About

photo by Justina Villanueva

Multifaceted guitarist/composer Kevin Hufnagel has been playing, writing, performing, and recording for over 30 years. In addition to his extensive discography of solo works, Kevin is guitarist for the bands Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, Vaura, and Sabbath Assembly. Past projects have included Byla, and Grey Division Blue. Guest appearances include work with vocalists Jarboe (Swans), Costanza Francavilla (Tricky), Genesis P-Orridge (Psychic TV), amongst others. In addition, Kevin has recently entered the world of composing for film, taking on a collaboration with director Natasha Kermani for the original score to her first full-length feature; the sci-fi/drama Imitation Girl.

Kevin's solo career began in 1997 with his first release 'While I Wait'. Subsequent recordings have seen Hufnagel shift fluidly from detailed classical/acoustic-based works ('Songs for the Disappeared', 'Ashland'), hazy, texturally-immersive soundscapes ('Transparencies', 'Polar Night') to avant-garde/sound design glitch-guitar freakouts ('Kleines Biest', 'Backwards Through the Maze'). June 29th will see the release of his latest full-length 'Messages to the Past'.

Outside of touring and recording, Kevin also offers private guitar lessons in NYC, and online via video conferencing apps for those outside NYC.

Words on Kevin's playing

"It sometimes sounds orchestral or cavernous, like church organs or violins or piccolos sounding in an enormous space. You get the feeling of wind and water and smoke, and the nonstop intimation of beauty." - The New York Times (from their review of 'Transparencies')

"One of modern metal's most technically accomplished and song-driven guitarists.There is an unsettled quality to his guitar manipulations that sound like Frippertronics sunk into the abyss and illuminated by an alien glow." - NPR ('Backwards Through the Maze' featured in their Top 10 Solo Guitar Albums of 2016)

"... a weird combination of chrome-plated futurism and intimacy... If that long-delayed live action adaptation of the classic manga Akira is still in search of a soundtrack, they couldn’t do much better than this record." - Stereogum (from their review of 'Backwards Through the Maze')

"If the world were just, Kevin Hufnagel would be a guitar hero. Guitar magazines would feature him on covers, and people would play his tunes with plastic toy guitars." - Pitchfork (from their review of Dysrhythmia's 'Psychic Maps')

"Yes, darkness, darkness pervades this release. I’m not talking about the creepy crawly kinda darkness you might hear on an early “Univers Zero” record. What I’m talking about is the scorched earth / blasted landscape / nuclear burn / Richard Pinhas sorta darkness. This is the sort of darkness that closes in on your psyche, the kind of darkness that suffocates you as your oxygen tank wheezes out it’s last breath into your dying lungs…that kind of darkness. Just to clarify, this darkness is aiming to blot out, deface and vaporize any thought of that long walk on the beach on that fresh Spring day with your best girl." - Avant Music News (from their review of 'Kleines Biest')