Today I’m excited to introduce everyone to indie pop band, FORAGER, who are back with their second single off of their recently announced LP, Pipedream Firewood, called ”Hello To The Kiddies.” “Hello to the Kiddies” is an earworm that’s warped by the band’s characteristic off-kilter production choices, propulsive bass lines, and dreamy vocal styling. The chorus only hits once, but that’s all you’ll need to remember the hook. Pipedream Firewood hits music streaming services on August 18th, and I was also able to catch up with the band for a brief interview below.
What is “Hello to the Kiddies” about? Were there any personal experiences that inspired its message?
When writing the song, we kept referring to the song as ‘Haterade’ because of the chorus. We feel like that probably says a lot about the song as it is. But it’s not that deep–we were just getting tired of internet culture and almost enjoying our aversion to it. Grindset culture definitely tops the list. We’ve all seen those videos of people that document their 5am wake up before embarking on a four-hour, unrealistic morning routine, while making sure each step is painstakingly recorded to show everyone how diligent and responsible they are. What’s realistic, though, is that the song names things in the culture we like to hate on a little. This is true for most people–everyone hates on something. Being an occasional hater sometimes feels like a coping strategy that gets us through life with humor and with our sanity intact.
The new single has a very unique sound and melds multiple genres. What specific musical influences made this track possible?
‘Hello to the Kiddies’ actually started out of a drum sample Jack took from Colum’s drum recording on an upcoming FORAGER track, ‘If It Floats.’ The thing is, ‘If It Floats’ is a ballad, so it was really interesting to see the drum sample get pitched and flipped into a hard-hitting groove. Jack then came up with the song’s signature bassline, and the rest just came naturally. New drums come in pretty early in the track to make the song feel fresh. The subdued but still intense bridges are nice breaks from the heavy grooves in the verses and chorus. It’s really just a pop song with a catchy chorus and a campy singalong-style outro, and has clear funk influences.
Band member Jack Broza plays the guitar, keys, and bass on the track, and he also mixed it. How does the track’s dreamy/off-kilter production influence the musical elements and vice versa?
After we had the initial loop that the verses and chorus are built around, we wanted something that would make the song feel less square, so Jack leaned into the dream-like synth to write the pre-chorus. The chord progression in the pre-chorus is pretty out, almost like a Stevie Wonder or Milton Nascimento bridge. It actually modulates so the chorus is in a different key than the verse, which then made us have to figure out how to modulate back to the original verse key. That’s where the post-chorus section comes from. It’s this funky break w/ vocal processing that actually ended up becoming one of our favorite sections of the song, but it originated out of needing a harmonic segue.
In what ways does “Hello to the Kiddies” prepare fans for the sounds of FORAGER’s upcoming debut album, Pipedream Firewood, due out August 18th?
Our album represents all that we’ve worked on in the last couple of years. That extends beyond just the tracks themselves—the FORAGER community has experienced intimate single release parties with friends and family, packed shows in and out of NYC, after-parties and backyard shows. One of our fans recently got recognized by a bartender because of how boisterous and interactive she was at one of her shows. Being a part of this band has been a friend and family affair for all three of us. It’s only been this much fun writing and recording these songs because we have a great circle of friends and family around us to cheer us on. The outro of ‘Hello to the Kiddies’ features us three singing, as well as each of our siblings. We recorded it one day at Jack’s apartment and had bagels together. It was such a goofy and hilarious experience overall, but really it puts into perspective how we’ve relied on all of those around us to put this project together.