Power duo Hooked Like Helen consists of husband and wife Jon and Nikki Stipp. The two bring together their aspirations, passion, and love for music, and create an undeniably loveable sound. We were hooked on the duo the moment we listened to their music, as we knew the prominent affection and dedication were genuine elements to their music. Hooked Like Helen has seen their music presented on a variety of television shows, as well as a huge listening base! We're hypnotized by their connection and ultimately inspired by their sound in their latest track "Liar"!
We urge our listeners to check out Hooked Like Helen's "Liar". The track is incredibly atmospheric and presents genuine tranquility for listeners. The name of the track gives away the plot of the track, outlining Hooked Like Helen's pain in regards to an important figure in their life who turned out to be someone they didn't know. "Liar" incorporates vocal dramatics, along with an even more dramatic production style, which both aid in creating such climatic and expressive elements throughout the song. We love songs that can tell a complete and fulfilling story. A story that is easily followable on the listeners' end, and a story that holds a captivating and prominent message. Hooked Like Helen doesn't disappoint on this end, or any end for that matter. The vigor and passion present in the track are undoubtedly fierce, which further supports that sensational experience for us as listeners. Adding on a powerful vocal presence from Nikki's end, and the entrancing musical contributions from Jon's end, the two can blend beautifully together to present the integrity of "Liar". We're incredibly excited to see what their passion leads to next musically!
Listen to "Liar" here, and catch the duo's interview below!
Welcome to BuzzMusic Hooked Like Helen! Congratulations on all of the attention your track "Liar" has received! Are you able to share with our readers your personal experience in regard to the creation of this particular track? Where did the inspiration for the lyricism stem from?
Hi BuzzMusic, thank you so much for featuring us! 'Liar' is definitely a super personal song for us, and it has had a long and crazy journey so far! We first wrote the tune a few years ago and tracked it in our home studio with a fairly stripped down piano, vocal, and string arrangement. Lyrically it was inspired by a dark time in Nikki's past, when she was very young and involved in an abusive relationship. She wrote 'Liar' as a sort of cathartic part of the healing process, from the perspective of having survived and thrived. What's cool for us is that the message of the song, of overcoming a rough life situation, rising up and beating the odds, has become more and more of a true story in the chapters of our lives since we first wrote it!
"Liar" had an undeniable theatrical presence, with stunning vocals! Does this element to your music come naturally, or is it specifically curated to match the intended ambiance of your sound?
We tend to be fairly grandiose in our songwriting in general: lots of chord changes, intricate bass, layers of harmonies, etc. - its just our natural flow. But 'Liar' definitely got taken to a new level of epic haha. When the song became involved with the High Strung Free Dance film, we had the amazing privilege of adding bass, a studio drummer, and additional vocals to the song during a session at Studio City Sound in L.A. Then the film's composer came in and added live orchestral elements to the final chorus. It was such a trip and so very, very cool to get to hear our song taken to new heights by such amazing musicians!
Being a husband-and-wife duo, are there any prominent challenges you two face musically more than that of other duo bands? Do you believe having such an intimate connection aids in the development of Hooked Like Helen's music?
Sometimes we get a little too intense, a little too in-our-heads, because there are no boundaries for us. Life is art, Hooked Like Helen is who we are 24/7 and there are times when we just need to take a step back and breathe. Balance is key, and we have to be mindful to take breaks from the music and the craziness of all the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes along with it, and just be a married couple...two humans for a minute! That being said, being so close to each other definitely has the benefit of there being 100% honesty when it comes to our musical choices. There's no compromising or sugar coating. If one of us does something that sucks, it will get called out and fixed haha.
Your sound is incredibly harmonic, not to mention entrancing from a listeners' standpoint. How long does it take you two to create the powerful sound that is Hooked Like Helen?
Well, first of all, thank you!! This varies a lot from song-to-song. The actual writing of the songs tends to be a fairly quick process, a day or two to get the structure laid out. Then it becomes about the production, the arrangement, the parts, the harmonies and that can fall together quickly or it can be a bit of a process. Nikki experiences chromesthesia (when sounds invoke an involuntary experiencing of visuals and colors) and it plays a big part in the creative process for her. When we write a song, it immediately has a visual pattern and color scheme in Nikki's head, and she uses that as a template for the production and arrangement choices. If a certain synth sound starts to change the color of the song, that means the vibe is starting to stray and we find a different one. Sort of weird, (really weird probably haha) but the more we've embraced this weirdness, the more satisfied we've become with our body of work!
Thank you for coming on BuzzMusic to feature "Liar", and to answer some of our questions! What's the next big move for you two?
Well, we're here in NYC for a debut screening of High Strung Free Dance tonight, then we'll be headed straight to L.A. for the red carpet premiere on the 10th! The movie drops on the 11th along with the soundtrack which includes a total of 5 tracks that we either wrote or co-wrote for the film. We also have another music video for our song "Beautiful World" that will be premiering on the 18th - we made this vid in the woods behind our house and shot much of it with our iPhones using the Filmic Pro App. Kind of a departure from the hugeness of 'Liar' but we're super proud of how it turned out! We'll also be playing a show on Nov. 22nd at The Study in Hollywood that we are VERY excited about! We've been so busy writing, recording and shooting videos, it has been a while since we've had a chance to get on stage and we can't wait! We'll have more info about it on our socials and website soon!
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