Journey into the vibrant world of HEMLOCKE SPRINGS, where her debut EP 'going…going…GONE!' offers a spirited, relatable soundtrack to life's uncertain twists. Transitioning from a PhD candidate to a rising musical sensation, her fearless exploration of uncharted territories proves that procrastination can lead to greatness. Check out the latest cover story for our New Music Friday playlist edit, The Cut.

Words: Ali Shutler.
Photos: Angella Choe.

"I just hope people like it," says hemlocke springs about her debut EP, 'going…going…GONE!'. She's speaking to Dork less than a week from its release, and the stress is getting to her. "I know it's too late to change anything on it, and I know I don't really want to, but… I just keep telling myself it's all going to be fine," she laughs. Thankfully, hemlocke springs, aka Isimeme 'Naomi' Udu, starts rehearsals for her upcoming headline tour later today, and she's hoping that will be enough of a distraction to stop her from getting too in her own head. "I am excited to be releasing it, though," she says. "I should have started by saying that, shouldn't I?"

'going…going…GONE!' is a record driven by excitement, with space for spiralling emotions. The seven tracks bring together urgent, vibrant pop with lashings of chaos as Naomi wears her heart on her sleeve. For this "early version" of the project, she took inspiration from synth-pop stars like Grimes and Marina, while the jagged lyrics see her talking about things she hasn't experienced yet, like love and heartbreak.

"It's about heading down pathways where I'm not sure what I will encounter or where they'll lead," she says, giddily swinging between terror and anticipation. "And that's where the record stops. There's no sense of 'everything will be ok', but there's a little bit of hope," she adds.

Before she was making relatable wonky pop, hemlocke springs studied engineering and had started a Ph.D. in bioinformatics at Ivy League College, Dartmouth. "Music was an escape," she says. "It was something I did when I didn't want to do any work or study. I could do my homework, but why not make a little ditty instead?" As her workload increased, so did her desire to create. For years, she kept it all to herself though. Naomi's parents, a middle school teacher and a mechanic, moved to North America from Nigeria before she was born and presented her with a limited range of career choices that included doctor, engineer or lawyer. "I'm sure that's something anybody with immigrant parents can relate to," she grins. "I really didn't see musician as an option, so I never considered sharing the music that I made."

During COVID, though, Naomi realised she had built up quite the back catalogue of songs, and if she didn't do something with them, they'd just sit on her computer forever, which felt like a waste. "I just developed this 'why not' attitude," she continues, uploading debut single 'gimme all ur luv' one midnight in May last year on a whim. "When you're in a silly, goofy, stressed out, depressed mood, you do a lot of things that you don't know why you do them," she says of her ambitions back then. "I didn't think anything was going to change."

18 months later, though, and almost everything has changed. The lush, dreamy first single racked up millions of views, while the glitching 'Girlfriend' was even bigger. Homework has been replaced by appearances at Lollapalooza, and shortly after the release of the EP, Naomi will be playing headline shows across Europe and the UK. "I only put that song out because I was procrastinating, and look where that's got me," she beams. "Procrastination is key. Remember that."

She says that making the leap to pursue music full-time was a huge risk, especially because she didn't have anyone to turn to for advice or guidance. "It was really daunting," she admits. Even as things were blowing up online, though, Naomi was planning on returning to school until a friend sat her down and told her to make the most of this opportunity. She's thrown herself at every moment since.

The title of the record, and the closing track of the same name, speak to that. "The future that I thought I was going to have was going, going gone. I'm on a different path now, and I wanted to tackle the fear that I have about that, but also the hope."

The twisting euphoria of 'stranger danger!' and the heavenly rave of 'sever the blight' followed as Naomi set to work on creating a body of work. She explains how the EP has "changed a lot" over the past year, with neither of those singles making the cut. "I was just winging it for a majority of the writing, but then three-quarters of the way through, I understood where I was supposed to go and how I wanted to represent myself. I could see the vision."

The result is a bold, colourful collection of songs that capture hemlocke springs' endearing personality alongside a giddy lust for life. "There's definitely a childlike euphoria to it," she grins, providing a posi-pop soundtrack to those feeling uncertain about their own future. "Just don't listen too closely, 'cos then you'll hear what I'm talking about," she continues, refusing to sugarcoat things.

"I definitely felt horrible when I was making this record," Naomi admits, asking herself, "How long can I keep this up before people figure out I'm a fraud?" Today, she's more sure of herself. "I think I did know what I was doing back then, and I know even more now. I'm excited for this record to come out, and I'm really excited about what happens next."

As well as providing a formal, full-length introduction to hemlocke springs, 'going…going…GONE!' acts as a foundation for the future. That hard-fought vision for the EP has quickly snowballed into plans for her debut album, with the latter half of the record hinting at what's to come next with 'pos', a jangly anthem of self-acceptance riddled with anxiety, the biggest signpost.

"I feel like I should have come out of making this EP with a deeper understanding of myself, but after everything, I'm still me," she grins. Naomi's already talking about their second album as well. "I just needed a little period of time to stress myself out."

The idea of what hemlocke springs can become has been helped by playing live. "Because I started out on the internet, it's been so nice to see it translate into a real-life thing." Fans singing the words still throws her off-balance, but she knows she's just going to have to learn how to deal. "After 'Girlfriend' came out, I was really worried that people would stop paying attention, but playing live is a great reminder that people are still tuning in and they still care."

Naomi is still figuring out exactly how hemlocke springs exists on stage, but no matter what, she wants her shows to capture the same escapist euphoria as her music. "It might be chaotic, but it'll be a good time," she grins. There are goals, but "in setting those, I might be limiting myself," she explains, aware of how quickly things can change. "I've gotten this far by going with the flow, and the future is very much unknown," Naomi says. "I just want to close my eyes, run towards it and see what happens." ■