UH HUH HER 

Post-label living means unprecedented artistic freedom—and maybe a second job 

Life without a record label has its ups and downs. After parting ways with Nettwerk in 2009, Camila Grey and Leisha Hailey of Uh Huh Her decided to go the indie route and self-release their sophomore album, Nocturnes. While creativity was never in short supply, funding was. “We were running out of money, so I was like, ‘I need to get a job!’” says guitarist and keyboardist Grey. “It’s the reality of it.” She found a plum one, playing keyboards for American Idol star Adam Lambert on his world tour.

Although fundraising slowed the production process, the duo was prepared to take its time—again, both a positive and negative development. “The good news about being on a label is that there are deadlines,” Grey says. “Obviously when you’re indie and financing everything, it takes quite an effort to get something out into the market expeditiously.” That said, not having a timetable also allowed Uh Huh Her to work with producer and Emmy-winning composer Wendy Melvoin. The band met Melvoin at L.A.’s Henson Recording Studios and passed their work in progress on to her. “She took a liking to it and offered her help,” says Grey, who co-produced the album with Melvoin. “And we were of course jumping at the chance.”

Its label-free state also allowed Uh Huh Her to follow its muse while making Nocturnes. “I stopped listening to pop music, because I got fed up with it,” says Grey. “It’s great, but my ears just got tired of the same monotonous sound coming from the four producers that are dominating the market right now.” Instead, Uh Huh Her took their cues from early ’90s dream-pop and ’70s rock bands like Pink Floyd. Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham provided inspiration for the drum sound—indeed, the duo rented the kit he used on that band’s “When the Levee Breaks.”

“I was like, ‘I want to go back to what made me want to do this in the first place,’ which is really experimental, beautiful music that’s different and albums that you can listen to from front to back,” Grey explains. As a band not looking to make a pop crossover, Uh Huh Her have managed to make independence work for them. Says Grey, “It’s a lot of work, but if you have the means, the fan base and the relationships, it pays off.”

–Amanda Farah

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