With a voice that can meander from a whispering purr to a hardened howl, Hip Hatchet lusters the poetics of travel. Threading bold and unique guitar picking patterns with the strings of experience Hip Hatchet, the songwriting moniker of Philippe Bronchtein, is the beautiful resolution of a life lived in motion.
Like many folk songsmiths before him, Hip Hatchet staggers the intersection of romanticized love and everyday trials. Hip Hatchet is the project of Philippe Bronchtein, a one man band who crafts carefully orchestrated, rustic folk songs about the inner longing for companionship and steadiness. Bronchtein’s witty lyrics and sincerity allows him to visit these classic folk tropes and emerge unscathed by the cliches
A musical jack-of-all-trades, Hip Hatchet pulls from his variety of musical experiences, including jazz piano, bluegrass, country, chamber music, and the American singer-songwriter tradition, to create a dynamic, original, and candid sound. Hip Hatchet layers on harmony in a way that builds on the carefully crafted sound to reveal the beauty in our messy, complicated lives.
Always a traveling man, once having called Montreal, Vermont, New Jersey, and Portland home, Bronchtein’s liking for the road and rural America comes through in his quest to tell the story of every person his meets. Recently returned to Portland with a newfound appreciation for home, Hip Hatchet’s songs compel the listener to think about their definition of home and place.
“Watching Hip Hatchet perform, you can’t help wonder if you’re fallen out of time. On the stage with an ageless voice, finger picking a guitar that draws on the blues and drowns in Americana, the authentic folk sound is anachronism in a music landscape that is heavily electronic.”
—Haley Houseman, The Wild Magazine Online
“In the style of Jack Kerouac, Bronchtein’s songs are an unremitting love affair for the road…The interlocking guitar melodies and textures carry an emotional weight that supports Bronchtein’s heavy lyricism.”
—Stirling Myles, Feature Story, 1859 Magazine
“His storytelling is filled with humor, sophistication, and the kind of stringing together of thoughts that demands the listener reflect on their own lives…After hearing “Joy and Better Days,” it left me thinking that he had said everything I’d ever wanted to say about life, but never had the insight to put so gracefully into words.”
—Zach Hart, We Listen For You Music Blog
“…a mix of rustic prairie and Romance poetics scribbled on glass-stained bar napkins. What makes Hip Hatchet immediately listenable is Bronchtein’s voice—a smooth mahogany baritone that sounds a bottle of whiskey deep with the honesty of a thousand Abe Lincolns.”
—The Source Weekly
Doors 9:30 | Music 10pm. 21 and up, proper ID required.