the performer & artist
Iago Haussman is THE SPIKES. A singer, songwriter, poet from Rome, Italy, who is currently living and recording in the United States.
THE SPIKES debut, a self-titled EP, featured the much talked about single, GUNS FOR THE CHILDREN. His latest LP, the critically acclaimed FIRST LIGHT, has been praised by music publications worldwide. THE SPIKES music video for GARDEN SONG continues to rise beyond 120k viewers on YouTube.
Iago Haussman is also a painter and sculptor, whose work has shown in galleries. He co-founded the punk band Delicate Prey at age 16.
THE SPIKES music is available on Apple music and Spotify.
“With First Light, Iago Haussman, the genre-defying force behind The Spikes, delivers a record that feels less like a debut and more like the arrival of a fully realized artistic universe. He’s surpassed our wildest expectations!” — We Write About Music
“Following Dancing and the chilling Guns for the Children, Sapling Tree cements The Spikes role as one of the most fearless experiments in alt-pop today.” — FAME Magazine
“The Spikes’ First Light is a rare gem: unsettling yet tender, cinematic yet intimate. It doesn’t just mark a new chapter for the band—it feels like the start of something luminous rising from the dark.” — Music Crowns
“The Spikes has always been an artist drawn to the edges. With First Light, his new album, the Italian American singer-songwriter expands on the poetic sensibility and raw mysticism that have defined his work since his days performing outlaw punk shows on the streets of Rome.” — In Music
“Behind the music lies a multidisciplinary artist fluent in cinema, poetry, and painting. Iago has turned The Spikes into more than a project; it’s an evolving persona stretching across art forms.” — New Lease Music
Latest
VideoS
The Garden Song
Dancing (In the Palm of My Hand)
Guns for the Children
Live
VideoS
No Pussy Blues: Live at the Trident 2/9/23
People Who Died: Live at the Trident 2/9/23
Guns for the Children: Live at the Trident 2/9/23
Latest
Albums / Music
First Light Album
This an album of ethereal beauty. It is cinematic. It is an emotional and personal journey. Musically, it is more stripped back and quieter than my previous material, but it is also a lot more complex. More layered and atmospheric.
I wanted each song to resonate not only emotionally, but personally with the listener. None of the song writing is on the nose and it is not so easy to understand my inspiration behind the lyrics. DANCING is about the Great Gatsby, as a misunderstood man. It traces his feelings and yearning for love. SAPLING TREE is about the experience, inspiration and loneliness in travelling. Not just a trip but the journey of life. To write this, I used the Random Selection cut up method, invented by William Burroughs and used by David Bowie. GARDEN SONG is a more traditional love song, which gives us security in each other’s arms, or each other’s garden.
How I arrived at each song is my experience. The listener will feel their own experience in hearing it. That’s what I want them to do. I don’t want a song that is directing the listener with a message or a narrative storyline. My intention is for them to feel the emotion of the song, through the music and lyrics, experience it, but interpret that into their own life. Their own feelings of life, love and loneliness.
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Garden Song
I set out to write a traditional and honest love song. This is probably the most classic song I have written for the album. Or my interpretation of what is classic and traditional is supposed to be. At the time I wrote it, these feelings of love were very strong. What came with this, was a feeling of safety or security. No matter what happens out there in the real world there is always safety in each other’s arms. Or each other’s Garden.
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Sapling Tree
For Sapling Tree, I wanted to capture the idea of a traveler’s random experiences, seeing life itself as a diverse and chaotic journey. The song uses a “cut-up” technique, similar to that used by William Burroughs, to randomly arrange sentences and create a sense of fragmented images—love, tragedy, memories—just like in real life. However, the chorus provides a sense of hope and order in the chaos, reminding us that all these seemingly random events are part of a larger, certain flow of life, like a tree that keeps growing or the sun that keeps shining.
This theme of finding order in chaos led me to film the song’s promo in Tangier, Morocco. It was a fitting location not only for its spiritual, timeless feel, but also because it’s where the “cut-up” technique was invented. Filming in the very same fleabag hotels where Burroughs stayed created a powerful, coincidental link to the song’s core message: that even in the messiest parts of life, there’s a deeper, interconnected meaning to be found.
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Dancing (In the Palm of My Hand)
the Spikes‘ “Dancing (In the Palm of My Hand)” is a powerful plunge into the delicate space between desire and despair. Inspired by the poignant themes of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the song captures the relentless ache of chasing the unattainable. The Spikes masterfully weave a rich tapestry of longing, loss, and raw emotion, where each note and lyric unravels the threads of memory and myth. This is a song about facing the poignant beauty of what can never truly be held.
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the spikes EP
Iago Haussman is the spikes. The enigmatic emerging singer/songwriter, delivers a raw and unapologetic performance that combines heartfelt serenades with blistering critiques, showcasing a striking juxtaposition of emotions. His resonant vocals pierce through the airwaves, carrying an electrifying intensity that channels the spirit of alternative rock. Haussman’s unique blend of sharp wit and unwavering candor in his music is a refreshing affirmation of a rebellious ethos, making him a rising star to watch in the music scene.
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Verse&Art
