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Hippo Campus brings a 'Flood' to their native Midwest

a still photograph of the band Hippo Campus.
Anthony Scanga
/
Iowa Public Radio

Five-piece indie rock band Hippo Campus returned to the Hinterland stage this past summer. IPR’s Cece Mitchell talked with the band about their new album and the trajectory of their success.

Jake Luppen, Nathan Stocker, Zach Sutton, Whistler Allen and DeCarlo Jackson are the forces behind Hippo Campus. This Twin Cities band has found significant success since their 2017 debut full-length, Landmark. “Buttercup” and “Way It Goes” are featured on that first album, and both boast over 100 million streams on Spotify.

Lucius Pham
/
Iowa Public Radio
Hippo Campus lead guitarist Nathan Stocker shreds at Hinterland.

Their latest record, Flood, came out Sept. 20. Their fourth album explores introspective themes of growing up and existentialism, all while maintaining Hippo Campus’ signature upbeat sound. The thirteen tracks on the album are just a few of the songs they've written over the last few years.

“We spent a lot of time on [Flood]; we were really serious this time. I mean, every record we approach, we kind of try to have a new sort of idea going in. And this one was just to be less focused on the computer side of things and just try to focus on the songwriting,” Allen said. “So we spent about three years writing over 120 songs... we had about ten albums worth of music but had to cut down to 13.”

Hippo Campus Hinterland interview: ‘Flood,’ classical training and becoming the indie old guard

Flood was recorded over just ten days at Sonic Ranch, which is a sizeable secluded recording studio on the border between Texas and Mexico.

“We went down there with Caleb Wright and Brad Cook producing, and they're both wizards. Yeah, it's a magic place. It's the middle of the desert, and it's real hot, real sweaty, real and surreal, real surreal... you have to set aside a lot of distractions when you're in that environment, in that space, and that allows the music to kind of just step forward in a way that it wouldn't otherwise,” Stocker said.

The members of Hippo Campus met while attending the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. Multiple members have a history of studying classical forms of music, like lead singer Luppen, who started out in opera.

a portrait of Hippo Campuses lead singer.
Anthony Scanga
/
Iowa Public Radio

“I think our technical training informs our musicianship as individuals, which allows us to sort of communicate with our instruments in a way that is arguably easier than communicating with our words sometimes,” Jackson said.

The band has had a pretty extensive history of touring, including a multitude of festival performances, headlining shows and opening for bands like Modest Mouse and My Morning Jacket.

“We started this band opening for those bigger names like Modest Mouse. It was completely unexpected, like, never in a million years would we ever share a stage,” Stocker said. “But as far as influences go, it seems like we draw a lot inspiration from the smaller bands that we see kicking around. As we sort of age up through the scene, there's... a new class entering, those bands come here like the most inspiring sometimes.”

Hippo Campus performing at Hinterland.
Anthony Scanga
/
Iowa Public Radio
Hippo Campus performing at Hinterland 2024

Despite having accomplished so much, Hippo Campus have their eyes set on even more success. They anticipate playing with even more of their favorite acts, including MJ Lenderman, who they almost played with in Iowa this year.

Hippo Campus played a wonderful set at Hinterland, which included songs from their now-released album. One of those songs is “Paranoid,” a track that’s been getting heavy rotation on Studio One. Despite traveling the world, the Midwestern natives still enjoy coming back to the region where it all began.

“[We’re] honored to be back. The rest of the world is great, but Iowa’s where we want to be, the Midwest,” Allen said.

Cece Mitchell is an award-winning Music Producer, host and writer for Iowa Public Radio Studio One. She holds a master's degree from the University of Northern Iowa. Mitchell has worked for over five years to bring the best AAA music to IPR's audience, and is always hunting for the hidden gems in the Iowa music scene that you should know about!