According to his press release, Pigeons & Planes and The 405 Huntar makes “futuristic R&B”. Obviously, you and I both know that is not possible. Time is linear and that's something we're all just going to have to come to terms with.It would be great if Huntar’s Bittar Mixtape was genuinely a legitimate representation of our says to come, because then humanity’s road ahead would appear to be pretty rosy, with inequality, war and corruption are tossed to one side and replaced by an innocent and smooth global soundtrack of unprejudiced internet funk, pensive club tracks, grimey soul, and cavernous electro-pop.Across these five tracks, the 21 year old South Londoner has proven himself to be quite the inventive vocalist/producer, earning himself Zane Lowe’s "Next Hype" price tag and luring collaborations with all the acts on you have/should have on your Soundcloud faves list: FTSE, Eagles for Hands, Jay Prince, Keep Shelley in Athens and Youngs Teflon.You can listen to our exclusive premiere of his mixtape here, and below that for my interview with Huntar about making these songs, general R&B and oh what it is to be young.
I think one of my favourite accolades from the blog world was getting "Best Song To Make Babies To of 2014" but there are some sad songs coming, some songs to dance to, and, yes, some more to sex to. I’d like to keep that title for 2015.Tell us about the mixtape we’re premiering. What made you put these five songs together?
This is an introduction to the sound I'm trying to create. A sound that is mainly made up of vocals and elements taken from what I liked from the music I love and the artists I treasure, all moulded into my own sounds.People keep calling it "futuristic R&B". That's not possible is it?
I think in today's world, with technology the way it is, genres are becoming a little irrelevant. Obviously, I never really aimed to be "futuristic". I understand people need to compare music to give others an idea but genres have very blurred lines now.Tell me a bit more about one of the songs for us? Any of them have a particular story attached to them?
"Bittar" for me has the most sentiment. It was written about the idea that no matter how stressful life gets, or how hard times become, there is someone somewhere who can make it feel better.On that R&B tip, what are your top jams?
I love all things Prince, because he's the man! "Let Me Love You" by Mario was my teenage life jam. Right now though, I'm massively into what The Weeknd has done for the 50 Shades movie.Ah the sincerity of being young again. You're only 21 aren't you? How long have you been making music?
I've always been interested in singing, and I’ve been into music ever since my dad played me the Prince 1989 Batman soundtrack. I started learning different instruments and writing songs from about 16. I had a lot of ideas bursting out of my head.Let those ideas run wild for a moment. If money, charm and distance were not factors, and you could get any vocalist in the world on one of your tracks, who would it be?
Such a tough question, I could be obvious and say Prince or JT or Rihanna because she's Rihanna but I think I would chose Annie Lennox. She's a legend and her voice is so strong.One Grammy performance and she’s already got the youth hooked. On yourself, Annie. Thanks Huntar!
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Yo Huntar. What do you ideally envisage people doing to the sound of this mixtape? Chilling, sexing, reading, dancing, grinding, constructing small model aeroplanes, or combing their cat? Feel free to introduce new options.
I think one of my favourite accolades from the blog world was getting "Best Song To Make Babies To of 2014" but there are some sad songs coming, some songs to dance to, and, yes, some more to sex to. I’d like to keep that title for 2015.Tell us about the mixtape we’re premiering. What made you put these five songs together?
This is an introduction to the sound I'm trying to create. A sound that is mainly made up of vocals and elements taken from what I liked from the music I love and the artists I treasure, all moulded into my own sounds.People keep calling it "futuristic R&B". That's not possible is it?
I think in today's world, with technology the way it is, genres are becoming a little irrelevant. Obviously, I never really aimed to be "futuristic". I understand people need to compare music to give others an idea but genres have very blurred lines now.
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"Bittar" for me has the most sentiment. It was written about the idea that no matter how stressful life gets, or how hard times become, there is someone somewhere who can make it feel better.On that R&B tip, what are your top jams?
I love all things Prince, because he's the man! "Let Me Love You" by Mario was my teenage life jam. Right now though, I'm massively into what The Weeknd has done for the 50 Shades movie.Ah the sincerity of being young again. You're only 21 aren't you? How long have you been making music?
I've always been interested in singing, and I’ve been into music ever since my dad played me the Prince 1989 Batman soundtrack. I started learning different instruments and writing songs from about 16. I had a lot of ideas bursting out of my head.Let those ideas run wild for a moment. If money, charm and distance were not factors, and you could get any vocalist in the world on one of your tracks, who would it be?
Such a tough question, I could be obvious and say Prince or JT or Rihanna because she's Rihanna but I think I would chose Annie Lennox. She's a legend and her voice is so strong.One Grammy performance and she’s already got the youth hooked. On yourself, Annie. Thanks Huntar!