London-based electronic duo HONNE like to expand their horizons when they're on tour, so their tour rider often requests a local treat from whatever city they happen to be visiting.
Trying a new food that's specific to each town gives bandmates James Hatcher and Andy Clutterbuck a chance to find their new favorite snack — or just make an interesting memory. "In Taiwan, we had some...plum juice?" Clutterback recounts, turning to Hatcher for verification.
"It reminded me of a cigarette," he continues. Hatcher agreed: "It had a very smoky flavor to it."
Sometimes their local delicacies come straight from fans. As the duo explain in their episode of Herbal Tea & White Sofas, they recently organized a creative new way to get suggestions from those who live in each city they play.
"We plotted all our venues on Google Maps," Clutterback says. "We've just asked our fans to recommend their favorite places, whether that be restaurants or bars or cafes or parks, whatever it is."
But even the most adventurous eaters occasionally just want familiar comfort food. For the HONNE guys, that's a classic brunch item popular in their hometown. "At the risk of sounding like real hipsters, a sourdough loaf, something like that, will just hit the spot," Hatcher quips. "If you've got some avocado, you can go full-East-London avocado on toast, with a bit of salt and chili."
HONNE are currently on a North American tour through the end of May, and they'll hit Australia and New Zealand in September. If you catch them on the road, be sure to suggest a local hotspot for the pair to visit. In the meantime, enjoy this episode, and keep checking back for more installments of Herbal Tea & White Sofas.