Q&A: Stay in the Present with Cade Hoppe’s Newest Single “Crashland”
WRITTEN BY GINGER
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Indie-pop singer Cade Hoppe wrote his first song at the age of 14 after attending a Ben Folds concert. Hoppe recalls how mesmerized he felt when seeing how Folds charted all of his songs to have orchestral arrangements.
“It was magical,” Hoppe stated.
Soon after, Hoppe had put his passion for music on hold while pursuing his other dream - being an athlete. And so, after being accepted into New York University to play for their basketball team,. Hoppe put everything he could into it while juggling his finance major.
“Numbers were something that came easily to me,” Hoppe recalls.
But music too can be mathematical. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit that Hoppe finally came to the realization that the way he really wanted to incorporate numbers into his life was through music, the chords, the progression.
With two albums already under his belt and a third one coming this year, Life on Jupiter had a chance to chat with Hoppe on the day his newest single “Crashland” drops; read our full conversation below.
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LIFE ON JUPITER: Congratulations on the new single! Now that it’s out there, how do you feel?
CADE HOPPE: Release days are always bittersweet. It’s nice to have the song finally out there, but also understanding that I can’t do anything more to it. I’m really glad people get to hear it;, that’s always fun.
Guide me through the process of how “Crashland” came to be? Was it the chords that came first or the lyrics?
HOPPE: I have always seen the first line to be the entry point. Not just chronologically into a song but also emotionally. If I don’t have a good first line, then I don’t really have the song yet.
With this song, originally, I wrote the first verse thinking it would be the chorus, but then realized that I was setting up the story of how one stays in the present even when they know that they are destined to crash into the ground.
“Crashland” and your other singles - “Lake Michigan” and “Still Turn This Around” are all going to be featured in your upcoming album. What can you tell me more about it?
HOPPE: [The album] is about just being present in the moment. I like to metaphorically say that it’s a road trip album where the only thing that is real and tangible is the thing that is in the car with you and you’re never anywhere for longer than a split second.
What is your proudest moment behind the single and/or the upcoming album?
HOPPE: For “Crashland,” it was amazing figuring out the process of transforming it from just an acoustic guitar as the backtrack to how it came to be. One day it clicked to me how the drums needed to be with the snare, especially when the chorus hits.
As for the album, it truly has been one of the most enlightening mastering processes that I’ve ever had because it didn’t feel completely finished until we sent it off to be mastered. It felt so cohesive to me, and it strongly reinforced what I believe: that a good mastering engineer is super underrated.
Who do you dedicate “Crashland” to?
HOPPE: “Crashland” is for the people that are following their dreams,; even on the hardest days. People that have caught glimpses of failure but are still going for it because if you keep pushing for it, maybe you can change the ending. This is also reflected throughout the album.