Stephen Hunley grew up in Knoxville, TN, surrounded by everything country, including his famous uncle Con Hunley (“Oh Girl” & “You’ve Still Got a Place in My Heart”), so it’s no surprise that he has gotten bit by the proverbial bug. And while Hunley’s family tree has given him the stepping stones to start a career in country music, it’s his unique style of writing, producing, and performing that has set him apart from not only his family connection but the country music world.
Hunley produced his record, Other Side of Never, (released in 2014) in the same studio his uncle recorded in, and took a fluidly natural approach. He had described the recording as more “old fashioned” in regards to recording – when asked to explain, Hunley simply stated: “ Not necessarily a more “old fashioned” sound. Just more of a human element to it. With limited use of compression, pitch correction, and other modern editing tools. We just wanted it to have “dynamic” range. In my opinion, sometimes technology can get in the way of the dynamics and take the human “magic” out of the song. It can be too “digitized” and computerized for my taste. That means there may be a few so called “flaws” in the recording. But at least it’s “real” and not overly manipulated.” That produced a very organic, natural sounding record to go with the Tennessean’s down to earth attitude.
His writing is honest and pure in every aspect – he writes songs about what he knows, things that he hopes will resonate with listeners. His voice has an organic, soulful charm to it, almost like that of Jason Mraz or Stephen Bishop, where it can sing a heartache song with tenderness and jazz it up like he was performing at a smokey Memphis Bar. The uniqueness of his voice lends credence to a mixture of genres (like country, jazz, and a bit of rock), then mixed with a bit of contemporary flare. When asked what his favorite genre is, he responded: “ I wouldn’t say I have a favorite genre. Just like I don’t have a designated favorite artist or band. I just love songs. And if I’m moved by a song, regardless of genre, that’s all that counts in my book.”
For more information on Stephen, check out his official website, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Instagram.