Hopium is digging deep – Interview

Cherry Anna Brearley talks to London-based Australian singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Hopium, who has just returned with his latest electronic pop single, Sunglasses:

So you moved to London from Melbourne, hey? When was that? Why? Had you visited before? What do you love about London and miss about Melbourne? What area do you live in in London, and how does your day to day routine on a normal day differ to one you might have had in Melbourne? Don’t you get cold? Does the terrible quality of London takeaway coffee not make you cry on a daily basis? Where’s your favourite place to go dancing?
I miss Melbourne coffee every day. I don’t think you can live in Melbourne for a time and not become a bit of a coffee snob. I used to freelance so cafes were my office for a couple of years. I live in Bethnal Green, which is in East London, so it’s kind of like being North-side Melbourne. I really love London; it’s so intense and there’s always something happening. If you get bad FOMO you’d never get anything done.

Take us back in time to the moment that music first meant something to you. Where were you? What happened to you? Were you listening to a certain song, piece of music, etc.? And after that moment, what did you do about it?
When I was six I was really unhappy at school and a teacher suggested I play an instrument, I guess as an outlet. My mum bought a piano from an old couple in the area and I started getting lessons. I’d do my practice but then started to tinker and make up my own little pieces. A couple years after that I started writing songs.

What was the Melbourne music scene like when you were growing up and how has it changed? How has how you create, and consume music changed over time, and has there been any dramatic changes in direction/shifts in moods or processes since you moved?
I actually grew up in Adelaide. The music scene there was pretty emo. I high school we’d play pop-punk covers in my friend’s garage, just reading tabs off the internet. When we were 18 we started playing a few of the bars on Hindley Street. I used to get all my music from file-sharing apps. I guess the biggest change has been hip-hop/alt RnB leaking into so much music. I love it so I’m not complaining.

What football team do you support?
I know next to nothing about football, haha. I’d like to go to a game though, see what it’s all about.

I’ve been listening to some of your Spotify playlists. I bloody love them, such eclectic references. Why do you create playlists and why do you think they’re important? Where are the places you go looking for inspiration for your sound, anywhere you might not expect?
Thanks! I’ll keep updating them. I love collecting my favourite songs. I try and listen to as much as possible, just trawling around. Nothing is better than being shown a great song by a friend though.

Who’s your favourite new artist, or old artist, that you’ve discovered recently? What can’t you stop listening to on repeat, and why? Do you have any guilty pleasures, do you even think that there’s such a thing as a musical guilty pleasure?
I totally don’t think there’s such a thing as a musical guilty pleasure! I already feel guilty about enough things! Why should I feel guilty for listening to music? Recently I keep going back to this Daniel Caesar song, We Find Love. When I was in LA I drove to Vegas, and on the way back the sun was setting over the desert and I was listening to that in car. I think that moment is etched in my memory forever.

What’s next on the horizon for you, what are you working on in the lab at the moment? Have you been frantically messaging any artists on Instagram you’re a fan of with hopes of planning collaboration with recently?
I’ve just been in LA, working with a bunch of different writers and producers. I’m digging deep and trying to figure out what’s next after my upcoming EP. Then I want to start putting a live show together ASAP so I can bring the songs into the real world.

Anything else you wanna add?
I can’t wait to get back to Aus and play some shows!

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Keep up to date with Hopium on Twitter.

Interview by Cherry Anna Brearley.