motel void

Blvck Hippie makes VHS-inspired music for anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider. By melding an emo sensibility with an indie rock aesthetic Blvck Hippie creates tunes for getting unstuck, existing weirdly, and finding togetherness.

MOTEL VOID: I first heard your music in 2022 and it sort of reminded me of my favorite artists Bartees Strange and Yves Tumor. I read that it was Kid Cudi who inspired you to make guitar music, though. When was this? And did you write songs even before this ‘discovery’?

BLVCK HIPPIE: I’ve been a Kid Cudi fan since high school but the record that made me confident in writing guitar-based songs was his album, Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven which came out the first semester my Junior year of college but I had started writing songs my sophomore year. That album gave me reassurance and inspiration for what I was doing. It gave me someone to look up to who looked like me and was playing with a guitar. Plus I’d been such a big fan since high school and Kid Cudi was the first black person I heard talk about mental health which is what I started writing my songs about.

MOTEL VOID: If You Feel Alone at Parties is your biggest hit now, with almost 4 million streams on Spotify. Did this success on streaming services have a big impact on your career?

BLVCK HIPPIE: After If You Feel Alone At Parties went semi-viral we started playing shows where people knew the lyrics and would sing along which is a pretty cool experience. I think some people in the industry took us more seriously because we had the numbers but I still have to work a day job to pay rent so we aren’t where I want to be yet. But I’m super grateful for how far If You Feel Alone At Parties has taken us, a lot of people have discovered us through that song.

MOTEL VOID: You’re on ‘Basketball Camp tour’ now, playing almost 30 shows in a row. Is this your longest tour so far? How demanding is it? Last year you also played Italy, England, France… Any chance you would come to Europe again soon? How would you compare playing shows in the United States and Europe?

BLVCK HIPPIE: We did a 6 week tour back in 2021 which was pretty intense and our longest yet but every year tour gets harder because I get older. Touring is extremely demanding. To give you a look at a day in the life I’m currently answering these questions while we drive from Charlotte to Nashville (7 hours) after waking up at 5:30am. We didn’t get back to the place we crashed till 1am last night so I’m operating on 4 hours of sleeping on a friend’s floor. I have a radio interview in Nashville before we open for Pom Pom Squad tonight. After the show we’re driving the 3 hours back to Memphis so we can sleep in our own beds.

Tour at our level is a whirlwind of trying to eat healthy on a tight budget, sleeping on a lot of floors of very generous people, long drives, and giving a high-energy performance even when I’m exhausted. It’s a very unique experience that is rewarding but also incredibly mentally & physically taxing. Some days you’re on top of the world because the show went great and the next day you’re in the dumps because someone broke into your van, the vibes at the venue were weird, and you have a toothache.

Yes we’re working on planning a European tour for early next year, we’re super excited for it. Touring in Europe is amazing, venues typically give you accommodations, food and guarantees and the people seem happy we’re there. In the US we typically get no help with accommodations and usually sleep on the floors of friends or other bands because we don’t make enough money for hotels. We’re getting to the point where touring in the U.S. is starting to get more comfortable but not nearly as consistent as in Europe.
The shows in Europe were really cool, it was wild to have people sing along to our songs in Paris or for us to sign autographs in Germany. We can’t wait to go back!

MOTEL VOID: Your debut album was recorded by the band in a home studio in Binghampton, Memphis. It was mixed by Greg Giorgio (The National, Death Cab for Cutie), was he your first choice? And how difficult was it for you to record the album by yourself? Basketball Camp is your new LP. Could you describe the writing and recording process behind this record?

BLVCK HIPPIE: Most of LP1, If You Feel Alone At Parties, was recorded at a studio in Memphis with Ethan Mayo over 3 days. Bunkbed was recorded at Sun Studio with Crockett Hall and I recorded Smoke Break in my bedroom. Parties was a record that was made in very little time. Most of it was written in a couple months leading up to recording and NYE was written a week before heading to the studio. I learned a lot about my creative process but it’s such a blur it’s hard for me to talk about now.

Recording Basketball Camp ourselves wasn’t too hard. I used my tax return money to update my home studio and some friends lent me really nice equipment. I felt like I was going back to my roots being holed up in a room working on stuff so it felt like going home. The hardest part was limiting ideas because there was so much freedom and time. Greg Giorgio was our first choice, his manager reached out to us right as I decided I wanted to record myself so it worked out perfectly.

The writing process for Basketball Camp was the polar opposite of If You Feel Alone At Parties. It took a lot of time and I was more patient with it. I didn’t feel as rushed with it because we already had a record out. Lyrically I wanted to explore a lot more of my own vulnerability and say things as is instead of hiding behind metaphors. I wanted to be more honest. Instrumentally I wanted to focus on aspects of our live shows while exploring my influences that didn’t make an appearance in the first record. I wanted to explore my love of various genres of music and bring them into the record.