There’s something exciting about seeing a beloved band enter a new era. Even more exciting is when you get to see it up close — an opportunity afforded by a Friday afternoon Studio Milwaukee Session with Nathan Stocker and Jake Luppen from Hippo Campus.
Another in our special Summerfest editions at the Cooperage, this performance was similar to Brigitte Calls Me Baby’s visit just the day before in that both groups are on the verge of some serious career moves. Whereas the buzzy Chicago band who played Thursday are about to launch their first full-length album, Hippo Campus find themselves a couple chapters further into their career with a story that has picked up some serious pace lately.
After releasing LP3 in 2022 and their Wasteland EP the following year, the Minneapolis-based quartet went on an extended hiatus that ended this past April with a new single “Everything at Once”) and a new record label (Psychic Hotline, founded by Sylvan Esso). Before they talked about the new stuff, though, 88Nine’s Arya Ahmadi jumped right into the big question during the session’s interview portion and asked how the time off changed them.
“We learned a lot, learned the hard way,” Stocker said with a small chuckle. “We spent a lot of time trying to find a new lane, different than where we’ve been. And I think as band members, bandmates — and with a lot of therapy — we figured out how to sort of treat each other with more respect, essentially. …
“We learned how to be better people, I think.”
He also noted that the repouring of the band’s foundation allowed them to build “a musical direction and a new creative vision for what we wanted our next project to look like.”
They gave us nice clear sight lines of that project with a set of all new material delivered in a two-man acoustic format they had never done before. That alone put things in a very different light, stripping away the production flourishes that became a hallmark of the band’s work and presenting this fresh music at its most basic.
The quality didn’t waver in the least, nor did the audience at the Cooperage. Luppen’s lead vocals, Stocker’s harmonies and their acoustic guitars ably carried the session, providing a nice appetizer to the main course they planned to serve at Summerfest’s Generac Power Stage a few hours later.
Listen to the full performance using the player at the top of this page, and then jump over to our membership page to learn how you can guarantee yourself a seat at all of our Studio Milwaukee Sessions.
