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Daily Inspiration: Meet Matt Hunt

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Hunt.

Hi Matt, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Matt and I’m a producer/DJ known at Staring Contest in Los Angeles.

The way my music journey started was actually sort of funny. Initially, I wanted nothing to do with DJing and producing but at the time, I had a partner named Dillon from my former project, Trollis, who “forced” me. We started in Dillon’s basement in Maryland just sort of messing around until we noticed we were actually picking up the concept really well!

Naturally, we took the next step by reaching out to our local clubbing scene known as Clubglow in Washington D.C. where we played at a venue called Soundcheck. We ended up loving the feeling of performing and we showcased a great skillset so we began getting booked more and more until eventually, we worked our way up to playing what is now the #1 club in the world, Echostage.

Since that time, we continued playing Soundcheck regularly and working on our production skills until things began feeling like we needed to take the next step. The obvious choice was to move to Los Angeles where the Electronic music scene lives so I took the leap of faith and face-planted… hard. I never realized that our great show resume wouldn’t translate to the scene out here and I felt like we were starting all over again.

It wasn’t until our mentors, THE HOTEL LOBBY, picked us up and I began to work for them with filming all of their social media content. Johnny Lee took notice of my efforts and planted me on THE HOTEL LOBBY team full time while also coaching me through what it takes to actually make it in this music business. Since then, the Trollis project has opened for some amazing acts at TIME Nightclub, Academy, Avalon and Catch One.

There was just one problem… my partner Dillon still lived on the east coast in Maryland. He built an amazing house, had an upcoming wedding (shoutout Sarah), and has a great job so it made diving into music full-time harder for him. After talking for a long time, Dillon and I realized that to really make a footprint in the scene, it required much more attention. Dillon humbly stepped back from the project while always promising to cheer me on along the way.

Thus bringing us to present day where the birth of my new Alias happened–Staring Contest.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road along the way has had its ups and downs. Music is a tricky thing where people tend to neglect how much effort really goes into the success of it, so the road tends to be a little rocky. There is still so much road ahead though and whether rocky or smooth, I am excited to see where it takes me!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My life is surrounded by creative work 24/7. During the day, I work for THE HOTEL LOBBY helping with their content creation while sitting in their studio sessions learning and listening to new music all day.

Then once I go home, I’m right back in it with producing my own music and working on my personal content to help grow my new project.

And finally, even where there is a free moment, I’m usually at the club or events networking with other Djs and creatives as well. It seems like I can’t escape the creative lifestyle and I love it.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The industry will constantly evolve and change but music has been around forever. I don’t ever really see music leaving because it has been passed through countless generations and always evolves and grows! The thing I can see changing though is as technology continues to advance, electronic music will only morph into newer and cooler sounds!

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Image Credits:

Dutches Richards

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