Cade Hoppe
Following his debut EP Tell Me How It’s Worth It, NYC-based artist Cade Hoppe is now releasing his first single of the year. Titled “Hurts”, the song is about the feelings you go through after a break up.
Produced by Harper James (Eighty Ninety), “Hurts” delivers a big record fusing alternative, rock and pop.
“Hurts” is now available worldwide :)
Photo credit: Carina Allen
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
Well, my name is Cade Hoppe and I’m a 22-year-old singer-songwriter from Northern California, currently based in NYC. I came to New York to study finance and play basketball at NYU, while trying to pursue music in between academics and athletics. Ultimately, it became clear to me that my passion for music could no longer be put on the backburner, and I reprioritized, putting music above all else. There are so many stories I could tell about how I got to that point, but we’d be here forever. The important thing is that I plan on doing music for the rest of my life because that’s what I love. So I’m excited to be able to talk about that with you today.
What did you grow up listening to?
I grew up listening to a lot of different artists, but a few of the main ones were Taylor Swift, Coldplay, The Killers, and Ben Folds. I constantly come back to Red, Rush of Blood to the Head, Hot Fuss, and Whatever and Ever Amen as albums that shaped me as an artist and a person.
When did you start making music?
I wrote my first original song when I was 14, a few weeks after I went to my first concert—my dad took me to see Ben Folds with the San Francisco Symphony. I did my fair share of GarageBand production in high school and I released some of those on SoundCloud, but they were pretty terrible. It wasn’t until my stepbrother Nick Adams and I recorded and produced my first experimental project, Poor Man’s Love, in 2020 that I was making music to put out on all the streaming platforms, for real.
At what point did you know you had to be an artist and release your original music?
The moment I knew I wanted to be an artist came right after that first concert I ever went to, as I mentioned. It was always just a dream to me, though, because I grew up under the impression that an artist career wasn’t realistic. But a couple years ago, I started to realize that I really could do it if I shifted my priorities around, so that’s what I did. Then the pandemic hit and it gave me the window I needed to leave the path I was on for the one I always wanted. The way I describe it is that life kept hitting me over the head telling me I needed to chase my dream, and the world-stopping pandemic was the knockout punch that I couldn’t ignore.
What lessons did you learn after the release of your debut EP?
I think the main lesson the release of 'Tell Me How It’s Worth It' taught me is that authenticity and honesty in the music is rewarded. That EP felt like the most vulnerable writing I’d ever put out into the world, and I found that any people that reached out to me about those songs really connected with that aspect, more than anything else. Because of that, I’ve really tried to be even more open and honest in my upcoming releases.
"Hurts" is your new single - what's the story/inspiration behind this song?
“Hurts” was a song I wanted to write for a long time. It’s about the feelings you go through after breaking up with someone because that was what you thought was best for you at the time. You lose them and then there’s this gaping hole in your life that you don’t know how to fill—you wonder if it wouldn’t just be easier to get back together with them than it would be to move on. The thesis of the song is: “It’s not easy losing somebody, it always hurts.” Because it does, and it did when I went through it.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this song? Who helped you create it?
I wrote this song on the piano and it came together pretty quickly as an emotional piano ballad. I knew pretty immediately that it was a contender to be produced next. I played the voice memo for Harper (James)—who produced all the songs on my latest EP—and he loved it, so we went with it. We originally thought it was going to be more of a ballad centered around the piano part I wrote, played instead on a Roland Juno-106. But not long after starting, we scrapped that and tried out a variety of plucked guitars and samples. Then we gave the second verse a rock beat and didn’t really look back. I really love the way the record ended up.
What made you want to release "Hurts" as the first single of 2022?
“Hurts” felt like the first single to me because it just felt like it set the tone for all the new stuff I’ve been working on and will be releasing. Production-wise, in many ways it feels like “On My Way Down” 2.0, tying in my last era; while it’s also the most alternative rock direction any of my records have gone, making it undeniably new. I mean, it’s a breakup grief rock anthem—what better way to kick the year off?
What can you tell us about the artwork?
The picture was taken and edited by Carina Allen, a.k.a. @rlyblonde, an extremely talented NYC-based photographer. For my debut EP, my single covers were more abstract and I used lots of blue tones; for this new era I figured it was time to put me on the cover and add some red in there. Carina really took my vision and turned it into something better than I ever imagined, so I can’t thank her enough.
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
The hardest part is also the best part of being an artist, and that’s opening up and being vulnerable in front of potentially the entire world. The hard part of that is mostly just putting these feelings and experiences out there for people close to you to see—and when you’re still starting out, most people that hear your music know you personally. But the amazing part about it is that people can discover your music and find comfort in it because they’ve gone through similar experiences. There’s nothing better than when a stranger hears your song and becomes a fan because they can relate.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
Like the rest of the world, the music industry is constantly evolving and sometimes that’s tough to keep up with. I think right now the music industry has put a little bit too much value in things other than just the music being good, and I know I’m not the only artist that feels this way. It’s tough when the new landscape favors “content creation” over artistry and craft the way TikTok has really influenced it to do. Don’t get me wrong, I think TikTok is great in the way it allows so many people to get their voices heard in a way that they may not have been able to before, but I do think it’s watered down in some areas of the industry. I don’t think that will be forever though—artists should still keep working on their craft and making good music, which is exactly what I’ll keep focusing on. Anyway, yeah, if I could change anything I think I would just try to put emphasis back on making great records as opposed making great content (which are only sometimes the same thing).
What's the best advice you've ever received?
The best advice I’ve ever received is to do what you love. Ever since I’ve prioritized my passion I’ve never been happier.
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
The biggest life lesson I’ve learned is that fear of failure is truly the easiest way to hold yourself back, and that the most successful people in the world are those that welcome failure. You can’t reach any kind of success without failing first, so as long as you can view all the little failures as progress, you’ll get where you’re trying to go eventually. It sounds cliché, but clichés are clichés for a reason.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
It’s no secret that the world is becoming more and more polarized every single day, and as we can communicate more easily with each other through technology, the less we want to. The world would obviously be a better place if we could somehow find more in common with each other and be able to view each other as friends and not enemies. And maybe this sounds dumb and cheesy, but I really do think that music helps do that for people. Relating to a message that an artist is sharing and then looking around and seeing other people relating to that same message singing along to the same lyrics is a really powerful thing. Music makes the world a better place for that reason, and I want so badly to be a part of that.
What message do you want to deliver to the world?
Do what you love. It’s worth it. And also, I think by this point in the interview, I’ve pretty thoroughly expressed that my love for music and sharing my songs boils down to human connection. There are lots of experiences and feelings that I’ve gone through that I want to share with the simple message of: “you are not alone”. I’ve gotten through low points in my life with a lot of help from my favorite songs and albums, and I want more than anything to be able to give that same experience to other people that go through similar low points. Thank you for having me!
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