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Hugo Interview
Other | Monday 15th August 2011 | Osh
We talk to Hugo; a man who is ‘making Rock ‘n’ Roll music in the age of Hip-Hop’. Hugo is signed to Jay-Z’s record label ‘Roc Nation’. The Guestlist Network investigates!
Hey Hugo, how’s it going? Have you just touched down?
Well, I've been in town for a while... I've been in the states on tour for a while now so I'm just taking some time off, just seeing some family, and I'm going back on Monday.
For the people out there that don’t know much about you or your music, how
would you describe you and your vibe and sound?
It’s taken quiet a while to arrive at this point but most of the songs written are a fusion of traditional country, blues, and rock and roll. I didn't want to make a singer-songwriter album, we collaborated in the writing process with a lot of electronic producers creating more of a contemporary method, rather than making throwback records, even though I'm more of a throwback guy.
Have being born in London, and living in New York and Thailand, had any influence on you and your music?
I suppose me moving around so much means I’ve never really been part of a particular scene, except for in Thailand, maybe. Never long enough to be a part of a community or movement of musicians in a way that some bands and artist may have come through, like by networking or being part of a group, so I kind of feel a bit isolated. But maybe that helps to give me some purity at times. I'm not really doing this for any one else; I'm doing it for myself.
Your song ‘Disappear’ found its way onto Beyoncé’s album I Am Sasha Fierce. How did this come about?
Yes I did. That wasn't originally for her; it was a song I wrote for one of my albums that weren't really going nowhere... My writing partner was Amanda Gurst, and she was working with Beyoncé on her album, and she played my record to her. I was about to pack up my things and leave London and go back to Thailand, and try and pick up my career back there, when I got the call from her saying, “Beyoncé heard your song and she loved it and she wants to cover it”. It was a life-changing moment for me.
So this led you on to sign to Roc Nation?
Yes, exactly.
Did you ever get the chance to meet or work with Jay-Z himself?
No, I haven’t..
Anything in the pipelines?
I don't know... Not anything yet but I'm always ready if called. Although I'm on his label I'm not a hip-hop act, and I think his a pretty good vocalist, so I don’t think he needs a side kick [laughs].
What’s your favourite thing to do on a day off?
On my day off I usually go for a very long walks, strolling endless to the point where I get disappointed when I've got to my destination [laughs], so I just turn around and go around the block again. That's where I get most of my thinking done. I also like people watching... I read a lot as a result of travelling... I haven't had a day off in so long up until recently, so I'm just spending time with family and catching up with a few people I haven’t seen in a while. ‘Cause I've been on the road for, like, seven months.
Wow, that's a long time, but you’re having fun, right? This is the job you want to do?
Yeah, it’s kind of what you signed up to do. Being in America is pretty much the dream for English musicians, to tour that country and experience the romance it holds. Maybe not for Americans but for people who aren’t. ‘Cause it’s a good country, with 21st century things to see: the city New York, all the the great landscapes in between the south, Texas and the desert... It’s like a world away from anything else.
So have you travelled through America then?
Yeah, pretty much been to every state apart from South Dakota, Nebraska, Alaska and Hawaii
You’re a bit of a traveller then?
I’m probably more qualified as a long distance delivery driver than a musician... [Laughs]
Favourite sport?
[Laughs] Cool... I'm not really a sport person; I wasn't really a sportsman when growing up. I was always in bands and arts. Shooting [laughs], I enjoyed some shooting in America. That was fun, but no, I'm not really a sportsman, no. But I do encourage people to keep active. I was never really that competitive; anything that was too organised with too many rules, I wasn’t into. [Laughs]
A standout song is the ‘99 Problems’ cover, it rocks with so much energy and swagger it almost sounds like hip-hop. You’ve been described as many things including ‘gangsta rock’. What would you call your sound?
I still see my self as a rock and roll guy... I see it as a very inclusive style of music. Its influences you can trace back to blues, swing, a bit of blue grass... I'm trying to bring back the diversity of rock and roll because I think rock music has painted itself into a corner, so I still see myself as a rock act, ‘cause that’s where I'm coming from. But I don’t know how to describe the sound; it’s up to the listener, really. I think it’s about trying to capture the minimalism and impact of hip-hop, without rapping, but still having the musicality without it being life-style music.
Who are you Influences in music, and in your life generally?
Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Neil Young obviously had a huge influence on me, but as I went into music more, I got heavily into the blues. When I was growing up, the whole gangster rap thing was happening, and musically that really blew my mind. The album by Dr Dre, The Chronic, and Jay Z's first album, Reasonable Doubt; that period of hip-hop was coming out when I was a teenager. So I was into it right up until the second Chronic album came out in 2001, but after that I think it got lost with the whole sea of grills and stupid cars [laughs], so I kind of lost interest and it turned me off. It became a celebration of money and wealth. I didn’t think it belonged in there...
I hear that. It doesn’t really belong in music...
Yeah, exactly. But, I guess, it’s part of the 21st century, it’s a different thing and it relevant to a point where we at. The consumer culture is not going to do us any favours. You know it is there, and it’s nice to have nice things, but it’s not taking us anywhere. Greed’s not getting us nowhere... That's sort of where I tuned, out but then it came back with some really interesting minimal stuff like Pharrell and Snoop with ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’. More intelligent rap, you know, ground breaking stuff. At that point rock and roll was getting kind of dull, with the exception of guys like Jack White who managed to keep the old-school thing relevant by being an individual about it. I don't think there is a scene; I think it dead! Musically it’s not really going anywhere...
What do you think would be the next step then?
I don’t know really. There is so much old music that I haven't even got round to listening to yet. So many important artists. I’m really sort of going back and listen to the music I haven't had a chance to listen to yet... I haven't really given the ‘80s a lot of time, ‘cause I've been overloaded by the revival that’s going on, so I can’t really get into it. And also I was a kid in the ‘80s and a teenager in the ‘90s, so it’s like, I can see that all the mainstream acts that were established in the 20th century have kind of stopped. There isn't going to be a mainstream anymore. There will be lots of mini-streams... I don’t think people will sustain a long career in music unless they are really good. There are too many people doing it to do it for a lengthy period of time.
What made you get started?
I've been doing this professionally since I was 17. I was in a band in Thailand, and I was also in a band that involved television and showbiz. I recorded four albums in a band in Thailand, then one in England, then moved to New York to finish this one over a five-year period.
When is the record coming out in the UK?
At the moment it’s looking around January.
Okay. But for now we can catch you on Youtube?
Yeah, there are plenty of Youtube shows and acoustic shows to look at.
He is definitely a talent to watch out for... Follow him on Twitter and see what he’s up to, @hugooffical, or find him on rocnation.com/hugo, and, of course, on Youtube.
Hey Hugo, how’s it going? Have you just touched down?
Well, I've been in town for a while... I've been in the states on tour for a while now so I'm just taking some time off, just seeing some family, and I'm going back on Monday.
For the people out there that don’t know much about you or your music, how
would you describe you and your vibe and sound?
It’s taken quiet a while to arrive at this point but most of the songs written are a fusion of traditional country, blues, and rock and roll. I didn't want to make a singer-songwriter album, we collaborated in the writing process with a lot of electronic producers creating more of a contemporary method, rather than making throwback records, even though I'm more of a throwback guy.
Have being born in London, and living in New York and Thailand, had any influence on you and your music?
I suppose me moving around so much means I’ve never really been part of a particular scene, except for in Thailand, maybe. Never long enough to be a part of a community or movement of musicians in a way that some bands and artist may have come through, like by networking or being part of a group, so I kind of feel a bit isolated. But maybe that helps to give me some purity at times. I'm not really doing this for any one else; I'm doing it for myself.
Your song ‘Disappear’ found its way onto Beyoncé’s album I Am Sasha Fierce. How did this come about?
Yes I did. That wasn't originally for her; it was a song I wrote for one of my albums that weren't really going nowhere... My writing partner was Amanda Gurst, and she was working with Beyoncé on her album, and she played my record to her. I was about to pack up my things and leave London and go back to Thailand, and try and pick up my career back there, when I got the call from her saying, “Beyoncé heard your song and she loved it and she wants to cover it”. It was a life-changing moment for me.
So this led you on to sign to Roc Nation?
Yes, exactly.
Did you ever get the chance to meet or work with Jay-Z himself?
No, I haven’t..
Anything in the pipelines?
I don't know... Not anything yet but I'm always ready if called. Although I'm on his label I'm not a hip-hop act, and I think his a pretty good vocalist, so I don’t think he needs a side kick [laughs].
What’s your favourite thing to do on a day off?
On my day off I usually go for a very long walks, strolling endless to the point where I get disappointed when I've got to my destination [laughs], so I just turn around and go around the block again. That's where I get most of my thinking done. I also like people watching... I read a lot as a result of travelling... I haven't had a day off in so long up until recently, so I'm just spending time with family and catching up with a few people I haven’t seen in a while. ‘Cause I've been on the road for, like, seven months.
Wow, that's a long time, but you’re having fun, right? This is the job you want to do?
Yeah, it’s kind of what you signed up to do. Being in America is pretty much the dream for English musicians, to tour that country and experience the romance it holds. Maybe not for Americans but for people who aren’t. ‘Cause it’s a good country, with 21st century things to see: the city New York, all the the great landscapes in between the south, Texas and the desert... It’s like a world away from anything else.
So have you travelled through America then?
Yeah, pretty much been to every state apart from South Dakota, Nebraska, Alaska and Hawaii
You’re a bit of a traveller then?
I’m probably more qualified as a long distance delivery driver than a musician... [Laughs]
Favourite sport?
[Laughs] Cool... I'm not really a sport person; I wasn't really a sportsman when growing up. I was always in bands and arts. Shooting [laughs], I enjoyed some shooting in America. That was fun, but no, I'm not really a sportsman, no. But I do encourage people to keep active. I was never really that competitive; anything that was too organised with too many rules, I wasn’t into. [Laughs]
A standout song is the ‘99 Problems’ cover, it rocks with so much energy and swagger it almost sounds like hip-hop. You’ve been described as many things including ‘gangsta rock’. What would you call your sound?
I still see my self as a rock and roll guy... I see it as a very inclusive style of music. Its influences you can trace back to blues, swing, a bit of blue grass... I'm trying to bring back the diversity of rock and roll because I think rock music has painted itself into a corner, so I still see myself as a rock act, ‘cause that’s where I'm coming from. But I don’t know how to describe the sound; it’s up to the listener, really. I think it’s about trying to capture the minimalism and impact of hip-hop, without rapping, but still having the musicality without it being life-style music.
Who are you Influences in music, and in your life generally?
Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Neil Young obviously had a huge influence on me, but as I went into music more, I got heavily into the blues. When I was growing up, the whole gangster rap thing was happening, and musically that really blew my mind. The album by Dr Dre, The Chronic, and Jay Z's first album, Reasonable Doubt; that period of hip-hop was coming out when I was a teenager. So I was into it right up until the second Chronic album came out in 2001, but after that I think it got lost with the whole sea of grills and stupid cars [laughs], so I kind of lost interest and it turned me off. It became a celebration of money and wealth. I didn’t think it belonged in there...
I hear that. It doesn’t really belong in music...
Yeah, exactly. But, I guess, it’s part of the 21st century, it’s a different thing and it relevant to a point where we at. The consumer culture is not going to do us any favours. You know it is there, and it’s nice to have nice things, but it’s not taking us anywhere. Greed’s not getting us nowhere... That's sort of where I tuned, out but then it came back with some really interesting minimal stuff like Pharrell and Snoop with ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’. More intelligent rap, you know, ground breaking stuff. At that point rock and roll was getting kind of dull, with the exception of guys like Jack White who managed to keep the old-school thing relevant by being an individual about it. I don't think there is a scene; I think it dead! Musically it’s not really going anywhere...
What do you think would be the next step then?
I don’t know really. There is so much old music that I haven't even got round to listening to yet. So many important artists. I’m really sort of going back and listen to the music I haven't had a chance to listen to yet... I haven't really given the ‘80s a lot of time, ‘cause I've been overloaded by the revival that’s going on, so I can’t really get into it. And also I was a kid in the ‘80s and a teenager in the ‘90s, so it’s like, I can see that all the mainstream acts that were established in the 20th century have kind of stopped. There isn't going to be a mainstream anymore. There will be lots of mini-streams... I don’t think people will sustain a long career in music unless they are really good. There are too many people doing it to do it for a lengthy period of time.
What made you get started?
I've been doing this professionally since I was 17. I was in a band in Thailand, and I was also in a band that involved television and showbiz. I recorded four albums in a band in Thailand, then one in England, then moved to New York to finish this one over a five-year period.
When is the record coming out in the UK?
At the moment it’s looking around January.
Okay. But for now we can catch you on Youtube?
Yeah, there are plenty of Youtube shows and acoustic shows to look at.
He is definitely a talent to watch out for... Follow him on Twitter and see what he’s up to, @hugooffical, or find him on rocnation.com/hugo, and, of course, on Youtube.
