Hemlocke Springs’ Guide to Recording a Song From Your Bedroom

Words: Flavia Romandetto | Guide: Anna Konkle

Hemlocke Springs is an American singer, songwriter and record producer who has been a mainstay in my feed since the early 2020s. While Springs never set out to go viral, her most popular song which became a Gen Z playlist staple at the time, gained so much popularity anyway. A banger is, after all, a banger.

Her latest album, The Apple Tree Under the Sea, centres around her origin story - tracing her past from pursuing her Master of Science degree from Dartmouth to becoming a full-fledged genre innovator in contrast to the pop star she is today. 

Her confidence is calm when we speak, but the earnest passion that is undeniable in her lyricism and in our conversation shines through. Below, Hemlocke gives us her top tips for making your bedroom into a music studio.

Anything Can Be Inspiration

I think if you experience virtually anything, observing or feeling the world around you in relation to your life, it allows for everything to be moulded into creative potential. I read a lot, go outside and generally just live my life day-to-day - any of these simpler activities can be used as baselines for inspiration. Live, read and if those two aren’t working, make shit up. Who’s going to stop me? 

Go With The Flow

For me, developing a song happens naturally when I don’t go into it formally, but instead choose to flow with whatever is around me - having fun with it and not overanalysing, because it can really halt your creative stream. Going online and exploring other platforms to keep the inspiration rolling can also be very helpful.

Start Simple

Honestly, if you have a laptop or wired headphones, that’s all you kind of need. There is all this equipment out there that ‘elevates’ the experience but all you need to really get across what you want is the basic set-up. Starting off can be the hardest and most daunting part so you need to have the confidence that the authenticity of your songs comes from you, the artist, not the surroundings of a formal studio. To this day sometimes I miss it being that way. Access to the formalities is a great help but they can also be intimidating and confine you. Start simple and be comfortable: laptop, headphones and go to a quiet corner of your room. Create first and worry later.

Teaching Yourself is OK!

Working with a team in a studio has a lot of benefits but is not necessarily always the best way to start - people are just doing their jobs, but it can be intense. Being at home is liberating and useful when beginning to familiarise yourself with your process. Avoid pressure and embrace passion, if you play around enough you will discover what you most enjoy that also works for you. 

Other Media Can Be Really Helpful 

I always liked mixed media, I like art and I appreciate what a lot of people do but I cannot. After finishing the project I go to other people who are doing crazy incredible things - I’ll have the final product and album title before I start artwork. Usually it comes together step-by-step and the ideas just riff off one after the other.

Circle Back and Continue, Continue, Continue Without Judgement or Fear

Making music is a process of repetition. I do it again and again, take breaks in between, and go out to walk. Sometimes I will go to bed and put a blanket over my head and be like “the world is too much right now!” - which can help me focus. I do think it is a long process and trying a lot of things until you finally hit eureka. I cannot say how long the process will take but if you continue, continue and continue it will find you