huck.jorris Collides Atmospheres In Full Length Album, ‘.exist’
Khalila Haque
huck.jorris serves emotive bass frequencies through his full-length album, .exist on May 16th. His naturalistic elements take listeners on a journey through dreamy soundscapes, earthly roots, and thought-provoking vibrations. Inspired by artists like CharlestheFirst and Chmura, he pushes the boundaries of bass music with flow, complexity, and depth. Accompanied by vocals and flares of genres like hip hop and downtempo, huck.jorris’ .exist is sure to send you through a portal of mind-bending beauty.
Photo courtesy of huck.jorris
“The idea for this album formed naturally over the course of the last year. It was during the first time in my career that I spent any significant time on the road playing music. In conversation with Josh Teed while I was stage-handing at Mission Ballroom, he mentioned something rarely talked about…the lifestyle of a touring artist, and the amount of time spent alone. Whether that’s sitting in airports, on flights, in hotel rooms, or even green rooms, artists truly spend a lot of time with only their thoughts (and hopefully a nice pair of headphones) for company.
Amidst the whirlwind of finally being able to share my art with new audiences around the country, this fact stayed prevalent in my thoughts. This, on top of the financial and personal strains that coexistent with pursuing a life in music, really fueled the creation of .exist. Before I knew it was going to be an album, I had a private playlist on SoundCloud called “songs to exist to” – made up of some tensely ambient songs I created on planes, in festival tents, and through many sleepless nights. After the summer slowed down, I found I had the perspective needed to bring the energy in that playlist full circle and create the journey that became .exist.”
Check out huck.jorris’ full length album, .exist here.
The 11-track album brings to light a vortex of emotions colliding with heart-opening bass lines. From deep, repressive thoughts to lighthearted daydreams, exist. gives listeners space for reflection and soul searching. Beginning with “along for the ride,“ a melodic and emotive introduction that sets a tone for the body of work. .exist travelers are greeted with a higher pace and hip hop vibe in “stray,“ featuring LiTTLE LiON‘s empowering vocals. “pulling threads,“ creates an ethereal, soul-enlightening projection, keeping an upbeat mindset.
Another Atmosphere
Once we float into “repress,” a realm of glitch and erieness, we enter an atmosphere much deeper than what we began with. “devoid” carries the repressive feeling, by diving deeper into bass depths and dark worldly wonder. huck.jorris’ influence by CharlestheFirst shines throughout the album. Not only is Charles’ sound reminiscent within the bass design, but also in huck.jorris’ use of melody. “perpetual motion,“ showcases both of these, but using an airy feel and a sense of nostalgia.
“I would be remiss not to mention (again) the influence CharlestheFirst had on this album, as with most of my work. The plucks and bass design combination that he pioneered continues to be a staple in my song composition, partially as a tribute to his influence on the evolution of bass music and partially because I found these plucks to be the perfect way to integrate my love of music theory and musically complex movements in my tracks.
Unlike my last album, ‘.currents’, this album has much more bass design and atmosphere work as opposed to complicated layers of pluck melodies. I believe the bass design came from the increase in live shows I played while writing the album. While the melodies and emotions keep me inspired, there is something amazingly refreshing about finding new ways to push a sound system.”
Haven’t heard huck.jorris’ last album .currents? Luckily we have it here for your listening!
“The increased focus on atmospheres came from a deeper place. Whether it was from sleep deprivation, financial strain, or a feeling of disconnect from what my life used to be, I found that dialing back the complexity of the melodic elements left a lot of room for personal interpretation and introspection. A prime example of this, and one of my favorite segments of the album, is the three-song run of ‘repress’ into ‘devoid’ into ‘perpetual motion.’ When it all feels like too much, repress it. This sounds ominous, and honestly, I was in a hard place when I wrote this.
However, hard times often lead to the creation of the purest music. Once everything had been repressed, all the stress and troubles, there was nothing left – my thoughts were devoid of anything besides the drum beat. But instead of taking this negatively, I found a certain flow to this headspace – a way to revel in the emptiness. With this newfound lack of concerns, the only thing left to do was to keep moving. Stay in perpetual motion. Everything from there on out is growth, learning to take what you have and make the best of it.
I tried to impart this process of learning throughout the rest of the album. By the time I had written ‘repress,’ ‘devoid,’ and ‘perpetual motion’ (as well as ‘along for the ride,’ ‘pulling threads,’ and ‘blank pages’) I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to take the album. I believe this helped make the album the cohesive body of work I wanted it to be.”
A Vocal and Collaborative Spotlight
Another creative element he adds to his production is vocalist features or even, the use of his own. Julia Kahn‘s vocals in “stay true,“ carry us into balance and dreamy flow. The use of soft vocals balances thumping bass, taking the spotlight in tracks like “coexist” and “blank pages,“ as well. Concluding the album, huck.jorris runs it back to instrumental, with the bass-driven “before you go” featuring eotak, and a reflective track “acceptance.“ Moving from dark to light, “acceptance” summarizes the album’s emotion while sending out its own message of letting go.
“The collaborations in the album fit in nicely with the journey I had in mind. I met Julia Kahn ten days into a solo road trip playing Sound Havenand Big Dub, where we really connected through our experiences and visions as musicians. I’ve always appreciated the way a good female vocalist can add to a song, and having the opportunity to work with a vocalist as talented as her was a true pleasure. LiTTLE LiON and eotak are both fellow cogs in the wheel of the music industry, working behind the scenes to put on all genres of live performances. I knew from the start that they both truly understood the trials and the joys of being fully immersed in this industry. It felt amazingly natural and easy to collaborate with both of these incredibly gifted musicians. I’m looking forward to making many more songs with them in this next chapter of my career!”
Photo courtesy of huck.jorris
After teasing fans with the album drop since April, huck.jorris promisingly delivers the frequencies our deepest selves have been waiting for. Already premiering with both Sweet Sounds Collective and The Gradient Perspective, .exist has quickly built a high reputation within the bass music scene. Aside from CharlestheFirst and Chmura, he attributes his sound’s inspiration to fellow peers like Supernatural, Phurn, Indobeats, and the Qualia crew. Without fitting into a particular genre, huck.jorris seems to continuously find himself where he’s meant to be. Whether that be resonating with an audience in a live setting, playing with depth and complexity within his craft, or pioneering a new era of bass music.
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