Fun And Games

Mystique tends to hang around Hans Van Vliet. The mastermind behind amorphous Brisbane solo project/three-piece Hunz, Van Vliet has never fully invested in self-promotion. In the absence of a defined mythos, rumours and legends have gravitated to his career – from the rumblings that he fronted a failed boy band in the '90s to a multitude of theories concerning his lack of mainstream success.

“Oh, I don't interact with that at all,” he laughs in response. “I find it funny that people actually care enough. It's such a beautiful thing that people would actually argue or even talk about stuff like that because it means they see so much worth in what you do. They see so much potential in what you were doing. They simply feel that potential must eventually amount to a particular definition of success.”

Penny Time will, in all likelihood, simply embellish that mystique. It's a most unusual release. Or, it would be for any act except Hunz. Their latest EP is actually a score to a musical/skating videogame for iPhone that Van Vliet designed as part of his day gig. Where Hunz's previous output has been characterised by melancholic vocal refrains and chilly electronica; Penny Time is breezy, cerebral and instrumental music.

“I run a motion design company and I had a client of mine that was a skateboarding company called Penny. One of my passions is making games, so I spoke to them about making a different experience for their customers and they were really excited by the idea,” Van Vliet says of the project's origins. “At the same time, I told them I would really like to do the music for it – just to keep it really tight.

“The game's really like something like Guitar Hero – where you kind of need to be flowing with the music and, when you're really in the moment, you'll realise your pulling off all the tricks,” he elaborates. “I really wanted to capture that strange zen moment of being completely in the moment, cruising, listening to music and pulling off sick tricks. Originally, I didn't think I'd release it as Hunz, but it gradually kind of took shape as that sound.”

In reality, Van Vliet isn't particularly mysterious. He's simply a combination of busy and bored. The songwriter actually did make a serious attempt at the music industry in the '90s but eventually lost interest. Since then, he's been content to simply make his music and work with his design company. It's not that he's some obscure electro wizard or commercial failure. He's just not particularly interested in commercial success.

“I actually consider myself to be quite successful at what I do,” he laughs. “I'm so happy. I break even with my music each year and sometimes I even make a little profit. If that overnight success thing happens, I'll be more than happy to embrace it – but I think every musician knows there are structures and procedures in place that one must interact with for that to actually happen. And I've freed myself from a lot of those structures.

“It all comes back to what is success and what isn't success, really. If you're not happy, you should try harder as a musician. If you are, you've done it. You've won,” Van Vliet smiles. “I really enjoy my work and I really enjoy my music. I get to make games and do fun things during the day and then come home at night and make music. Like I said, I consider myself to be quite successful.”