Q&A: Logan James Hope and Hadley Nelson on ‘STILL SILVER’ and Silver Cup’s Return
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY INDI TEJEDA ☆
Photos By John Newton
AFTER SPENDING TIME PURSUING THEIR OWN CREATIVE PATHS—Logan James Hope and Hadley Nelson return with STILL SILVER, a project that feels less like a comeback and more like the next chapter of a partnership that never really disappeared.
Built from unfinished demos and fresh inspiration, the EP embraces the duo's instinctive creative process while opening the door to new influences. In conversation with Luna, Logan and Hadley discuss the hiatus, the making of STILL SILVER and what Silver Cup means after returning on their own terms.Read Luna’s conversation with Silver Cup below.
LUNA: What was the exact moment or conversation during the hiatus where you both realized, “It’s time to bring Silver Cup back?”
LOGAN: I had just finished my solo album, which was really cathartic, heavy and difficult to make. I’d basically told everyone, “This is the last thing I’m gonna do. I’m done.” Hadley knew that was BS. She called me and got me back on the horse, and we decided to finish these demos we’d had forever.
LUNA: How did the idea for STILL SILVERfirst take shape? Was there one specific demo or late-night studio session that defined the core of this new era?
LOGAN: Ironically, it was mostly old ideas. We had two demos sitting around, and I had two other songs I’d been working on for my solo project that just didn’t feel right. I pretty quickly realized they were Silver Cup songs. I finished them over a week, Hadley tracked them and that was basically it. It happened really fast.
LUNA: Were there any songs that changed dramatically between their original demos and what ultimately became the album?
HADLEY: Not really, which is actually different for us.
We’ve completely rebuilt demos before. “Gaslight” started as this slow, chill, funky creative exercise built around a sample before becoming a fast, shouty electronic pop song. With “Kill For You,” we completely changed the chords while keeping the melody.
That didn’t really happen here. Obviously every song developed from its crude demo form, but the feeling was there from the beginning. We never had to force a song into becoming something else. We just followed where it was already going.
LUNA: Was there anything you experimented with on STILL SILVER that you hadn’t given yourselves permission to try on earlier Silver Cup records?
HADLEY: We just let the music come out with zero intentions beyond being in the Silver Cup mindset. I think that’s why it feels elevated while still completely on brand.
So I guess the “experiment” was giving ourselves permission to think about…absolutely nothing. We weren’t trying to make it cooler or weirder or more pop or more experimental. We just let ourselves make Silver Cup music.
LUNA: What artists, records, films, places or other pieces of culture were quietly influencing Still Silver while you were making it?
HADLEY: Some are ever-unchanging and some are brand new. I ALWAYS have Imogen Heap in my back pocket. Same with Caroline Polachek.
More recently, Logan and I have both been obsessed with what’s happening in electronic music. I’m a massive underscores fan, and the newer demos definitely take a page out of her book production-wise. I know Logan did that for me, haha.
I’d love for Silver Cup to be this fun bridge between proper alt-pop and the dope indietronica happening right now. We already had that intention with Songs From a Broken Laptop, but it feels even more exciting with everything that’s happened in the genre since 2024.
And as far as inspiration goes, I always have to shout out my exes.
LUNA: What does the next chapter of Silver Cup look like?
LOGAN: I think it’s a marathon instead of a sprint. Before the hiatus everything was, “Go, go, go. We have to blow up. We have to cut through the noise.” I just don’t care about that anymore.
I’d love for us to make a record every year, or every six months, or whenever we actually want to. I like imagining that someday I’m an uncle and Hadley’s a mom and we’re still playing shows. My brother’s kids are like, “Yeah, my aunt and uncle are in a band.” I think that’s sick.
