Huron John (Aug. 2018)
Is there such a thing as absolute true creativity? Ideas so one of a kind and visions to personal that they could move mountains and change the mindset of the youth? Huron John laughs at the idea of this even being a question, as he stands as the answer to both with his vast artistic work standing as concrete evidence.
The Illinois creative has his hand everywhere imaginable, from music to visuals to design, excelling in all due to his vision of youthful freedom in creation and beauty in living everyday limitless. He holds himself to the high degree that his idols once did to themselves, knowing his mission on this planet it to inspire and create no matter the circumstance he finds himself in.
Standing now with the world at his highway and his art as the car that will take him as far as he needs to go, Huron John is ready to take over the minds of the youth. He is ready to become the radio tower that infects others with his message of breaking chains through creativity. Huron John is the voice the youth have been waiting for, and he’s only getting started.
PM: First question as always, how’s your day going?
HJ: My day is going decent, I’ve been sick in bed all day, so that kind of sucks but it’s whatever.
PM: So for anyone out there who doesn’t know, who is Huron John, what is his goal creatively, and where does he focus his energy?
HJ: Who is HJ? I’m just another teenager from the suburbs of Illinois I guess. My goal creatively is to ultimately create my own world. I want the kids who don’t have “a world” to be able to step into mine. Through my beats, my lyrics, my visuals (photographic or cinematic), I want you to be able to step into a new place. I want to take those childhood memories of the mid-2000’s and blend them with the nostalgic summertimes of the internet age. It’s “Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends”, but all you can drink is Fanta. There are no cars, only BMX bikes, and the sky is always a cotton candy sunset. PlayStation 2, Fun Dip, and a mountain range reflecting the massive ocean that sits under it. That’s my world. So open and free but still contained by those suburban picket fences that stay on the outskirts. I focus my energy on a lot of shit. Mostly music, obviously. Music is my main thing. I focus a lot of my energy on visuals though, to really try and immerse the audience in that psychedelic but nostalgic world that I was talking about.
PM: But where did this all come from? You have the vision that few have before you but it’s so unique it warrants explanation. What events or world growing up brought you to the vision you see now?
HJ: Honestly, I’ve just been exposed to so many different and unique like subcultures I guess you’d call them. I’ve been a part of so many little “communities” that really shaped my interests and personality, they’ve all just kind of become one massive mixing bowl of “aesthetics” or whatever you call them that is my music. I was a kid who grew up going to YuGiOh card tournaments and midnight releases for Modern Warfare at Gamestop, but then I was also the kid in the front row of the Odd Future shows going crazy in the pit. I would go from a living room watching hours of Fosters Home Of Imaginary Friends, to a skatepark riding hours on my BMX bike. And of course, the whole internet era and all that shit have just like taken all subcultures and made it just go crazy. So, I guess all these little obsessive phases of my life have sort of brought me to where I am today in terms of inspiration.
PM: For sure, through all this did you ever feel as though you were an outsider compared to your peers? And if so, how have you used that to your advantage going forward into music and art?
HJ: Absolutely. I’ve always felt like an outsider when I was little I went from sport to sport to sport trying everything out. Tee-ball, then soccer, basketball, baseball. Everything. I could never find my fit. Socially too, I’ve always felt like I’ve been on the edge of what was going on. That absolutely comes through in my music, a lot of the lyrical content is talking about being alone, isolation, introspection, feeling left out. Even the actual sonic qualities of the music makes you feel like you’re alone; those warm but warped synths and reverb guitar leads. That’s some “lone wolf” shit right there. Like I said, I’m trying to create my own world, because sometimes I felt that I didn’t have one.
But, the whole “outside perspective” type thing has totally been the main tool in my creative arsenal. I feel like I’ve developed a level of introspective familiarity that some other’s haven’t; I know myself and what I’m trying to do. I know exactly what I’m trying to create and how I’m trying to create it: because some of those lonelier moments in my childhood really gave me that time to “think”. But no matter what, whether I’m on the outside looking in, the inside looking out, or the dead center, looking around, I’ve always stayed true to that “keep going” “follow your dreams” mentality. Never give up, no matter who is surrounding you.
PM: Did you find there to be points where you wanted to give up and more so move away from what you were doing, and seeing that you haven’t now, how did you combat those moments?
HJ: Dude, of fucking course, I still have those moments all the time. I think any creative goes through those moments. I have times where I think my work is on par with the greats, and other times I think its complete shit. I think for sure all the support I’ve gotten, locally and online, is pretty much what helps keep those moments at bay. I had a kid from Pennsylvania DM me about how my stuff has gotten him through hard times, and how it’s like relatable and stuff. Shit like that is what makes me want to keep going. Because really, if I’ve impacted or entertained literally one person, I’ve won. Let alone a complete stranger. Like I said, I want to create that sort of image-based fantasy world for kids with nothing. A new realm to step into. Really just hyper-focusing on the positive feedback and the end goal of making this whole like creative universe through music and visuals is what keeps me going. I have my ups and my downs, but at the end of the day, I stay motivated. You have to. I am a firm believer in the fact that literally, any artist can make it if they just KEEP GOING. All my favorites, a big example is Kevin Abstract, he got an audience because he stayed so persistent in the way that he was trying to achieve it. If you give up, you’ve lost. You have to keep going.
PM: Then what to you is the most important part of creating, and how have you find that answer changing with time and experience?
HJ: Easily the most important part of creating is just that exhale feeling it gives me. Sometimes it feels like my mind gets clogged up and it just stops functioning. Creating, whether it be music, clothes, videos, whatever, lets me sort of “exhale” so I can just keep my brain flow going. That answer has definitely evolved though, I used to create to get recognition and acceptance from my peers and shit because I felt I wasn’t really getting any. That’s kind of changed now, and its developed into a sort of cathartic type of thing. At this point, it has gotten totally normal to me: it’s like a heavy drug user. They get to a point where they’re doing drugs not to feel high, but to feel normal. That’s like creation to me at this point. It’s so natural that I just need to constantly be doing it.
PM: Through this, who have you discovered your biggest influences to be? Why were they important and what experiences with their art or work shaped you?
HJ: My biggest influences is a pretty wide range. My most important influence is absolutely Tyler The Creator. I’m easily top 3 Tyler fans on the planet, no exaggeration. He has inspired me musically, and sonically, but his inspiration has really been much more mental. He has inspired me to follow my dreams, and really chase this shit that I love. He’s inspired me to be myself, and be okay with being myself. He is where I get this inspiration to “create my own world” because he’s basically done all that himself. Camp Flog Gnaw, the whole Wolf Universe, it’s all genius. By far my biggest influence. I remember hearing “WOLF” right when it came out in 2013, TheNeedleDrop on Youtube actually put me onto him through one of his previous videos. I heard the album, and it changed everything for me. I remember, when I was like 14, Google searching “How does Tyler The Creator make his instrumentals” and I discovered the current software that I use, “Reason”. I’ve been using that software for EVERYTHING for the past 5 years. I also love classic electronic music: Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, etc. That’s where I get a lot of my love for classic synth sounds. Then obviously I love all the typically synthpop-ish stuff, like the newer Tame Impala sound. Obviously, I’m a massive Kanye West fan, and I’m hugely influenced by Travis Scott when it comes to the live setting. I also love artists ranging from deadmau5 to Death Grips to Pink Floyd to Madvillain to Slayer to Thundercat to everybody else. I have a ton of different influences, but I like to piece them all together in a way that sounds unique, I guess.
PM: Going forward, how do you see yourself evolving as an artist, and in what avenues do you see your self-strengthening in the most? As well, do you have any new upcoming work people can look forward to?
HJ: I see myself just basically building on the aesthetic that I’m starting to cook up. More songs, more videos, more merch, more shows, more personal connections with the fans and shit. I see myself strengthening by just becoming surer of myself. The more support I get, the more secure I feel as an artist and the more secure I feel in my work. It’s like a domino effect: the more results I get, the stronger the work gets. The results give motivation, in my opinion. As far as new work goes, I have a new single coming out very soon. I may drop a video for it. Another clothing collection. I just want to create.
PM: What would you say is the best album ever and why is it important to you?
HJ: “Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness” by The Smashing Pumpkins. For those who aren’t familiar, it’s like a 2 and a half hour long alternative rock record, its viewed as one of the best albums of the 90’s. The Pumpkins are probably my favorite actual band of all time, and this record is just so fucking important dude. It was the first album that showed me you can have variety while still being cohesive if that makes sense. The first album that exposed me to weirder shit being used alongside guitars; like drum machines, weird synths, etc. I can’t even tell you how important this album is to me man.
PM: What is the greatest concert you’ve ever been to and what did the experience mean to you?
HJ: Probably Kanye West Saint Pablo Tour. or maybe Tame Impala. The Kanye show was just so wild because the energy in the room was so fucking crazy….. seeing his crowd control and just the energy of everyone in the stadium really inspired me, It was truly otherworldly, it really showed me that it is possible to impact people so strongly like Ye does.
PM: Is that something you hope to do in live shows/ how has your live show experience of your own shows been?
HJ: Absolutely. the live experience is something super important to me, and super like relevant actually right now. I just had my first real show, it was a house show, another guy opening for me, and we packed the place to capacity. Random ass kids driving out who I’ve never met, everybody singing the lyrics, it was the craziest shit. We even handmade 30 shirts in my garage and sold out. little moments like that are what make me want to keep going. The live setting has always been scary to me: in my music, my production is absolutely my strength, not my voice. and obviously, it’s your voice that’s on total display in the live setting. I think I’ve gotten past that though and just made up for it with crazy energy. I fucking love performing live now man…. it gives me that little taste of what “could be” I guess. Before the show last weekend, seconds before I went on, my best friend said to me “imagine this moment in 10 years” and that was so crazy to me. Fuck. Shoutout to everybody who came out to Francisco Fun House last weekend.
PM: And final question: what’s your message to everyone out there trying to make it or anyone looking up to you?
HJ: My message to everybody is just to follow your dreams. I know its so corny but like we don’t have time to not do what we love. My worst fear is being like 35 and totally lost in life. You have to do everything you can to do what you love. We have like 100 years on Earth, probably less. You’re really going to spend that time doing stuff that doesn’t make you happy? You can’t. I understand everybody has bills to pay, people to support. And you can still do all that if you work hard enough. The real do-ers turn dreams into plans. Do you want to become a famous musician? Attack it point by point, baby-step by baby-step. Run it like a business. You can do anything you want. That’s what the Pharrell’s of the world told the Tyler The Creator’s of the world, who told the Kevin Abstract’s of the world, who are telling me’s of the world. It’s a constant cycle. And once you realize your potential, and turn your dream into a plan, anything is possible. Keep going. And drink more soda.
PM: Do you have anyone to shout out or anything to promote? the floor is yours!
HJ: Yeah. My EP “Never Inside” is out now on Spotify Apple all that shit whatever. BUT, this is super important: I have a new single coming out August 5 called “Who Cares”. I think it’s some of my best work yet. So check it out boy, go on a bike ride to it or something.