huck.jorris x Supernatural - 'Nocturnal Memory'

August 1, 2024 by Corey Blecha

There is nothing we love more than debuting new music, to shine a light on underground artists who are carving a path that is authentic and meaningful, while perfecting their craft in the process. Over the last few years, anybody in the Denver bass scene, or fans of the late, great CharlestheFirst in general (RIP The King), have caught wind of a homegrown talent that’s doing just that. “huck.jorris“, real name Jesse Orris, was raised in the mountains of Colorado, a mere hour from the nightclubs and venues he now frequents on a regular basis, both as a DJ, shaking sound systems with his expertly-crafted beats, and as an industry professional in the audio/production field, where he stage manages and coordinates shows at major venues around the city several nights a week, such as The Ogden, Meow Wolf, and Mission Ballroom.

After several years of climbing the ranks as a “local” performer, it didn’t take long for him to branch out into the national festival circuit, where he’s made more and more appearances playing for a small, yet fervent, fanbase all around the country. In the process, he crossed paths with Kentucky-based producer, Supernatural, and through mutual influences and a symbiotic workflow in the studio, they began working on several tracks, two of which we are absolutely thrilled to release as our first Misfit Media digital release.

To get some background on the project, the guys were nice enough to answer a few questions and give us some insight into their production methods, which we always find fascinating in an ever-changing landscape of technology. Check out the link below to hear a track of ‘Nocturnal Memory’ and head over to our Bandcamp page tomorrow (August 2nd) to hear the full EP when it drops!

The Interview

Tell us more about the project.. How did you guys meet?

Huck: Our meeting was almost crowd-sourced, if that makes sense. I had been diving into the downtempo side of my project, and had multiple people both in person and via socials tell me that I should be collaborating with Supernatural. I can’t remember who reached out first, but we had the framework for “Nebula” written within a week of first talking… The people were right, the tracks I’ve made with Nick have basically written themselves every single time we’ve started a new project!

Supernatural: Before meeting Huck, I had stumbled upon his music through word of mouth via mutual collaborators and followers. When I heard his music I knew our collaborations would sound seamless and cohesive. I could tell we had a similar ear for organic-style bass and sound design. These two tracks came together very quickly and effortlessly & I think it has to do with our similar tastes in music and love for the bass scene!

Who are some of your main inspirations?

Huck: It’s probably not a surprise to say CharlestheFirst has been a huge, literally life-changing inspiration in my project, and from the start I could hear the same in Supernatural’s. Outside of Charles, I get much of my inspiration from the artists in our direct circle, such as Swomp and Mfinity, and on a larger scale, I love the ambience and tension I find in LoFi artists such as Idealism and .anxious. – as well as a sprinkle of higher energy from Eazybaked, Fly, and ESCPE.

Supernatural: The catalyst to my project was a mixture of CharlestheFirst, Supertask, and Of The Trees. The organic and timeless sound their music has inspired me and is basically the bar/standard I try to achieve when writing my own music. Additionally, a major part of my inspiration comes from those I work and have surrounded myself with. Other genres inspire me too. I love chill lofi hip-hop, classic rock, and modern hip-hop. Furthermore, a major inspiration I have yet to mention was/is Mac Miller. His music resonates with me on a very deep level.

Can you talk about the creative process? Any favorite techniques or VST’s you’ve been using lately?

Huck: I think Supernatural and I have a bit different writing processes, but that’s what keeps our collaborations refreshing! I use a more rigid structure, starting with chord progressions using my Charles-inspired pluck, then often expanding with vocal chords written using sampler. I actually got one of my favorite techniques from working with Nick – pitch bending plucks to add a drippy, fluid feel. I use the glide feature of Operator for this, and I personally use Operator for a lot of my sounds. I think many people underestimate the effectiveness of pure sine tones! Other than that, I use vital and serum for a good bit of my bass design, and swear by Exponential Audio’s “Stratus” reverb for an almost invisible but beautiful audioscape.

Supernatural: My creative process has and continues to evolve overtime. Lately I find myself digging for samples and using different techniques to chop, stretch, and warp them to achieve sounds that carry an organic timbre or texture. I also love messing around with different synths such as Serum, Vital, Wavetable, & Operator. Resampling sound design sessions and applying warping techniques to basses, melodics, and other synth-created sounds always helps me dial in groove and timing. A major thing which allows me to hit a ‘pocket’ in my music has been doing what I previously stated and manipulating the audio faders on the beginning and end of a sound, allowing me to really dial in the ADSR.

What keeps you busy outside of music?

Huck: I work in the music production industry, stage managing at the Ogden, Gothic, and Bluebird, and fill the rest of my days doing stage hand work at Mission, Meow Wolf, and other Denver Venues. I grew up in the mountains of Colorado, so I spend my time outside of work skiing, camping, and generally getting out into nature as much as I can! Gotta get those nature field recordings somewhere 😉

Supernatural: My main focus outside of music is my 2 kids (2 & 7) & Fiancé. They keep me on my toes most of the day, and are a major reason for my success and daily motivation. Aside from that I have a full-time 3D Computer Aided Design job modeling utility buildings for large corporations such as Facebook, Tesla, & Apple. When I’m not working or spending time with family I’m usually doing something constructive around the house, or recording sounds with my field mic!

Anything on the horizon? Upcoming shows or releases?

Huck: I will be playing Firelights Festival in just a couple weeks, and am excited to showcase the heavier side of my project! Other than that, I have a show this October in Denver that I can’t talk about yet, but I am VERY excited for that one. I’ve been releasing a lot of downtempo and otherwise vibey music for the last year, but there are some very heavy releases on the radar for the huck.jorris project – keep your eyes on Hemi.Wav for the first of this series.

Supernatural: As far as upcoming items, I have been playing shows in my hometown Louisville, Kentucky every 4-6 weeks. It has been hard to travel given my family dependence and job, but having steady shows locally has helped me grow as a performer/DJ immensely. That being said I have no shows in my foresight, but that could quickly change. Release-wise I am looking to put out another unreleased mix on SoundCloud in the next coming months, as well as singles and maybe even a few EPs!

Shout outs?

Huck: First off, shout out Misfit Media for being willing to release this EP! Nick and I have been sitting on these tracks for over a year waiting to find the right home, and I truly can’t think of a better platform to finally get it out. Paul, my manager with Sweet Sounds Collective, also deserves a shout out – for keeping me surrounded by so many inspiring artists, keeping me sane, and for keeping my project on track!

Supernatural: Huge shout out to Misfit Media for hosting this release on your platform! Of course shout out to Huck.Jorris for believing in my art and project, and for inspiring me to make better music. Shout out to Swomp & Mfinity for our recent releases & for helping me out all the time. I appreciate and shout out every one who has believed in me and the Supernatural project. Shout out to everyone I’ve collaborated with these passed few years! SNITH, Swomp, Mfinity, Saturna, Huck, Dreamlake, Murti, Nyquist, Shwilly, Spoken Bird, Phurn, Inspectah, TreeGaud, shout out to all of you!