Hachiku – I’ll Probably Be Asleep

When a close friend took an in-advance listen to Hachiku’s debut album, I’ll Probably Be Asleep, she had one question for bandleader Anika Ostendorf: “‘why are you so angry?’” It’s not the first reaction that most people would have to the Melbourne-based outfit, whose dream-pop jams – dewy guitars, rickety drum-machines, layered ambience, topped off with Ostendorf’s oft-breathy voice – would seem to contain no sharp edges.

Ostendorf left for London to study biology, and then, fatefully, spent a year on exchange in Melbourne, with an eye on the city’s famed music scene. Whilst studying, she interned at Milk! Records – the local label made world-famous by Courtney Barnett – from which she took DIY ideals, a strong sense of musical community, and a record deal. After returning to London to finish a degree she was no longer that interested in finishing – both out of her own stubbornness and at the behest of Milk! boss Jen Cloher – Ostendorf returned to Melbourne and released the first Hachiku EP.