It was in the fall of 2007 that close friend and producer Dan Deurloo (of Epic Hero) heard several of Huna’s songs that he had wrote and accumulated over the years, and suggested that he document them. Huna was intrigued by the idea, and thought, “Hmm. That would be a lot of fun. “ So the two set out to work on the documenting process, writing and arranging followed by simple recordings at Deurloo’s studio (After Rome Studio), which during this time Huna felt he had one of the best things happen in life….

“I lost my job, so let’s do a record for real.” This was Huna’s expression in the fall of 2007 when he learned that the company he was with no longer needed his services. He realized that there would be no better time than to dive in and really work at a great collection of songs.

So with life’s possibilities wide open, the simple “documentation” project took on a whole new outlook. The boy who grew up in a small town in western Minnesota set out to obtain his dream. With the help of Deurloo, who pulled from his experience with Epic Hero and past projects working with Grammy award winning songwriter Dan Wilson of Semisonic, Huna started learning to press through and finish the ideas that he had put on the backburner. Before either realized it, they had started the painstaking process of a full-length project.

Huna started his professional music career touring nationally with a dance group. That’s right, you read it correctly! This folky, acoustic driven artist used to shake it and groove to the beat while on stage. “It was great. I had a lot of fun and great experiences that opened my horizons, but I always knew I wanted to write and perform my own music.” Huna has a base love of 30’s and 40’s music and acoustic folk. He states, “I love those styles because they put you in a state of mind that lets you reflect on life and helps you to slow down and enjoy the moment.” While Huna didn’t even own his first guitar until he was in college, his execution on the guitar makes it seem like it has been a part of him his whole life. He has developed a great mixture of finger-picking-folk to contemporary chord playing. It lets you ride the emotion he creates without leaving you with the feeling that you are listening to the same thing over and over again.

Huna and Deurloo’s collaboration has resulted in a collection of songs for his first album, A Neighboring City, that have a great mix of folk, contemporary pop/alternative, and a little splash of retro 70’s sound that will never leave you feeling that you have “already heard this”. He is gaining an audience who are falling in love with the lyrics and story telling, saying the songs have great depth, substance, and emotion. It is said to be comparable to Damien Rice, only happier and more soulful. “I always write as if I’m standing in the middle of a room, watching the emotions that come from the lives of others,” says Huna. “I try to write so that the audience will be able to connect and feel they are apart of the song.” The open instrumentation of this record is accompanied by catchy melodies and well thought out harmonies… a virtual sound track for life! Huna delivers these hooks (the ones that stick in your head and you randomly start humming while looking up at a menu to order the number 5) with a unique vocal sound. “My sound, and this album, is about getting back to being real and not forgetting about the past and the traditions that make us who we are,” says Huna. “The songs are about meeting the emotions of what you really feel, and not running away. It’s learning to fall in love instead of settling for the idea of love. It’s chasing your dreams and not letting money dictate your choices. I’m sorting out the spiritual side of life and learning about the unconditional love that is bigger than all of us.”