Huff

Craig Black and Hayden Sin. Interview 2012.

Nakedness will be the reward. Way to start the interview.

So who are you? Oh man. I’m Hayden. I thought about this today actually, because I re-read some of the zines, and I thought, you ask that question, and then people respond in different ways and I thought ‘I wonder how I will respond tonight’ and turns out just the same as everyone else. I’m Hayden? They didn’t say Hayden. They said someone else. I’ve turned it into a real long-winded one now. Yea. That’s a lot to write, sorry.

I’ll get there. Oh and I’m Craig. Hi Craig. Hi Hayden. Hi Jem.

Hello. Who are you?

I’m Jemma and I’m interviewing you. Cool.

Ok, so what do you do together? You’re way better with words that I am. Um, we are a two piece live electronic act, band, musical, band thing. I’m happy with band.

Ok we’re a two piece electronic band. Hayden plays drums machines a synthesizers, and um weirdo noises. And I play weirdo noises and samples and occasionally sing stuff about things. And keys, yea ok, I occasionally play synthesiser as well and effects, I play quite a lot of effects. And we don’t have laptops. No laptops.

So vocals? Um, I do vocals and there are also vocal samples. I don’t do vocals. He does do facial expressions. Oh good ones too. Yea he does do facial expressions.

I did a nice little preacher thing at band practice tonight. Oh yea yea. You had both your hands out like that! I saw that. That won’t come across, but I felt like it was awesome. Sometimes when we jam we just stand back and wave our hands in the air. Because we really really fucking enjoy it, basically. It’s a stupidly good time. It’s really neat.

So have you played many shows yet? We’ve played three; this will be our third Monday coming up. Yea, our first show together was at your birthday party, right here, or just over there. It was awesome. Got drunk.

Our second one was for the Wanganui YMCA, it was during the day time. That was interesting. It was bizarre, fun though. Yea it was bizarre, and third show is in the Square on Monday for Access Radio, and we’re playing at The Stomach for their first two shows, and I am just in the midst of organising a tour, but the very first date in Wellington keeps getting changed by the Wellington peoples. But we have a date for that now, and it’s May the fourth, and there will be other dates around that.

A huf tour? A huf tour, yep.

Fun. So you’ve been plying together for a while then? If you don’t say stuff it’ll just all be me. Yea I know, but you’ve got a lovely voice.

I like both voices. Yep. Well we’ve known each other for a long long time. A very long time. So we’ve been in a band before, and Craig was the one who helped me come out of my shell. That’s true, he used to be a caterpillar and now he’s a beautiful butterfly. Yep. Yep. And I mate for twelve seconds and then die. But I come back. Don’t say you mate for twelve seconds, because you’re not getting laid… I bet ya I will though.

"He used to be a caterpillar and now he’s a beautiful butterfly."

Yea. Affirmative from Jem.

Yep so, I don’t know, it feels like we’ve playing together since forever, so it’s just real intuitive, and there’s bits when stuff happens and, what’s the word? I call it the mind meld. Yea, it’s that. It’s perfect. Because the songs are a jam basically, um, and we just occasionally glance at each other or just do stuff, and stuff just happens. 

The thing we most have to stop doing live is when something’s real awesome we have to cuddle each other, because it’s so cool. Yea, it’s quite awesome. 

That’s lovely. Yea. Yea.

So you guys both have your own projects, will they continue? Ah, with my work, and my work outside work, I can normally only really do one project at a time, so my slowed down alter-ego Researchintospeed is on hiatus, yea, that’s what the big bands do. We’re on hiatus. Where as huf is more a lifestyle choice. huf is a lifestyle choice. It is. Hairy chests, bling, dead bear jets. Cocaine and hookers obviously, and alligator plated tui. You stick all of that inside a lead jet and grind it up… And that’s like a smoothy. Yea like a smoothy.

Are you still doing stuff? You see, the thing is, not really. I write a lot, would you say? Yea he writes fucking constantly. One of our problems is, Hayden keeps writing songs. 

That’s a good problem. It’s not a bad problem. 

It’s just, at work all day I think about it, and if I don’t get it out, I don’t know what happens. But it’s not good. But yea, no, huf is it at the moment. I mean I’ve got all the chosen instruments out of the selection at home, like you know when you’ve got kids… well no, imagine, ok, it’s your family Christmas right, and as soon as you walk in you separate the good ones, like oh nah, I don’t want to hang out with those ones, like your kids, like you hang out with them all the time, so I pick the selected instruments, and the miscellaneous ones I sometimes pick up and plug in and do stuff with just to give them a go. That’s yea. But other than that no.

Where are you taking it Are you releasing something? Assuming the guy hasn’t spent the money on paco. P-A-C-O. Paco.

What the heck is that? Look it up. All the kids are doing it. Assuming the dude hasn’t spent the money on paco, we’re going to do a two song cassette, just as like a promo thing, there’ll be a digital download as well, um, but that’s going to be our first thing. Because basically fuck, CDs are really boring, and it’s still nice to have a physical thing to give people, and then, because we’ve got a bunch of new songs as well, later on… Sorry about that, it’s the writing thing.

No, don’t apologise for that. In about six months, or less possibly, in less than six months, in four months, we’ll do like a five track ep thing. 

Flash. It’ll be brain smashing.

Will there be a party? Fuck yea. Yea lets do a party! We will totally do a party; we’re all about the party. We’ll film it and make it into the video bit, would you like to be there? That’s what you said about the last one, and we still don’t have a video. I know, but we’ve got rights to songs now, there was more to worry about back then. What we don’t have is a video.

That’s ok, this is printed, we couldn’t use it anyone. Is that what you mean? Nope. I was just saying stuff. I got lost in that. All I was thinking was you should get yourself and your friends and convince them that it’s a good idea, like you know Japanese kuso parties and all that, and come in costume. Oh yea that would be awesome.

I’m convinced. And we’ll put an eight box in my lounge, like on every corner, and we’ll go in the middle. Your lounge isn’t very big either. That’s why it’s awesome. Yea. 

Small lounges are the best lounges. They are. Wicked.

Anything else? Playing music with Hayden is some one the best times I’ve had in my life. Oh yea, same, not with me, but with Craig, it’s awesome. Thanks man. Thanks man. Can we see your boobs now?