Hannah Lew

Hannah Lew
Genres
Instruments
  • Bass
  • synthesizer
Years active2007-present
Labels
  • Crime on the Moon
  • Night School
Member ofCold Beat
Formerly ofGrass Widow

Hannah Lew is a Bay Area-based musician, filmmaker, and visual artist best known as the bassist and co-vocalist of the post-punk trio Grass Widow (2007–2013) and as the founder of darkwave group Cold Beat (~2012-present).[1][2][3][4] She also runs a record label, Crime on the Moon,[5] and co-founded Contact Records, a record store in Oakland, California.[6] Her self-titled solo album was released on April 10, 2026.[7][8]

Early life

Hannah Lew is the daughter of Rabbi Alan Lew. Her family moved often when she was a child. At one point, her family lived in New York City during the week, went to Monroe, New York on weekends, and "lived in the basement for Shabbat."[9] Her family moved to San Francisco when Hannah was 11, just after the Loma Prieta earthquake.[10] Alan Lew later became the leader of Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco, California.[9]

Lew started her first band at age 19. She worked as a visual artist until the September 11th attacks changed her perspective. Lew wanted to "do something that was accessible, that everyone could have."[11] Early in her career, Lew worked at a video store called Lost Weekend. In her twenties, she played moog synthesizer in a band, The Insides, where she was the only girl.[1]

Grass Widow

Main article: Grass Widow

Lew co-founded Grass Widow with Raven Mahon and Lillian Maring in 2007.[10] In one interview, Lew described the band's process as highly collaborative, adding, "We collaborate on songs, each writing parts and all singing. We have band meetings where we make decisions together. We don't have a band leader. It's a very empowering project and it takes a lot of work."[1]

Cold Beat

Main article: Cold Beat

Lew started Cold Beat after the death of her father, when she felt the collaborative style of Grass Widow (which was already on hiatus) would not work for her.[9] She had also written songs that "didn't feel like Grass Widow songs."[3]

Filmmaking

Lew has directed dozens of music videos for her own bands and other acts, including Erase Errata, Tony Molina, and The Mantles.[12] She has also made and released several short films. In 2009, she received both the Leo Diner and Robin Eichman Awards for her short films Stoplight and Over the Hill.[13]

Other projects

Lew released San Francisco is Doomed, an anthology of local bands, on her label Crime on the Moon.[10] She released a self-titled album in April of 2026, which was named Bandcamp's "Album of the Day" the same month.[7][8]

Discography

Solo

Cold Beat

Albums

  • Over Me (2014, Crime on the Moon Records)
  • Into the Air (2014, Crime on the Moon Records)
  • Chaos by Invitation (2017, Crime on the Moon Records)
  • Live Studio Recordings (2017, self-released)
  • Mother (2020, DFA)
  • War Garden (2017, Like LTD Records)

Other releases

  • Worms/Year 5772 (2013, Crime on the Moon Records)
  • A Simple Reflection (2018, Dark Entries)
  • Year Without a Shadow (2021, self-released)
  • Double Sided Mirror Remixes (2021, self-released)
  • See You Again (2021, self-released)
  • Mandelbrot Fall (2021, self-released)

Grass Widow

Studio albums

Other releases

  • Grass Widow (2009, Captured Tracks)
  • Milo Minute 7" (2011, HLR label)
  • Disappearing Industries (2012, HLR label)

References

  1. ^ a b c NPR.
  2. ^ FADER 2014.
  3. ^ a b SPIN 2014.
  4. ^ "WAMU's Bandwidth Presents: Cold Beat". NPR. June 29, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
  5. ^ SF Weekly 2015.
  6. ^ Contact Records.
  7. ^ a b c Stereogum 2026.
  8. ^ a b c Bandcamp 2026.
  9. ^ a b c Silvers, Emma (December 6, 2013). "With dad's legacy as inspiration, rabbi's daughter uses music to heal". Retrieved April 10, 2026.
  10. ^ a b c SFist 2014.
  11. ^ The Creative Independent 2019.
  12. ^ Lew, Hannah. "Music Videos". HannahLew.com. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
  13. ^ Lew, Hannah; Stewart, Chris (April 10, 2026). "Hannah Lew and Chris Stewart Just Want to Connect". Talkhouse. Retrieved May 22, 2026.

Further reading

Wikiquote has quotations related to Hannah Lew.

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