Van Hunt

Photo Courtesy Of Van Hunt

WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW AND HAVE YOU ALWAYS LIVED THERE?

I am in Los Angeles. I have not always lived here.

WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND BROUGHT UP?

I was born in Dayton, Ohio (USA). I was raised there for the first 10 years of my life. then, I moved to Arlington, Texas, where I stayed until I went off to University.

WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR PRESENT CITY OR HOMETOWN?

The best thing about Los Angeles, to me, is that I can bend it into any shape I want. Meaning, the city is everything I need it to be, and when I need it to be quiet, riotous, benign, frightening, curated, chaotic, charming, and thoughtless.

WHAT ARE SOME YOUR FONDEST CHILDHOOD MEMORIES?

It would be, either, sitting next to my father in the car as he steered with his left hand and pulled on a cigarette with his right. Or, many years later, as my mom's boyfriend ran into the store, the radio played 'When Doves Cry'. That was my first time hearing that song, and from that moment on I knew what I would do with the rest of my life.

WHY MUSIC?

I guess I needed a medium to compose all the information I was taking in from my environment - and music seemed the most robust. the most satisfying. from the first time I sat behind a drum kit at age eight - to getting my first electric keyboard at age 14 - the low notes, the high notes, there were just so many ways to speak my mind through music and sound.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND?

All encompassing. from the rhythms of Africa to Bach's Cello Suites to Appalachian porch shuffles to Detroit punk. I love it all. It's just in me.

IS THERE A MUSICAL PASSAGE OR MELODY THAT NEVER FAILS TO MOVE YOU?

Anything from the Bach Cello Suites and Louis Armstrong's Hot 5 recordings. 

WHAT'S YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS? 

I usually need a theme, a title, an itch...And then I'm off and running. If I'm inspired to pick up an instrument something useful usually comes out of me. Something that my subconscious has been chewing on.

WHO OR WHAT HAS HAD THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOU?

It's hard to argue against the influence of my interpersonal relationships, they've all shaped me and continue to shape me. But my biggest influence outside of those relationships has probably been the Prince catalogue between 1980-84. It gave me a foundation and an orientation, sonically. And Zora Neale Hurston, and Jacques Vallée, who gave me an intellectual grounding.

WHAT MOMENT ARE YOU HAVING?

Being a father has moved me for 20 years, and, I'm very much into my relationship with my lady and her kids and her world. I'm settled, in so far as I'm comfortable in my skin. I still have my bite. I still have my wits about me. I'm always looking for ways to sell art, and always diving into mysteries; especially ancient ones. 

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR PERSONAL AESTHETIC AND HOW HAS IT EVOLVED OVER TIME? 

I have always dressed to express my insides, and that always changes and in some ways stays the same. But I'm also open to suggestions from people I trust. I can hang out in a garage or on an island. My sense of design has always remained consistent, however. My base is very much rooted in research and development. Structure and engineering. Clean lines. And then I decorate the top with melodies and words, and a wink and a smile. 

WHAT DO YOU GET UP TO WHEN YOU'RE NOT WORKING?

I love my work - so I am never not working. It's way past an obsession. I find inspiration for my work in everything I do outside of working. 

HOW DO YOU UNWIND?

The only way I can unwind is if I create something beautiful. Then, after, I can unwind with a glass of wine and stories and laughter.