How did Safehouse start?
It started because we were all in an a cappella group together at Belmont, The Beltones. We had a show where we had to perform in smaller groups, and that’s when the three of us sang for the first time together-which was magical. From there, we kept going. In the spring of 2023, we were trying to come up with a band name, and Grace and I wrote a song together called ‘Safehouse.’ One day, we thought, “Wait… what if we name our group Safehouse?”
– Hannah
How do y’all come about your creative process?
We write all the songs together. It’s usually like, if someone writes a song and thinks it could be fit the group, we re-write it and work on it together.
– Hannah
It does feel very cooperative when we’re all in the studio. We all play guitar and Grace even played mandolin on ‘June.’ We decide from what we’re hearing or what the song needs and go from there. Whoever is really feeling passionate, steps in the booth and tries their hand at it.
– Jack
What pop culture moment represents your songwriting process as a group?
Charli XCX and Lorde getting in the studio and working it out on the remix
– Grace
What’s the meaning behind the concept of BPM?
We were on a writing retreat we had planned for ourselves, just trying to write as much as possi-ble. We went outside to start writing, and we were all either at the beginning or end of a rela-tionship, situation, or crush territory-our heads were spinning from the emotions. We all relate to being overthinkers and really sensitive people.
We were trying to write our way through those feelings and finding a way to justify them in a way where maybe these things feel painful to us in the moment, but maybe they’re not so bad.
Like, maybe it’s sweet that we feel so strongly over a thing because we just care so much and want things to work out. We just want things to be good. But it’s funny how those emotions can affect us physically. I think it was just us trying to make ourselves feel better for how deeply we care about those things.
– Jack
What’s a story behind the song?
It took us a very long time to write it. First of all, the process of writing the song in general was rough-we were racking our brains for the chorus.
It was the most difficult thing to finish ever, but that was because we really cared about it. Then, we tracked it a year after we wrote it. – Hannah
Any highlight moments while crafting the song?
Hannah: Realizing the meaning of the song kept changing over time.
Jack: First, when Hannah came in the morning after being stuck on the song and played the chords as if they came out of her dreams. Second, when Grace’s dad, Mike, played fretless bass on the track.
What would be the best way for someone to listen to ‘BPM’ for the first time?
You need to let the sun be almost all the way down, just right before sunset. Get in your car, go on a mental health drive (preferably while spiraling about your crush), and it’Il be therapeutic and cathartic. By the time you’re back on your driveway, you’ll feel so much more grounded and able to accept that maybe it’s sweet you care about something so much.
What are some emerging artists that everybody should be listening to?
Walker Burroughs, Abigayle Oakley, and Lydia Maes!