If you’re a student of the indie pop-verse, you may already be familiar with Hemlocke Springs, née Isimeme “Naomi” Udu, the 26-year-old TikTok sensation turned bona-fide industry darling. With synth-y songs like “Girlfriend” and “Sever the Blight,” she’s managed to capture some of the innately danceable magic of EDM without sacrificing any of the romantic wistfulness of true-blue bedroom pop.
It’s been a busy autumn for Udu, who’s spent the past few months opening for platinum-selling, stadium-filling artists like Chappell Roan and Conan Gray on their respective tours. Before she joined Roan on the final leg of her US tour in Pasadena, Vogue caught up with the artist to talk about everything from pre-show anxiety to getting a STEM degree at Dartmouth and hoping to see “more POC, more Black girls, more women” in indie pop.
Vogue: What has it been like seeing your song “The Beginning of the End” out in the world?
Hemlocke Springs: I’m very glad it’s out. I was so tired of hearing that song. [Laughs.] I feel like that’s gonna be every song: like, so glad it’s out, very tired of hearing it. It’s definitely just a different direction, and it was the song that caused the most contention. It wasn’t supposed to be on the album…or, I don’t even know if I’m supposed to say that, but it wasn’t, it was supposed to be on the future body of work. I cried about it, and then I added it on kind of last-minute. I’m ultimately so glad that it’s out there.
What’s it been like to open for Chappell Roan?
It’s been so crazy. I was simultaneously doing the Wishbone Pajama Show tour with Conan Gray; the week that we were opening for Chappell, we were in New York and it was two Conan shows, and then Chappell, Conan, Chappell, Conan. That was six days in a row, and I was definitely stressed. Then we went to Florida, and I was like, okay, we are here to give the people a show. We’re here to warm up the respective crowds. It became very fun, but I definitely was like, don’t talk to me. I am not here. I don’t know what’s going on. [Laughs.] I was asking my tour manager before I went onstage, “Where are we again? What city are we in?”
What was your first experience of listening to Chappell’s music?
My song “Girlfriend” was kind of going viral, and Chappell reached out and and we talked, and then I listened to her music. I was very confused at first, because I was like, I feel like this is up everybody’s alley, so what’s taking everybody so long [to notice]? And then, boom; the most unsurprising thing ever was everybody hopping on. I was like, y’all were kind of late, but it’s okay. [Laughs.] Sometimes it just takes a while for people to get there. Chappell is such a wonderful person; very girl’s-girl, very protective of me from our first call, such a presence. I’m like, I need to adopt this mindset of trying to help as much as I can. That was very nice of her to do.
What are you most looking forward to about your next set of shows with Chappell in LA?
Don’t get me wrong, I am really looking forward to playing for crowds; Chappell’s crowds in particular are very passionate, and the environment there is just so welcoming. It is different than other concerts I’ve been to—it’s a very queer-friendly space. But that being said, I get very anxious [beforehand], so I’m most looking forward to finishing the shows so I can look back at them in hindsight. I kind of black out during shows and am like, What happened?
Can you tell me a little bit about touring with Conan Gray?
It did feel like that Lady Gaga meme of: “Bus, club, another club.” It was my first bus tour and I was very honored to be able to join Conan and his crew. I was just watching a bunch of people having cathartic experiences, seeing these girls screaming, crying, and it was very touching. Everybody was just so nice and wonderful. I really like bus life; I was like, I need to make more money, I need to be on a bus. Bus life was awesome, so I cannot complain at all.
I know you have a master’s degree in health informatics from Dartmouth. Do you feel like that knowledge base is related to your music at all?
I definitely think there are things that overlap. In the same way that I’ve had to study for tests and stuff like that, I’ve had to study the music industry and what it entails. It is a dream and a privilege to do this job and to do music as a business, but it also is a job, and I feel like in the beginning, I didn’t really think of it that way. I need to make sure I know what I’m signing, make sure I know my rollout plan, make sure I know all the logistics that go into music that I feel like I didn’t know before. The same study practices I used in my youth, I’m able to employ them now, and that’s nice.
What would you like to see more of in the world of indie pop?
Oh my gosh, definitely just more POC, more Black girls, more women. I know people say that a lot, but I feel it so severely. I went in knowing the industry was going to be white-male-dominated, but it’s a different level.
What comes after you’ve finished your next set of shows with Chappell?
The bed. [Laughs.] Hopefully I touch the bed. I’m doing a show soon at my alma mater, and then I do have another single release and some other interviews, so the schedule is still scheduling. Saturday is another Chappell show, but Sunday, I’m hitting the bed and I’m not getting out.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.
