Get to Know Tunic, the Mind Behind the Hi-Vi Sound System

1 month ago 22

Asheville DJ, producer, and sound system owner Tunic stopped by to discuss his beginnings in the scene, his local community, and what’s to come in the future.

As the sound system scene steadily grows in the US, Asheville-based DJ and producer Tunic has emerged as a standout artist among dubstep’s rising stars. Undoubtedly, some of the best music in this tightly-knit bass scene comes from producers who have a deep knowledge of the coveted speakers that fans flock to.

Tunic’s years spent building and operating his roots-reggae sound system, The Hi-Vi, has allowed him to fine-tune his own production and create sounds ideal for designer rigs. His skills don’t stop there, as he’s done everything from supporting names like Distinct Motive, De-Tu, and Hebbe to playing at festivals like Infrasound, Lunar Tide, Sound Haven, and Elements.

Tunic has had a massive year of shows, all while working hard to build up his local scene in Asheville, and there was no better time than now to sit down with him for a chat. Read on to learn more about his beginnings as an artist, the details of the Hi-Vi sound system, and more while listening to his exclusive guest mix.

Stream EDMID Guest Mix 430 || Tunic on SoundCloud:

Hey Tunic, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us! There is plenty to talk about regarding your recent accomplishments, but first, can you give your newer fans some insight into where it all started for you with music? Who are some musicians who inspired you early on, and how did you discover the electronic music scene?

Hey Abby, first off, thank you so much for having me! It’s a pleasure to chat with you about the Tunic project. Music has always been such a crucial part of my life. Going back to my earlier age, my father exposed me to iconic bands growing up, like The Doors, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, and The Who. These bands intrigued my interest in learning how to play the drums & percussion around age nine and ten, which eventually led to being in a handful of bands throughout my early teens.

Those bands inspired me, but it wasn’t until my music taste evolved shortly after expanding my palate into heavier styles of groove metal. Upon discovering Slipknot, everything changed. Desired sound and intention. A new meaning of music was discovered for me, one which I hadn’t quite felt yet. I could go on for hours about how this band changed my music perspective in the best way possible, but I’ll try my best to stay on topic. Being a huge fan of them shaped my interest and sound today. Slipknot is a huge factor that made the Tunic project what it is today.

With all that said, I wasn’t exposed to electronic music until December 2010. I’ll never forget the day a friend put on Excision’s – Shambhala 2010 mix at a party in his grandma’s garage. A creepy, monstrous intro talking about the world ending and how an elevated existence awaits if you survive. Salvation is reserved for those who pass the test. “FIRE UP THE BASS CANNON”… and boom, my first-ever exposure to a dubstep drop. Little did I know how much that mix would change my life for the years to come. I was obsessed with it. Trying to understand what this music was and why I liked it so much. There were countless nights I laid in my bed after smoking a small amount of weed, closed my eyes with headphones on, and listened through the entire mix.

Roughly around the same time, my sister’s friend at the time, Dubloadz, who grew up in our hometown, Ringwood, NJ, started to take off in the music world. She had invited me to a show he was playing with Liquid Stranger as the headliner at Amazura in Brooklyn, NY. We rolled out with a solid squad and had the time of our life. That was my first show, leading to many more soon after.

You first started posting tunes and mixes on SoundCloud in 2018 and, by 2020, were releasing on labels like LDH Records and Foto Sounds. Since then, you’ve received support from the sound system scene. What has your experience been like growing in the community over the years?

The experience has been exhilarating. Some of the releases have led to some amazing opportunities throughout. A dream of mine has always been to be able to travel through music, let alone be able to showcase my sounds on sound systems across the country. I’m grateful to be able to discover new cities and experience them through music. Every milestone I’ve hit has fueled my inner gratitude more and more. The journey of music is so special, no matter what direction or amount of time it takes. I love looking back and seeing where it’s led me today.

Speaking of LDH Records, fast forward to 2024, and you will have another release with the UK imprint this month! Can you dive into your creative process for these tracks?

Absolutely! I’m thrilled to roll out these tunes with them; it’s been a long time coming. The tunes have been in rotation for a while now, and I’m happy to be back with another vinyl release. When I wrote the tracks, I strictly intended for them to be meant for the system. Yes, it’s dubstep, but I strictly focused on the sub-movements and percussive elements that I enjoy throwing into my tunes.

“COCO,” the A-side, was written fairly fast. The main sound can be found rolling throughout, with a slight variation in each phrase, keeping it interesting yet simple. Instead of using a handful of Tunic sounds I decided to just use two and keep ’em going just having them slightly tweaked. In most cases, less is always more.

“STEAMIN,” the B-side is a favorite of mine. I remember writing the bassline one night and sampling the vocals shortly after. Talking about music history through Rastafari and how it resembles the culture, and explaining my intentions of the tunes with their roots influence on dubstep & sound system music. Having sampled that before the tune was fully constructed gave me more insight into what direction the tune would be going. Instead of picking up the energy halfway through, I decided to bring it down slow and low halfway through. Both of these tunes were written with sound systems in mind.

Switching gears to your local scene, what is the bass community like in Asheville?

The community here is incredible and way more fulfilling than I expected. It’s considered a music city for a reason, right? The dancefloors are filled with energy here; the people are so committed to the music. And when I say that, I’m talking about music of all kinds. Moving here in December was a big jump, but honestly, it was one of the best decisions made for the Tunic project and the Hi-Vi sound system. I’m grateful to be here and appreciate all the love and respect the community has reciprocated with me. The best is yet to come!

Can you share how the Hi-Vi Sound System came to life and more about your endeavors?

Ah yes, Hi-Vi Sound System. I’m happy we’re covering this topic, as it’s one of my favorites. The endeavors with the sound have been more extravagant than I could have ever pictured them to be. As mentioned earlier, the journey is so special, and my journey with the sound has been quite fulfilling. Hi-Vi Sound System was established unintentionally in October 2019.

I have to give my respect to Jungle Skankin, who allowed me to pass down parts of previous rigs to fuel my curiosity about sound systems and how they function. These parts eventually led to the full stack today. If not for them, the Hi-Vi Sound System would simply not exist. They play a major role in my sound system endeavors.

With that said, 2019 was the start of it all, strictly providing sound for promoters in the Tristate area and hosting sessions with friends and family as a half-stack system. It started great, but then COVID-19 hit in 2020, and the sound took a bit of a halt along with the rest of the world. Fast forwarding into 2021, and the sound is getting more love than it’s ever received. Between events held at Hi-Vi Hospitality (IYKYK), having a two-night monthly residency at Reason and Ruckus in Poughkeepsie, NY, and getting opportunities to bring the sound to festivals and host more local events around the Hudson Valley area. It all leads to the love and respect the system has today.

Another name I need to mention is Dean Ruggieri. He’s another major piece to it all. I met him throughout my music journey, and it so happened that he was living decently close to where I was starting my first business in Kingston, NY. I told him about the sound, and he couldn’t fathom that a roots reggae sound system was located so close to him. We played records quite often soon after, which led to me taking him on to be a part of the sound system mission with me.

Soon after, he locked in our residency and got us numerous sound system showcases throughout the Hudson Valley. We both had similar intentions regarding what we wanted to do with sound, and that intention still stands. We strictly love to educate people on sound system music and offer an opportunity to hear a sound system without any boundaries. Ideally, we want to expose them to sound system culture and have them fall in love with the music like we did many years ago.

We continue to do this in Asheville with our free Sound System Sunday events, where we select through our crates of Roots, Reggae, and Dub records and play them for the people. No cover, no ticket, just free. This has been making a big impact on the community here, hence being one of the first roots reggae sound systems to do something like this here. A sound system is only so much fun by yourself; it’s meant to be shared with others.

We wrapped up a tour in May with the sound system featuring De-Tu, Versa, and myself. We hit the road having nine stops. Five stops with the sound system and four events on different sound systems throughout the country. The tour was a great success, and I’m looking forward to another one in the future.

In conclusion, the sound system endeavors have surpassed my expectations. I had no expectations from the beginning, so seeing how far it’s come is wild. We will be hosting our five-year anniversary party in October here in Asheville. The community can look forward to us announcing that in the next few weeks!

You have upcoming sets at exciting places like Meow Wolf and Submersion Festival on the horizon. What can fans expect from these performances? Do you have any surprises in store?

Yes! Looking forward to both of these. Meow Wolf should be sick! I’ve never been, so I look forward to exploring and experiencing Koja Sound for the first time. Not to mention, alongside my brothers RAfeeki and Murkury, you already know this will be a proper night of music that Denver fans won’t want to miss! They can look forward to us debuting a massive collaboration we have all been working on.

Submersion has my heart and always will. Being from NJ originally, this festival hits home for me… literally. This year, I have a different set I’ll be rolling out for the first time under Tunic. I’ll be doing an exclusive “Dub & Breakfast” set opening up the Beach stage on Saturday. The set will be a hybrid vinyl/digital set consisting of a handful of reggae dub records to start and end, with me showcasing a handful of new tunes off my dub side project. More info on that to come! Nonetheless, I’m hyped to showcase this sound style with this type of opportunity, kicking the day off right. Big love out to Aspire Higher and The Rust!

Looking toward the future, what short-term and long-term goals do you have for the Tunic project?

The short-term goal of the Tunic project is to release more music on unique labels. I also added a few different flavors of music to my Bandcamp. Tunes that I feel would never see the light of day otherwise for anyone who may be interested in anything I’ve written outside of dubstep. In the long term, I’d like to continue to connect with people throughout the music world. It would be cool to do more exploring internationally through music, too. Excited for what the future may bring!

Finally, just for fun, if you could only listen to three other musicians forever, who would they be and why?

Larry June – The man stays grinding, putting in the work, yet doesn’t let his ego get to him. He seems to remain a down-to-earth individual no matter how successful his career gets. He continuously reinforces the importance of staying humble and focusing on his journey. Plus, his music is so damn good.

The Gorillaz (Damon Albarn) – This group changed my life as well. They hit the nail on the head by not only producing incredible music but pairing it with groundbreaking animation at the time. 25 years later, I still catch myself running their albums from front to back. Timeless, I’d say.