Denver Hughes

Denver Hughes grew up out west, listening to hardcore and metal. He moved to New York City in 2005 to study analytic philosophy and political science, right around the time that he discovered 90’s IDM. He sought out anything and everything Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, and others ever put out. It was refreshing and exciting to know that “electronic music” didn’t end at trance and techno, and it inspired him to start recording his own electronic music in his bedroom.

His first musical project was indie rock band Hush, Siren. In 2009 Hush, Siren went on an indefinite hiatus. Feeling the need to keep busy, he decided to seriously pursue his solo electronic music. He made his live debut in early 2009, and later that year, he released Denver Hughes, his first full-length album. It was a collection of ten songs culled from the dozens upon dozens that he had been developing in isolation, combining driving rhythm, live instrumentation, and expansive soundscapes.

Denver Hughes spent most of 2010 writing and recording the follow-up, Spectra, which was released in June 2011. It expands upon the sounds he developed on his first album, adding field recordings, more complicated melodic and rhythmic elements, layers of textured synthesizers, vocal contributions from his Hush, Siren bandmates Darrell Dumas and Jessica Salzinski, and even more live instrumentation. While still strongly influenced by its 90’s IDM forebears, Spectra also takes influence from artists such as M83, Flying Lotus, Prefuse 73, Portishead, and the sounds of labels such as Kompakt and Italians Do It Better. When asked to describe his music, Denver likes to say, only half joking, "You're crying on the dance floor."