Hope Whitelock is a musician and singer-songwriter based out of Boulder, Colorado. I really enjoyed her song, Stoned, leading me to conduct an interview to find out a bit more about Hope and her music. And if you missed the track, you can also find a stream below!
By Jane Howkins
You recently released a single titled Stoned. What can you tell us about the track?
It’s kinda boring, because I say exactly what I mean in the song. I’m a part of a generation that’s been told “you can do anything” our entire childhoods and now, we’re all adults who have realised that it’s not true, but we still carry the crushing guilt of ‘wasted’ talent. I’ve felt myself wanting to self destruct a bit just to have a scape goat – like “oh, she could have been successful, but she fell in with drugs and alcohol” – because the crushing reality is way worse. Most of us (myself included) just weren’t going to grow up to be much of anything at all.
How has the reception to Stoned been so far, and where can the song be purchased?
I haven’t really been paying attention, honestly. The people I’ve talked to have liked it. Some don’t and that’s fine.
I think you can buy it on Amazon or iTunes. If you message me I’d probably just send it to you.
Do you plan to release any more singles in the near future?
Yes! I’ve already got another single (kafkaesque) out, and I’m sporadically making a bunch more. This is a vanity project, so I’m definitely not out here with a plan or anything, but I love making music so there will definitely always be more.
Do you plan to release an EP or an album anytime soon?
Hopefully. I have this silly, narcissistic idea to make an EP titled hopeless for the hell of it.
Your music probably belongs most in the indie pop genre. What/who influences you most as an artist? What have you been listening to recently?
Lately I’ve been listening to the Stick Season album on repeat and that’s definitely influenced everything that’s coming next. At the time of writing/recording Stoned, I was listening to a lot of Dave Mathews Band. I tend to listen to stuff in waves. Like the rest of the depressed girlies, I’ve been listening to a ton of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, etc. I’ve also been going through a bit of a pop phase.
I also hear you’re a PHD student! What are you studying?
Physics! More specifically I study organic superconductivity. This all sounds cool and impressive, but if I’m being honest, my actual job is just refrigerator repair. Science is not at all glamorous and most of it is super boring and just fixing broken equipment.
What is the writing and recording process like for you?
I don’t really have a standard process. Stoned was actually my first time working with a producer (not my favorite experience), and it was written in like two hours on the porch, sorta like homework. I had this line (“suicide jokes aren’t funny anymore/ mime a gun to my head and we all get bored”) floating around for YEARS, and on a Saturday afternoon in August I got annoyed with myself and was just like “okay, this has to turn into a full song or get out of my head” and I just kinda wrote around it. On a whim, I started working with a local producer a few days later and we worked on this song for basically no reason. It was just fresh in my head. This is a very boring story.
You’re based in Boulder, CO. What is the music scene like in your part of the world?
Small. I’m close to Denver, which a lot of tours basically have to stop through just because its the only hub in a pretty large area, but it’s not like, a bustling music scene. It’s fun enough though. I’ve got friends to play with, Most of the artists I listen to roll through every once in a while, and there’s some really great local folk acts.
Do you have any tour dates lined up for the UK?
HAHAHA tour dates? My dude, I am too lazy most of the time to even go to my local open mic. More seriously, I wish I could tour, but between school and life, trying to put together a self planned tour is just a bit too much.
Any last words for the fans?
I don’t think I have any fans, but if I do: hi!