It’s not every day you discover an artist that’s capable of giving you a blast to the past, but also finds ways to bring new, innovative sounds to their genre. Hello Forever is a once-in-a-lifetime type of collective; they’re able to combine the best parts of the genres they’re influenced by, but are one-of-a-kind thanks to their approach to their artistry. We recently had a chance to speak to them about their music, their upcoming album (titled Whatever It Is), and how the collective came to be.
Can you introduce yourself to our readers, and let us know your role in the collective?
“Hi, I’m Sam, and I play guitar, sing, and write songs in HF.”
“Anand here, I also sing in the group.”
“My name is Andy Jimenez, and I’m the drummer in Hello Forever.”
“Jaron. Sup. Keyboards and guitars.”
“Uhh, I am Gabe and I do vocals and auxiliary percussion.”
“Hey everybody, I’m Molly, I sing!”
“Yo, this is Joey, and I play the bass.”
What inspired you all to form Hello Forever?
“There is a cosmic calling to become what you are, and serve the life that wants to come through you, and share it with people around you. ‘A baby’s gotta do what a baby’s gotta do.'”
You recently dropped your newest track, “Colors In The Sky.” Can you tell us about what inspired the song?
“Sam was on a walk in his neighborhood. He was living in this little rural town with just a tiny general store, and he stopped in to get some bananas or coconut water or something. On his way out he ran into a neighbor he hadn’t met before, and they got into a conversation about challenges they were going through. They connected through their shared grief. The song is about suffering, but still feeling a sense of wonder and peace being connected to other people and everything else.”
What is your writing and recording process like?
“We say yes. We let intuition lead us. We get out of the way and listen to what the song wants to be. We record anywhere we can and it is always with Pro Tools: our lord and savior.”
Your forthcoming album, Whatever It Is, is on the way. What can we expect from it?
“Short songs. Weird arrangements. Vocal stacks. Love for classic pop. Joy. Self-inquiry. This album reflects a time when we discovered our connection to melody, and the excitement we felt in experiencing that for the first time— so in a way it’s kind of about how it felt to make the music on the album.”
You pull a lot of influences from various genres; have any specific artists or eras of music influenced you more than others?
“Culture is wholistic. Everything reflects what surrounds it. Growing up with the internet, we are exposed to basically all the music that’s ever been recorded in the last 150 years. And recordings of written music from before the electronic age. I think we are all curious listeners and explore music really passionately. We’re softies for Classic Pop, Soul, Jazz, Tropicalia, R&B, highlife, doo-wop, hip hop, and psych rock. Sam and Andy grew up in the South Bay Los Angeles, so Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys are huge inspirations. Sam’s grandpa once impersonated a police officer in order to sneak his mom into the Ed Sullivan theatre to see the Beatles in 1964 — she was a huge fan so that is definitely deep for him too. Aretha Franklin, Palm, Four Freshmen, King Sunny Ade, Joni Mitchell, Slum Village, Gilberto Gil, Queen — way too many to list.”
If you could have listeners take one message with them from your music, what would you want it to be?
“Honestly, experiencing art is inherently subjective and thus super duper personal. If anyone feels anything or learns anything through our music, we are stoked. Do what you want, share love, free your mind, find yourself, enjoy your community, make peace with your struggles, take a break, live your dreams, speak truth to power, WHATEVER IT IS.”
What can we expect from this next chapter of Hello Forever?
“We start tracking album 2 this week! We are so stoked about this. SO MANY NEW SONGS. Festivals and touring in 2020. More love and crazy adventures.”
Hello Forever’s upcoming album, Whatever It Is, is due to be released on February 21st. You can check out the video for their latest single below.
