Interview: Hunter And Wolfe Show The Art Of Being “Millennially”

“Millennialy”? Yes, Hunter and Wolfe can, definitely, be considered “millennially” as we discussed the image tarnishes of this generation, and how it, inadvertently, relates to Michael Maffei & Sundeep Kapur, or Hunter And Wolfe, as artists. From meeting, I was, immediately, stricken with their intelligence. These are two guys that are very conscious of the world and how they are maneuvering through it, at least, that is what you will note when you hear their music and have the pleasure to converse with them.

Your songs like, “All My Might” and “We Both Know” seem to be written for those that feel like the “strong one” of a relationship. Have you ever been the one to carry a partner, and what is you advice for those frustrated with how they have to lead a relationship?

Michael: “Wow, I never noticed that. Hmm! I do not want to name any exes,” he says with a huge smile. “In what ways, did you make that assessment”, he says intrigued.

Diandra: Well, you have songs like “Woe Is You” where you literally have lyrics that say, “Stop playing victim”.

Michael: Yeah, I have been in relationships where the other person was constantly playing victim, and found that my feelings were being marginalized. When you see someone always sad or finding the bad of every situation, you find yourself isolating your feelings because you have to comfort them or you cannot talk to them.

Diandra: The reason I point out this sentiment is because I found it a common theme in your music, and so relevant to the current space of the world. You find so many people having valid reasons to be sad, but then you have others that are like, “Stop snowflaking” or “Stop with your safe spaces”.

Michael: Well, I think in this current space there is an unfortunate rise in anti-intellectualism, and a feeling that being educated is acting entitled. Nowadays, there is just so much stimuli in the world, from our phones to the news, that people simply shut down feeling because it is easier. Yet, when I write it is all about feelings, and my friend told me and she said it perfectly, “You write about the irony of vulnerability”.If you see, it always goes back to me; no matter how deep in my feelings I get, I bring it back up to a sense of irony. As if I am telling myself, to get out of my head while, simultaneously, getting more in it.

I love Elliot Smith, and he taught me that it is okay to just write about your feelings. I really love Radiohead, and am huge fan of Thom Yorke, but I used to think and write like him with all these cryptic lyrics and symbolism. Yet, when I heard Elliot he was so pure and emotional. Maybe, too much so.

Diandra: Because that purity turned suicidal. Do you think that, nowadays, because of the current state of the world, there is more attraction to darkness in music?

Michael: I think there has always been. People love the tortured genius, like Elliot Smith, and we idolize or glorify, I think, too much people that have serious depressions and need help.

Sundeep: Like the 27 club! Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and Jimi Hendrix! You had all these artists that, both they and the people who want to be like them, sincerely believe that you need the torture to be creative when, in fact, it could be the very thing that is blocking you. They had drug addictions, mental illnesses, and a lot of personal issues that may have fueled their art but also stopped it. They needed help.

Diandra: I know this is going to sound strange because, at times, when people say, “You are such a Millennial!”, they take it as an insult. Yet, when I heard your music and how you simply the complexity of feeling, I thought it was very “Millennialy”. I say that as a compliment in that it you are about learning to balance your feelings to counter all the imbalance of your situations, which I think Millennials have to do, and I am proud of being one.

Michael: I know! Nowadays, “Millennial” has become such a pejorative, negative term. As if we are this entitled generation, and I do not want to go down that rabbit hole because I can talk about how pejoratively our generation is treated, all day. (he laughs) Yet, I associate both my work and that of being a Millennial with modernity. I like that you said, “Its about the simplicity of being complex” because I try to make simple and even ironic how complex feelings come about within a person. I think “progress” is a felt, growing process.

            In our first album, the cover was a man drowning, but wearing scuba gear and an open umbrella, and, in many ways, I feel like that is what Millennials are going through in that we have so much to offer but not too much voice. In our next album’s cover, you see a burning home, and people walking by it. Again, it goes back to there is so much going on in this world that it feels easier to tune out or, at least, tune others out.

Diandra: I, definitely, got vibes throughout your music of both loneliness and dreaminess. As if, you were both lonely dreamers trying to figure life out, which again feels so “millennially” , and if anything social media has amped that.

Michael: Most definitely! I had not thought of that, but you see it all the time with parents telling their kids or their “milllennials” do not be so “dreamy”, but they raised us to be that way. So I find it ironic that they tell us we are being entitled for wanting to modernize or achieve our dreams, and having access to social media like, Facebook or Instagram, where those emotions are vented, definitely, plays into our generation’s depression.

Diandra: Being a duo, have you ever had moments, especially in terms of the music industry, where you felt like you have to pull each other up or keep each other motivated because you felt pushed away by it?

Sundeep: Not really. In the beginning, we were really about making music, and just putting stuff out there. We were like a music CPU; a computer constantly executing music to the masses. We had our friends take a few pictures of us, and we made them the song covers, but we really did not think about the “business” side of it, which is ironic because I studied law and he studied business. Yet, we came in having no clue about the music industry, and we are still learning how it runs. We just thought about making music, and, for our second album, we got more serious about it. We had short-list of publicists and publishers we wanted to reach out to get our music out there. We did have some “industry people” approach us, but they were scammers. We had this “one guy” call us on skype while eating a bagel and completely butchering our name, “Huntery Wolfey”. (he laughs) Yet, you know, nowadays, there are so many people and platforms to push your music out there that you have to wonder how you will stand out.

Michael: Yeah, like a lot of record labels you cannot walk into anymore, like back in the day, to give your demo or audition. You have to know someone, and even if you get your music on Spotify and have a bunch of clicks, so do so many other unsigned artists that are trying to make it. So you do have to redefine how you sell yourself. Recently, we have started being approached by more labels, and I remember, in the beginning, it threw us off because we had never considered ourselves a brand. Yet, that is what they want nowadays. You have to come in with a concept, an image, and a message you want to sell to people, but, as an artist, you are only thinking about music. Honestly, I understand because they need to make money and sell your music, but we had never thought of music as a business.

Sundeep: which can be lame. The metrics of it all, and having to think about being a brand can be lame.

Diandra: Has is changed your creativity?

Michael: Not at all! We make sure that when we are recording, we are just artists. It is only about the music, and what we feel is the truth to our artistry. That other stuff comes later, and I think, if anything, we have just become more polished about the business side. But, the music stays separate.

Diandra: When did you guys know music was your calling?

Michael: I think, ironically, it is when I stopped taking piano lessons. I realized how much I missed music, and learned the creative aspect of it. I just started recording and writing and making up harmonies.

Sundeep: I think it was when we were in highschool, and we were in a band, and the songs were not great. But, we got the opportunity to record at a studio and learn, and I loved it.

For More Information On Hunter & Wolfe Click Here. There second album, Late Then Ever, comes out on September 27.