From Hippo Campus to Lupin: an Interview with Vocalist Jake Luppen
Although Jake Luppen rose to prominence as a vocalist and guitarist in St. Paul’s beloved indie outfit Hippo Campus, the songs of his debut solo album Lupin feel like meeting him for the first time. He puts it succinctly: “With this record I wanted to get to the point, and say how things were, as opposed to dancing around them.”
Today he has dropped two brand new songs and videos -- both directed by frequent Bon Iver collaborator Aaron Anderson -- giving fans a more in-depth look at the complexities of the album. Both tracks deal with some heavy emotional liftings and reveal a new depth to Luppen not only as a musician but a songwriter.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Tell us about yourself.
[JAKE:] My name is Jake Luppen, I’m from Minnesota and up until now I played in a band called Hippo Campus for about 7 years. Now I’m getting ready to release a solo project under the moniker Lupin
[UNPUBLISHED:] What inspired you to create your own music outside of Hippo Campus?
[JAKE:] It was the need to write music. After the Hippo Campus album Bambi the other guys were pretty exhausted because it was a really long and grueling process. I wanted to keep writing music. It’s a need to keep working and keep creating.
[UNPUBLISHED:] How do you see yourself developing as a solo artist?
[JAKE:] I can express myself in a different way as a solo artist than I can with Hippo Campus with the genre that I work in. In the band the sound is very specific, it’s straightforward rock music. With this project, it allows me to experiment more and to break genre. There are less limitations with this project as far as developing it. I intend to continue breaking genre and continue changing and creating fresh stuff.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What motivated you to create this album?
[JAKE:] It was the need to keep writing. I was going through a really intense breakup at the time when I was writing this record in addition to a whole bunch of strange medical problems. It was just the need to express myself in the moment.
[UNPUBLISHED:] How do you want your followers to feel while experiencing this album for the first time?
[JAKE:] It’s a really personal album so I think it’s important to go into it with an open mind and to shed expectations you might have of me from the band. The album is pretty starkly different from what I’ve done in the past so I just want people to go in with an open mind.
[UNPUBLISHED:] How has being in a band affected the way you write music as an individual?
[JAKE:] I’ve definitely learned a lot from my time with the guys, I think we’ve all learned a lot from each other. We learned how to work with a producer which was a big development. I worked with BJ Burton on this record, he produced the last couple Hippo Campus records. I think we’ve all grown together over time.
[UNPUBLISHED:] We noticed your solo music is very different from what you usually do with Hippo Campus. How would you describe it?
[JAKE:] I would describe it as experimental pop music. This is the first pop record I’ve ever made.
[UNPUBLISHED:] How did you balance being creative individually while being on tour with the band?
[JAKE:] I would just seclude myself. We get hotel rooms on tour so oftentimes while the other guys would be hanging out and drinking and blowing off steam I would haul up in a hotel room and work on stuff. When we were home from tour I would work in the studio. Pretty much every gap I had I was in the studio the entire time working on stuff.
[UNPUBLISHED:] How have your friends, family, and bandmates reacted to you releasing your own music?
[JAKE:] They reacted very positively. I think it’s helped for them to see me as a solo artist and to see who I am as an individual. I think it’s made me a better collaborator in all the projects I’ve worked on since making the solo record. I’ve identified my tastes and strengths so I can bring that back into every project I work on.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you have any favorite songs from the album?
[JAKE:] It changes, for sure. I like May a lot right now but I can’t tell if that’s because it’s been released and people enjoy it. Murder is a really personal track for me, it’s really vulnerable. The last track, NZ, I wrote in New Zealand and it’s a really personal track too. Those are probably my immediate favorites but I’ve kind of had a moment with all of them.
[UNPUBLISHED:] If you could give your younger self any advice regarding music, what would it be?
[JAKE:] Figure yourself out as an individual. Gain that confidence as an individual first and foremost because you can bring that into all you do in life. It’s a lot better to have yourself figured out. People resonate with that too, when you walk into a project and you know what you want, you know what your tastes are and what your strengths are. My advice for my younger self would be to develop as an individual.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Are there any artists that inspire you at the moment?
[JAKE:] Yeah, there’s a lot. I’ve been listening to Remi Wolf a lot lately. She’s really fucking talented. Taylor Swift put out a great record, that was really inspiring. Samia from New York, we produced a record for her and she’s really incredible.
[UNPUBLISHED:] If you could describe your album in 3 words what would they be?
[JAKE:] Probably a fractured self-portrait, I think is a good way of viewing the record. It’s me but it’s a very personal record. It’s buried under all this crazy production and the artwork is me but it’s all fractured.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What’s the inspiration behind the name you go by as a solo artist, Lupin?
[JAKE:] My last name is Luppen and I’ve always been privy to the fact that there’s a flower called Lupin so I figured it’d be easier to shorten it and match the spelling to the flower.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What’s next for you and your music after this album?
[JAKE:] I’m gonna continue writing. I’ve started another Lupin project. I’ve been doing a lot of production lately so I’ve been working with some artists doing that. I have another project called Baby Boys that has a bunch of music done so we’ll release that pretty soon. I’m just gonna continue making shit.