8. Michael HurleyLand Of Lofi
Michael Hurley is from – well, he’s not originally from, but he lives in Oregon now, which is my kind of home stomping ground. He’s about 75, maybe a bit older. He’s been releasing records since the 1960s and he’s kind of like a… how on earth do I describe him?! He’s like an outsider folk artist, kind of. He also makes artwork – all his record sleeves are adorned with his own artwork, and he has this whole little world of characters. It’s very recognisable once you get to know it. His recordings sound like you’re in his living room, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of his recordings are in fact made in his living room. They’re very raw – it’s like if you imagine the kind of classic American guy with his guitar on the front porch. He’s such an eccentric guy with a really quirky view on things that comes across in his music – his songs make me smile inside a little bit. Did you discover him through gigs in your hometown? Yeah, I remember hearing his name years and years ago when I played in bands in Portland, but I was never really interested in it, for whatever reason. But then I just heard a song at a friend’s place one day, and I said, ‘What is this?’, and they said, ‘Michael Hurley’. That was just a few years ago but then I started getting into his music. He does really simple things, like he’ll play the pump organ and things sometimes, or he’ll play the guitar. It’s real kind of down-to-earth folky stuff, but with a quirky, eccentric edge to it. The funny thing is that he’s certainly not like a wealthy, famous guy, but he has like this legendary reputation around the world – the people that know about him really cherish and love what he does. He’ll get invited to tour in Australia, and then he’ll go home and do his once-a-week gig in the local pub. But I think he always kind of intentionally shied away from any kind of fame or egotism, and I know some promoters that have put on gigs for him and they say that he refuses to be put up in a hotel – he wants to just sleep on someone’s couch or something, the simple way. He really is worth seeking out – if you go to his website, it’s like a really outdated-looking website, and it’s really hard to learn anything from it [laughs] but it’s great!
