Stephen Hunley

Singer/Songwriter Stephen Hunley, nephew of the renowned country vocalist Con Hunley, was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee.  He grew up in a family that surrounded him with a love and passion for music, which impacted him at a very young age.  He began taking piano and violin lessons at the age of five, and for a moment it seemed as if Hunley was destined to follow in the musical footsteps of his family.  However, his attention soon turned to another passion… baseball. At the age of twelve he decided to quit taking music lessons all together and devote his time and attention to baseball, which ultimately earned him a scholarship to Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky.  After two seasons Hunley felt it was time for a change, moved back to his hometown and enrolled in classes at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  It was during this time, Hunley began to reconnect with his passion for music by playing and writing songs on a guitar his father bought for him.  He started playing his songs for family and friends who encouraged him to pursue his rediscovered love for music.  After graduating with a degree in Political Science, Hunley began taking his talents as a songwriter seriously, playing small clubs and bars around East Tennessee.
In 2009, Stephen released his debut album Wait and See.  An eclectic mix of thirteen original compositions, Wait and Seecovered a wide range of musical styles spanning Acoustic Soul, Pop-Rock, New-Age-Country, and Southern Blues.  With the brilliant arranging of producer Burton Akers, each song from Wait and See was graced with a unique and tasteful flair.  “My first album was really about me trying to find my ‘musical self’” Stephen says.  “Growing up I loved listening to so many different artists and so many different styles of music that it made it difficult for me to identify with one particular artist or one particular style of music.  I really didn’t have a favorite singer or a favorite style or genre of music.  I just loved music that moved me.  I really believe this was beneficial to me in the sense that I didn’t try to sing like this artist or that artist.  I just became a blend of all of my musical heroes and this gave me a distinctive vocal style.  But at some point you have to decide what you do best, and I think my new album will showcase some of these strengths for sure.”
Speaking of his latest project, Stephen’s six-song album Movable Parts is set for release in June of 2012.  Movable Parts is an album that puts love and relationships under the microscope.  It examines various phases of the relationship: from the warm and sweet beginning, to the cold and bitter ending, the good, the bad, and all the emotions that lie in between.  “There are so many unique emotions that come from each phase of a relationship,” Hunley says.  “I have certainly experienced most of them if not all of them.  So much of what I have to say on this album comes from my own personal experiences in love and relationships.  My hope for this record is that the listener can relate or be moved not only by what I’m singing, but how I’m singing it.  Regardless of the current status of your own relationship, there is certainly a song for everyone on “Movable Parts.”  Here is what Knoxville Radio Personality Bruce Patrick from 106.1 The River had to say about Stephen’s latest project.
Make no mistake, Knoxville’s Stephen Hunley sounds like no else vocally.  When you hear a Stephen Hunley song, you know his unique voice immediately.  His first album, Wait and See, released in 2009, was a cornucopia of audio goodness, with such a vast array of styles and sonically challenging arrangements that held a ‘something for everyone to gravitate to’ feel to those who listened.  Hunley’s song arrangements from Wait and See were so diversely produced and heavily layered, lyrically deep, and showed a seasoned maturity rare for someone of Stephen’s youth and experience, even though he has musical blood flowing through his veins.  It almost seemed as if Hunley’s soulful sound and lyrical content outdated him by a few decades on his debut effort.
For Stephen’s second release, the six-song Movable Parts, Hunley brings the best of his best, all killer and no filler if you will, and a much more cohesively themed package of songs that prove that sometimes, less can be more.  Stephen sings with such passion and soul, and that vocal talent is presented much more front and center on this latest collection.  Movable Parts delivers another stellar production, with deep instrumentation and more subtlety layered sounds that do everything to compliment the message of his songs and the sound of his voice. Movable Parts is a bit darker in mood, and Stephen’s heartbreak and emotions sing so true and relate to anyone that has been jilted in the game of love.  The album overall has an almost raw emotional feel and a much more contemporary sound than Wait and See.  Yet Stephen retains his subtle, signature, retro feel, and I think that this disc frames Stephen’s vocal abilities and soulfulness more honestly and contemporarily than his debut release.  On Movable Parts, Stephen’s voice is much more the focal point of his material, is presented without distraction, and it works well.
His song, A Matter of Time has a melancholy flavor so crisp that you can almost taste his inner turmoil as he felt it when you listen to it.  It’s not every singer that can bring this kind of passion and emotional fragility into their vocal performance, but Hunley can, does, and succeeds with this song.  For Third Time’s a Charm, Hunley brings an almost Jeff Lynne/Tom Petty ‘Full Moon Feverish’ sound to Movable Parts.  The genius of this song is its simplicity in production and Stephen’s passionate vocal delivery.  If you’ve ever felt the way Stephen had when he was writing these songs, you’ll relate instantaneously.
While the album does feature a few down tempo, somewhat somber, heartfelt ballads, Stephen balances the record well with a few tasty up-tempo tracks.  For example, take songs like Green Moss a fun and poppy acoustic based number, and Speakeasy:  which bounces along with a beat and step reflective and influenced by some 60’s soul and 70’s funk, and highlighted by some amazing brass horn arrangements that I’ve not heard done so well since some early 70’s works from the band Chicago.  Stephen makes it work to his advantage, as it amplifies his charm, and proves he can strut smiling confidently as well as he can sulk somberly vulnerably within his performances.  I particularly like the really clever lyric, “What your Papa don’t know, can’t hurt Papa” that could have been sung by David Ruffin of the Temptations at the height of their career’s popularity.
In Hunley’s song, No Good for Me Stephen sings of coming to the realization that he’s been played by his scheming love, and comes to the conclusion that this person is, in fact, no good for him.  Hunley sings of his frustration of putting up with their behavior that hurts him consistently and continually, and leaves him ‘lying in a pool of misery’, lyrical imagery that we all can relate from one time or another in our lives.
My personal favorite track on Movable Parts is Beautiful Lie.  This song is a very haunting, emotional tale of love’s impression upon someone after it’s lost.  I liked the lyric “Love will leave you lonely, without a sound”, and “Love will bring you in and break you down…”  Stephen delivers such a humble-yet-hurting kind of vocal performance, emotional instrumental production, complete with piano and string arrangements, and even the right sprinkling of guitar, plus, just enough back-up vocals that make this one a must-listen for anyone who has lost love at one time or another in their lives.  It will touch your heart the way Stephen’s heart was genuinely touched.
Fans of Wait and See… wait until you hear what Stephen has come up with for you on his sophomore effort.  This is music that will stimulate your emotions and make you ‘feel’.  This album has many movable parts, and with multiple listens, Stephen Hunley’s Movable Parts will move you and touch you emotionally in many ways and make you a fan.