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(Image credit: Shervain Lainez)
It’s a bit ironic when hemlocke springs tells me she isn’t a finisher, as we’re a month away from the release of her anticipated debut album, the apple tree under the sea. The singer, songwriter, and producer, born Isimeme “Naomi” Udu, is a perfectionist at heart, and if it wasn’t for the firm deadline she gave herself, she admits she’d probably still be tinkering on the larger-than-life project to this day. It’s that attention to detail, combined with playful vocals and an era-transcending sound all her own, that earned the pop artist a cult following in the first place along with praise from noteworthy artists like Doechii, Chappell Roan, and Conan Gray, to name a few. Basically, if you’re not already acquainted with the artist, it’s time to get on board.
It was in 2022, while attending graduate school at Dartmouth (studying health informatics), that Udu made the leap from student to bedroom pop star, honing her producing skills on the app GarageBand and putting out viral hits on TikTok. She released her first single “gimme all ur luv” under the moniker hemlocke springs, followed by “girlfriend,” two exuberant, ’80s-inspired tracks. With fans clamoring for more from the artist, a full body of work was imminent, but hemlocke springs didn’t anticipate the emotional toll it would take her on.
Nearly a year in the making, the apple tree under the sea is a collection of songs marking a period of self-discovery for springs. Alluding to her staunch Christian upbringing in a Nigerian household in North Carolina, the artist confronts her repressive past in order to find self-acceptance through a fantastical exploration of different musical genres.
Ahead of the release of her latest single “w-w-w-w-w,” I sat down with Udu to talk about the therapeutic process of making her debut album.
(Image credit: Shervin Lainez)
We’re so close to the release of the album. How does it feel as you get closer and closer to the world experiencing this full body of work?
I’m glad it’s gonna be out. I’ve listened to it too much. I’m excited that it’s the first album, it’s the debut. I’m excited that people can listen to and hear what I’ve been hearing for the past year.
It seems as if this album has been a long time coming for you. Can you speak to the process of making it?
When it flows, it flows. A lot of the songs I wrote just because I wanted to write a song, but then in writing, I realized just how much I internalize. I feel like I speak a lot about my emotions, but it was clear to me when I was listening like, “I don’t think you really say a lot, girl.” I suppose that’s what music is for, to really bring out what you’ve been hiding inside.
I think the real strenuous process was editing and making sure it is catchy or that the song sounded like I wanted it to in my head. That was just a lot of back-and-forth, a lot of going back to the drawing board. But an album is now done because of that, so I don’t regret that process. Some things are strenuous. It happens. It gets to the good, nitty-gritty parts.
Did writing this album feel therapeutic for you?
I struggle with words, especially as I’ve gotten older for some reason. My speech has just gone down. I’m like, What am I saying? I’m just talking to talk. So I think it’s definitely been helpful to say this is how I feel … in a way that I think people can get as opposed to in real life, where I’m just stuttering and stumbling and I’m like, “Even I don’t know where I was going with that.”
You can tinker with a project like this forever, trying to perfect each song. When did it feel complete to you?
Oh, man. Earlier when I was doing hemlocke stuff, I had a “feeling” of like, “Oh, I think we’ve gotten here.” With this album, I was like, “This can still be worked on, and this can still be worked on.” So I was like, “I have to finish this album by this date, and past this date, if that’s it, it’s done.” I had never given myself a time limit before, and I finished before the time limit.
We love a deadline.
We love a deadline. I would still be working on it.
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Were there any songs that were particularly challenging to get through in the writing process but have grown to be favorites of yours?
The last song on the album is called “be the girl,” and it was around a nine-minute demo that turned into—I think it’s still on the longer side—like five minutes, but everything was reworked. There were multiple times in doing this song where I was like, “I can’t do this again,” but I did it. It was just a matter of really cracking down on it. That song made me take at least a week break. It was that one, and then there is also a song called “sense (is)” on the album, and particularly, the bridge of that [was difficult]. I think we worked on “sense (is),” and then we worked on “be the girl,” and it was just two tough parts following each other. I will say “be the girl” was tough, but I love it, and it is becoming one of my favorites. So I can’t complain.
When you’re in a creative rut and need a break like that, is there anything that you do to get past it?
When I get into creative ruts and stuff, I’m realizing that I’m doing a lot. … As much as hemlocke is an extension of myself, it is a job, and it’s almost like, “You know what, Naomi? You need to go out and have fun and paint the town red or something and then come back to it. It will quite literally always be waiting for you, so you might as well go out, have a little fun, and find more of a balance.” Usually, it’s me just hammering and trying to figure something out, and it’s not working, and it’s like, “Okay, I’m going to take a step back. I need to touch some grass. Calm down. It’s not that deep.” And then I can usually go back with… if not a solution, then a more positive outlook that everything will be okay.
What did you learn about yourself personally and as an artist in making this album and coming out on the other side?
I learned I am not a finisher. I learned that if I could have multiple projects that are halfway done, I would. But I’m proud that I went in and made myself just sit down and work on these things. Inherently, it is just not in my DNA. That’s ironic because we’re talking about the finished product, but inherently, it’s not in my nature to finish things. But it’s a work in progress.
(Image credit: Shervin Lainez)
You have such a strong fashion and beauty identity. Would you say it’s an extension of your personal style or specific to hemlocke springs?
I dress like this because I like it, and that helps me a lot. … There are definitely things where [it] can be like you’ve developed this persona, and you’ve kind of Hannah Montana–ed it. Wait, is that throwing shade to Hannah Montana? I didn’t mean to. I love Hannah Montana. But it definitely helps when a lot of the things that I do for hemlocke I also do for myself. So it makes that bridge very easy. I was like, “The world can use a little bit of pink or color.” I used to dress more colorfully when I was young, and I think I lost that in between college and stuff. As I got older, I was like, “I want to go back to my roots,” and I found myself gravitating toward different-colored wigs and dressing a little bit brighter. And then I just never outgrew that, and now, it’s just inherently a part of myself and a part of hemlocke. I’m glad I was just able to just get back to my roots.
You’ve talked about how you grew up in a very religious household and described it as being in a bubble. I’m curious—were there any restrictions on the music that you could listen to growing up, and when did that world start opening up for you?
I exclusively only listened to the car radio, which was usually like Christian rock. It’s weird because I don’t think that we were a musical household, but my brother did band, and I did chorus, so a part of me is like, “Maybe we were?” But we didn’t actively play music in the house. The music that I would find would be of old Christian singers or gospel music, which is cool. I listen to that a little bit for a vibe. I think when I started to diversify my music type is [when] my mom taught at the middle school that I went to, and that was when I could use the internet because I didn’t have a laptop. I could scroll through YouTube videos, and I found Avicii’s “Levels,” and I was like, “Oh, this is music!” That started a whole deep dive, and I started to listen to various types of music. When I get back home … there’s only gospel CDs laying around, which is, again, fine, but when I got to school, I could discover other people.
In addition to Avicii, who were some early influences who made you want to explore creating your own music?
I remember finding Grimes, and I was inspired because she did … her third album on GarageBand. I’m like, “Oh, I have GarageBand. The dots are connecting.” Then I remember I stumbled across something regarding Marina and the Diamonds. I can see the [album] cover in my mind. I was reading something about her, and she said, “I’m just gonna do this by myself and make this by myself.” I also had a good friend in high school, and they were showing me the songs that they were doing on GarageBand and how they produced, and I was like, “You know what? I can do this, so this can be like my little thing that I do.”
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You seemed to be very much on an academic path, getting your master’s in health informatics before pivoting to music full-time. Was that a strange transition for you?
It still feels strange. Honestly, I think being in grad school helped. I had a path for me, and then when everything started popping, it definitely surprised a lot of people. But I feel like some of my grad friends are like, “This is doing what it’s doing for a reason. Why not, because you got your degrees. If you really want to return, you can. What’s the harm in trying?” That gave me incentive to definitely go and see where music can take me, but it definitely was a surprise. It still is a surprise, and still to this day, people message me like, “I found out that you were a musician, and these people shouted you out.” It’s nice to get that because I baseline feel that on a daily basis, like I got some student loans and did the shebang educationally, and then now, we’re here. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s definitely a story.
Exactly. You have amazing artists cosigning you, like Doechii. What did it mean to you to have her support?
I remember seeing her at Dartmouth. I was there specifically for her, and she came, and she performed. And then it was this indie band after, but I didn’t know them. I was quite literally there for Doechii. I was a fan, or I am still a fangirl. But I didn’t even know [about it]. A fan sent the video to me, and I was like, “What in the world is going on? What is happening?” I just love that people like it and that people who I listen to like it. I am very grateful about it. It’s crazy.
You also recently opened up for Chappell Roan and Conan Gray. What was it like playing for those different crowds, and what did you learn from that experience?
It’s weird because I knew for sure I was doing Conan, so I was prepping for that, and then when Chappell came about, I was like, “Whoa, okay.” It was two big people at the same time. I was like, “Okay, get your head in the game.” … For the first part of it, I was like, “I need to center myself, and we’re just going to go through it. We’re just going to chug along.” But as I was able to perform for both fans, I found myself getting lax with it and just being like, “It’s about having fun, and people want to have fun.” If they can’t see that you’re having fun, they’re probably not going to have as much fun, so you might as well enjoy it. You’re up there. You’re singing. You’re in these weird ass costumes. Things might go awry. You might as well play into it. It’s a show for a reason.
For my own tour, I’m thinking of my costumes. I can’t wear anything too bulky. I can’t wear anything too this or that because I had a little more costume technical difficulty than I thought. … Now, I know. Definitely wearing less clothes. That’s where things are going.
The album’s coming out next month, which is a very exciting start to 2026. What else are you looking forward to this year?
Oh, man. Definitely finishing more songs. I know I said that I’m not a finisher, but [I’m] definitely just working on more music because I feel like I was in that creative, writer’s block phase, but that just naturally happens after you do a body of work. You just got to let it happen. But now, I want to write. I want to do songs, and I have ideas that are coming. I want to sit down and work, so that’s my goal. Also touring. I should probably have put that first because of the album, but I’m looking forward to performing the songs for my fans and to creating the show and seeing what it can be.
The apple tree under the sea is out February 13.
