Composer and filmmaker Chris Hunt has always maintained a flair for the dramatic. While his ambient soundscapes lean towards the textural and atmospheric, they do so with a sense of deliberation and purpose. Every spectral chord, each stabbing bass note thrusts his music inexorably forward while conjuring a thick fog of brooding tension. His latest project, a collaborative album with fellow midnight carouser Rivi—appropriately entitled Nightwing—follows a similarly murky path.
On the album’s chilling title track, Hunt constructs a backdrop of spectral ambient and sluggish minimalist electronica that pulses almost menacingly. It’s more rhythmic perhaps than the majority of his solo work, but it remains steeped in the same noirish allure. It’s less about underscoring a particular narrative than setting a capital M-style Mood. Meanwhile, his partner-in-gloom embraces the steely spotlight. Rivi’s vocals storm through the track’s sunless haze, her breathless incantations billowing with smoky intensity.
Directed by Hunt and edited by Rivi, the accompanying video, shot in a remote California desert, feeds into the song’s dark cinematic mystique. There’s not much action to speak of, just footage of Rivi wandering through the brush in the pitch black of night. There are portions of the clip that feel almost ritualistic, a lone figure in the wilderness seeking… who knows what. Freedom? Salvation? A way home? The motives are never made explicit, leaving it up to the viewer to interpret. According to Rivi, this allows both song and video to thwart expectations, and dispel the usual tropes of lightness and dark.
“The feeling and idea we were aiming for was to present this kind of character that looks human but isn’t,” she explains. “Looks bad, but isn’t. I personally tend to gravitate to and be a bit smitten by characters that look questionable and somewhat evil, but turn out to be the misunderstood hero instead of the obvious villain. The dark horse of whatever story.”
Watch/listen above.
Nightwing is out Nov. 19. Pre-orders are available here.
More Info
Web: chris-hunt.info
Bandcamp: rivi.bandcamp.com & chrishunt.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @chrishunt0
Instagram: @hello.rivi & @chris_hunt_0
SoundCloud: @ri_vi & @chris_hunt
Twitter: @chris_hunt0