NE HOT SEAT: TRUNKY JUNO

This week we’re introducing our brand new feature to Tipping Point – ‘NE Hot Seat’ – where we’ll be sitting down with some of the region’s brightest talent on a monthly basis, shining a spotlight on their latest work and discussing what they have planned next.

First up we have lo-fi newcomer Trunky Juno who’s been making quite a name for himself over the last twelve months with press acclaim (The Line Of Best Fit, Dork) and BBC Radio 1 airplay (Jack Saunders, Huw Stephens) positioning the bedroom-pop expert as one of the North East’s most exciting emerging artists.

Get to know Trunky below and spin his brand new single ‘Daddy’s Gone For Cigarettes’ here.

 

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Tell us a little about yourself and your career in music so far?

I’m Trunky, and I’d describe myself as a lo-fi pop noodler. I like to think that I write unique songs, that can sometimes be a little bit silly.

What can you tell us about your latest release?

My new single is called ‘Daddy’s Gone For Cigarettes’. I wrote it a long time ago now, and it’s kind of got a bluesy/americana vibe going on in it which ties quite nicely into the lyrics. It’s basically a song about running away from problems, but the cliche Americanisms within the lyrics add something else to it.

What inspires you most when it comes to creating music?

TV, movies, and general pop culture affect what I write quite a lot. I like to use these things as metaphors within songs quite often, like in my song ‘Patrick Swayze’. I think this probably comes from a lot of my favourite artists like Pavement, The Flaming Lips, and Bob Dylan who all do this quite a lot. Dylan songs like Motorpsycho Nightmare, and Desolation Row are filled with them.

How did you find the recording process and how did it shape your sound?

The recording process shapes my sound hugely. I really like to contrast very dirty, poorly recorded sounds with high pop production. For example, sometimes I’ll record a drum kit with one mic pointing vaguely toward it from the other side of the room, but then double all the hits with the most perfect sounding hip hop samples. Vocals are similar, I record endless vocals, and doubles, and harmonies, and then I like to do lots of vocals where i’ll shout at the mic from across the room with a friend as badly and out of tune as we possibly can.

What else can we expect from you this year?

More music, and live dates. I’ve got a tour on sale which is happening at the end of the year, and during it I’ll be doing a show at Surf Cafe in Tynemouth which is a venue I really like playing. I’ve also got an EP coming out called ‘Good Dog’ which my new single is a part of, so watch out for more tracks being dripped out from that.

Where can we find you on socials and keep up to date on developments?

It’s really simple to find me on any platform, i’m just @trunkyjuno everywhere – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Trunky Juno’s ‘Daddy’s Gone For Cigarettes’ is out now and available on all platforms (listen here).

Check out Trunky’s favourite acts from the region in his personally curated playlist below.