is that they’ve all been part of the prophet outside of the studio too to really help bring HUMANiSE to life. Almost everyone is in our live performance film from Drumsheds. Kam-Bu recently joining me on Jools Holland, and Alexis, Obi and I just recorded a BBC Maida Vale session today. 

On HUMANiSE you revisit your childhood in Bunbury. How did digging back into those early memories – from growing up queer in a small town to reflecting on family – shape the emotional weight of the album?

It was cathartic in some ways, definitely emotional but also felt like something I was ready to bring into my music. We’re nothing without our past and our stories. I also hoped that by sharing some of my experiences that some people might see themselves in some of them too.

“Hey!” is essentially a love letter to the club, and between slower, introspective moments like “Go” and “Stitches,” there is an abundance of dance floor euphoria that shines throughout the album. After playing wild sets everywhere from Coachella to Glasto to your own UNiSON parties, what’s one dance floor moment from 2025 that still gives you goosebumps?

Hey! Sure is a special one and highlights my forever love for the club, even in a non club focussed album. This year has been such a rollercoaster tbh and it’s hard to narrow it down. One recent very special moment was in Portland, where I played for my very first time. It was a Thursday night and the club could fit about 150 people in it max. It was such a magic vibe start to finish. Dark, sweaty, I was on the floor with the crowd, which is my preferred way to play. I just loved every second. Special mention also goes to both Making Time Festival in Philly this year, and especially to Dave P! One of the most special festivals in the world in my opinion. Also very special mention to Convenanza – a festival founded by Bernie Fabre and Andrew Weatherall. I was asked to play a four hour set. I dug so hard for this and played one of my favourite sets in my memory.

You’ve called this album a thank you to your trans and queer family. How does that sense of community and love show up in the songs – and what do you hope listeners feel when they hear it?

It shows up in some of the stories, "Go" is about  growing up queer in my home town. Also the collaborators (Ila, Trans Voices, Kaiden Ford) were such an integral part of the album and its heartbeat. "HQ" (feat. Kaiden Ford) talks about our circle of friends (we call ourselves “smooches”) and the place we all spend time together - “Smooches HQ.” I think if you listen heard enough you’ll get the feeling.

In a world where tech is pulling us further apart, HUMANiSE insists that the value of “your people” can’t be replaced. Who are “your people” in this moment, and how did they help shape the spirit of the record?

Oh, my people are the smooches. However I feel I have so many incredible connections with people who I’ve met over the years on the road and at shows. This connection to me is just so important and such a big part of what I adore about my job. 

HAAi's album HUMANiSE is out now via Mute. Listen below and buy it on Beatport.