Hina is the project of singer and multi-instrumentalist Amy Boroevich. Her latest single release Go So Well is a quirky soul track from the Aucklander’s 2020 EP ‘Muse’, which sees Boroevich playing around with vocal delivery and musical style. She spoke to Sam Smith about the inspiration behind the song and her neo-soul sound. 

Amy Boroevich makes music under the name Hina. She writes, records and produces everything, and in her own words is a one-woman show.

“I find it really satisfying. I can just sit in a room by myself and get this thing that I don’t have to outsource anything or wait around for people to finish up things. I am trying to branch out from this though and write with other people, because I feel like it is important to. But, yeah, being able to do everything myself, I would recommend that to people who are coming up.”

This largely solo method has served her well so far and is how she produced her latest neo-soul styled single. Go So Well is a simple but quirky song, which sees Hina mirroring the best of the current crop of female UK soul singers.

“I was listening to a lot of UK pop-soul singers I suppose. People like Cleo Sol and Jorja Smith. I was kind of like, ‘I am going to write a song that I want to listen to.’

“I would say I mimic a lot of different influences. I listen a lot to soulful female singers, but then my friend told me the other day that she can hear the way I pronounce some words is like Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day. I used to be obsessed with Green Day when I was younger, so that has obviously rubbed off!”

Go So Well was inspired by real-life moments involving Boroevich’s family and partner, with separation, loss and leaving key themes.

“My dad used to travel heaps for work when I was younger and it really sucked as a kid to have your dad away for weeks on end, and then back for a bit and then away and then back. Now my boyfriend travels for work too and does the same thing, so I was like, ‘Oh no it’s a recurring theme!’

“My favourite lyric in the song is in the second verse. It’s not particularly poetic or anything… Basically, it is ‘… take me back to the first time drinking wine off the roof of your car.’ It was one of our first dates where we went to Leigh and just drank wine. A memorable moment!”

Boroevich says writing this type of song was a way for her to work out how the feeling of losing someone over and over again was making her feel. She has an unplugged live version of Go So Well to accompany the single release, something she wants to explore more of moving forward.

“I am going to try to do more live session videos. I would love to keep the live thing going because I enjoy it.”

Made with the support of NZ On Air Music.