ISLAND BOY is the ongoing project of San Diego-based, Puerto Rican musician/producer RICHARD HUNTER-RIVERA. Incorporating elements of French house, reggaeton, latin freestyle, and new wave with crooning vocals, his music pays clear homage to the art of modern songwriting but utilizes unorthodox recording processes that result in dense, cinematic, and surreal soundscapes. In late 2012 Island Boy released an EP that features a heavy dose of sampling, live signal manipulation, and a production style that carries over into Hunter-Rivera's first full-length effort, Basic Instincts. Thematically, Basic Instincts is an exploration of the relationship between the human tendency to submit to a higher power and the determination needed to ensure self-actualization and spiritual freedom. Sonically, it weaves together dembow rhythms, reverberant leads, and dubby basslines into an experimental yet poppy tapestry of sound. Entirely self-produced in his personal studio over the course of 2013, the record is the direct product of Hunter-Rivera's renewed dedication to music and performance after years of toiling away at a desk job in the tech sector. It is a testament to the fortitude needed to break away from what our conscious minds think we ought to do and instead investigate the depths of what our bodies and souls yearn for.
