Van Hunt Covers The Pixies – Hey

From KCRW DJ Jason Kramer:

On his recent Morning Becomes Eclectic appearance and well-received new release, Van Hunt continues to surprise me and now I’m happy to present a cover of one of my favorite songs.

Here is his version of The Pixies timeless classic “Hey”, exclusively for KCRW listeners.

In a short conversation with Van Hunt, I wanted to know why he chose this track, one of my favorite songs.

His response: “I love The Pixies’ quirkiness. Black Francis and Kim Deal... really different, yet still melodic and intelligent writing.”

I couldn’t agree more!

In September 2011, Van Hunt released the album “What Were You Hoping For”. Slightly different than his previous albums, this one made it in the Top 50 on Billboard’s Top R&B/ Hip Hop Albums list. Van tells me the record “has more to do with my growth as a musician/songwriter than as a project with an origin I could point to. But I’ll cite the moment I began photographing Los Angeles – in 2007 – as the beginning. I actually relate the “rock guitars” to the growl of a cello. The distortion on our record was supposed to emulate Bach’s cello suites and The Stooges’ “Raw Power” or Bad Brains’ “Pay to Cum”. I wanted to mix that with softer/soulful vocals. The mixing engineer, Melissa Mattey, provided the rest.”

The album has been met with acclaim from The New York Times, LA Times, People Magazine, and, of course, KCRW.

Van Hunt will be performing at School Night tonight at Bardot…and hopefully he’ll play “Hey”!

— Jason Kramer