Hugo Van Buuren Delivers Bold Sophomore EP ‘Two Truths’
Following the recent single Hell Is Other People, Melbourne-based artist Hugo Van Buuren shares his compelling new EP, Two Truths. This sophomore release builds upon his 2023 debut, There Is A Place For Everything, taking his indie-folk style into bolder, more dynamic territory. Recorded between Northern California’s Arcata and Naarm/Melbourne, Two Truths explores the tension and warmth between different perspectives—acknowledging the beauty in contrast and duality.
Inspired by his transformative experience seeing Joni Mitchell perform at the Gorge Amphitheatre, Hugo collaborated with producer Gabe Lubowe to create a rich soundscape that balances acoustic and electronic elements. The EP is a visceral exploration of self, mirroring the fiery, orange-red hues of a sunset, with an intensity and rawness that set it apart from his debut. Dive deeper into Hugo’s creative process in our exclusive track-by-track walkthrough, as he unpacks the personal stories and inspirations behind Two Truths.
Copper Mouth
Copper Mouth is about letting go, dissolving into desire and a long weekend spent dancing in a supernatural amphitheater.
Copper Mouth is about finding release and catharsis in a crowd, chasing boys and trying to not get swallowed by the energy and chaos of a night out. It is about celebrating and rejoicing in spaces that allow us to unmask the “humanness” that is performed day to day – and in doing so, breaking through to find an even more raw, even more human space with others.
Dream Drifter
A rumination on long, hot heavy rain, heavy summer storms and shifting sand islands. A nod to my childhood where so much time was spent up and down the coast of Queensland – the intensity of the climate, environment and family history all swirling in a beautiful storm. I wanted this tune to be ever changing and evolving, reflective of both the beauty and complexity that washes over me when I step back into these spaces today. It’s also a bit of a nod to Jeff Buckley’s record Grace, a pivotal record and sonic palette that defined a lot of my adolescence and held me through many storms.
Two Rivers
Two Rivers confronts the complexities of sudden love lost, mental health, and holding space for hope. it captures the tenderness and grief following love lost, set against the backdrop of a long, hot, heavy summer. The track’s lush textural landscape paired with the driving, discrete rhythmic back bone mirrors a racing mind and heart processing grief within the stillness of natural spaces. This is my favourite track I’ve ever made – I’m so proud of the vulnerability, lyric and production. This is the sonic world I’ve always wanted to find home in.
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(lift the weight from my)
The intro to Shoulder. It really captures the softness and energy that close collaborator Emma Kelly (Happy Axe) and I share when we play out live sets. We always make space in our sets for improvised and textural moments, ambient interludes and pauses. I love the space it affords listeners, just a moment to stop and reset and absorb everything that has come, and make space for what is to come. I’m always trying to say more with less words, letting texture and feeling lead.
Shoulders
This one is an ode to releasing, letting go, the catharsis found in music and art and the incredibly creative community here in Naarm. The song was born from the phrase “A wave across the cavern” which was written by Hannah McKittrick titling one episode of her weekly radio show “Soak” on PBS. This one is about lifting the weight of the world from your shoulders, finding lightness and peace through craft, and the endlessly inspiring community around me. You can hear a big chorus of friends singing on this one too – wanted to get as many voices on this one as possible.
Hell Is Other People
This song emerged from a big confrontation/conflict/parting ways with a close friend. But it has grown beyond that, into a broader comment on conflict, privilege, denial of privilege and trying to process really big things. I now think of this song not only as regarding interpersonal conflict, but also a comment on political apathy and the conflict and genocide occuring today.
The opening line of the song “Two people, two truths, digging deeper lies. Hell is other people, and so I know I’m right” – it really sums up the song and the EP as a whole. It’s about conflict of two people who both hold their own truths / two ideologies – and when you, and the people around you tell you something long enough – how you can become blind, and begin to lose grasp with fact, what is real and digger yourself deeper and deeper in conflict
The idea that Two Truths often exist in conflict and confrontation – whether it be interpersonal, politically etc.
This song was so heavy when I wrote it – and it still is, I initially didn’t like to play it live because of how intense the subject matter was and the weight it carried.
The final bridge of the songs opens up, it confronts the privileges we deny, with an optimism and hope that good truly exists within us, and is at the core of our actions and how we treat each other.
Started recording this in Arcada Northern California with Gabe Lubowe – who coproduced the EP with me. It was a hard one to crack – I was stumped on how to progress it I sent it to Jerome Blaze (Sydney) to just completely dismantle the song, do what ever he wanted to it and send back a version to disorientate me and surprise me.
This experiment work and unlocked an incredible sonic world that really carried the song to the finish line. Balance the weight of the subject matter with carefully coloured sonic pallet.
This song is big and I’m so proud of it. It’s the most confrontational and direct I’ve ever been in my writing.
