Like most artists, they use music as a gateway to express the issues they face and discuss the personal events of their lives. “I don’t really ever sit down and say ‘I’m going to write about this.’ It’s more a sit down and start writing and then it gradually unfolds as an ‘Oh shit, this is what I’m feeling right now.’” “Lyric writing is very subconscious for us,” Luppen said. Luppen said that he’s found most success with improvising a melody or mantra and writing lyrics around that. “I have no clue how people write words first. “It’s always been a music first process,” Sutton said. They may start with a chord progression or a riff, which may produce a melody, and they later add words onto that. When writing a song, it’s rare for them to begin with lyrics. The boys of indie-rock band Hippo Campus. “We found a new way to be creative and not write the same songs over and over again,” Sutton said. The band looked at the songs they released for their first album, “Landmark,” and found a way to grow from them. “We started to write more personal songs.” “When we gained a platform, we realized that we could actually say something with music and people would listen to it,” Luppen said. They wanted to showcase this on their newest album “Bambi,” which was released in September 2018. Throughout their years of making music, the band has been able to learn more about production and writing. He told Whistler, ‘You should stay here and not go to school. “Our parents wanted us to go to school,” Sutton said. This helps each of their songs stand out and bring something different to their discography.Īfter high school, Sutton said it was difficult to decide if they should continue with the band. He added that sometimes one person’s idea will highlight their tastes or reflect more of their personality than everyone else’s. I like all their tastes so I’m happy to play their songs. “You should never say no to what you write.

“It’s a very collaborative, supportive environment,” Sutton said. While some of this training has found a way into their music, Sutton said their unique sound comes from the genres they’ve grown to like. In high school they studied jazz, except for Luppen who studied opera. “We kind of just digest whatever comes our way now.” “As we’ve kept writing, releasing music and touring, we’ve grown up and our tastes changed,” Sutton said. They were inspired by bands like Little Comets and Last Dinosaurs. When they first started, they had a list of artists that they wanted to emulate, Sutton said. Throughout school, they all played in various bands but eventually found each other. There they also met their trumpeter DeCarlo Jackson who had been playing with the band but didn’t officially join until 2017. They both also attended Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists along with their drummer Whistler Allen and guitarist Nathan Stocker. Jake Luppen, the lead singer, and bassist Zach Sutton met at a music program called School of Rock. From playing with different bands to practicing together in secret, the boys of the indie-rock band Hippo Campus never expected a future of music festivals, headlining tours and two full length albums.

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