On The Jungle Floor

Performer: Van Hunt
Engineer: Bill Bottrell; MiMi "Audio" Parker; Melissa Mattey...
Producer: Van Hunt; Bill Bottrell; Van Hunt; Bill Bottrell...
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Van Hunt (guitar, keyboards, drums); Van Hunt (vocals, various instruments); Bill Bottrell (guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Curtis Whitehead, George Gordon (guitar); Alyssa Park, Serena McKinney, Songa Lee, Katia Popov, Robin Olson, Barbara Porter, Roberto Cain, Joel Derouin, Mark Robertson , Sid Page, Jacqueline Brand, Bruce Dukov, Julie Gigante, Natalie Leggett, Phillipe Levy, Sara Parkins, Sarah Thornblade, Neel Hammond, Armen Garabedian, Berj Garabedian, Caroline Campbell, Mario Diaz de Leon, Endre Granat (violin); Matt Funes, Marlow Fisher, Han Oh, Brian Dembow, Danny Seidenberg, Darrin McCann, Samuel Formicola (viola); James Freebarin-Smith, Larry Corbett, Stephen Erdody, Armen Ksadjikian, David Low (cello); Daniel Solammon, Albert Wing (horns); Elizabeth Nation, Truth Hunt (keyboards); Brian Macleod , Tracy Williams, Lorenzo Whitehead (drums). Audio Mixer: Bill Bottrell. Recording information: East Iris; Mouths Of Babes; Signet Sound; The Pass (Hey, Y'all!); Zero Return. Photographers: Nathaniel Goldberg; Rick Diamond; Matt Jones . Van Hunt's second album, ON THE JUNGLE FLOOR, finds the young singer-songwriter following an ever more ambitious and idiosyncratic path. As on his debut, he's still using a decidedly Prince-like 1980s R&B/pop-rock template as his starting point; at several points, the sexy synths, chugging guitars, and sinuous vocals evoke fond memories of 1999 (the album, not the year). Hunt doesn't leave it at that, though; JUNGLE FLOOR boasts a few straight-up rock moments as well, suggesting that he's been listening to some Strokes and Iggy Pop (the latter's "No Sense of Crime" gets a soul paint job here) amid his Morris Day and Terence Trent D'Arby sessions. Call it neo-soul if you must, but JUNGLE FLOOR represents a significant progression in the style.

Rolling Stone (p.68) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Hunt's bread-and-butter is soul songs that undercut lover-man tedium with a singer-songwriter's wandering eye....ON THE JUNGLE FLOOR shows off Hunt's impressive range." Entertainment Weekly (p.59) - "Twisty songwriting quirks, tasty guitar licks, and unexpected funk codas result in the welcome return of an original." -- Grade: A- Q (p.113) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[H]e's an unashamedly priapic, carnally inspired loverman, but he's one with songs rather than riffs and grunts."

R&B singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Van Hunt began his career when he moved to Atlanta, Georgia (from his native Ohio), and began to write, produce, and record with artists such as Dionne Farris, Rahsaan Patterson, and Joi. Meanwhile, he worked on his own material, which combined classic soul, urban contemporary, funk, and rock influences. A chance meeting with A&R man Randy Jackson led to Van Hunt signing with Capitol Records, who released the artist's self-titled debut in 2004, which was also nominated for a Grammy. His follow-up release, ON THE JUNGLE FLOOR, then appeared in 2006. In addition to touring extensively, Van Hunt also engaged in several collaborative projects, including a cover of Sly & the Family Stone's "Family Affair" with John Legend and Joss Stone, another Grammy win. Although Van Hunt's third album, POPULAR, was slated to come out in 2008 on Blue Note, problems with the label prevented its timely release.

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