is a prolific remix engineer, producer and artist whose reputation as a multi-talented studio expert has resulted in him lending his skills to a wide variety of artists such as Paul McCartney, Crowded House and Killing Joke to name but a few. A former member of The Orb and a veritable ambient wizard, Greg's musical career has included working with a number of different traditional musicians, expertly blending sounds from around the globe with his expertise in the studio to create an eclectic fusion of experimental electronic music with the human touch of live analogue.

 A consistent collaborator with Amir Abdel Magid, Egyptian master of classical music and the kanoon (Egyptian harp) the pair have produced two albums together,  Alien Soap Opera:'Second Wave' (ELM8001), and Fifth Sun: 'Sout el Leil' (BW2133). The former being predominantly electronic based enriched with the sounds of Oriental musicians, and the latter more song based with an Arabic pop ambience.

 His latest album awaiting release is the result of his collaboration with Pops Mohamed, South African musician and self appointed protector of indigenous music. Going under the name of Third Strand, the album is entitled 'Lotus Blossom' and takes us on a unique ambient journey through a timeless soundscape infused with Oriental jazz, indigenous instrumentals and melodious chants. Inspired by Eastern mysticism Greg's latest offering marks a move into the realm of healing through sound, which will be developed further in his work to come.

 Second Wave reviewed
 Featuring the cream of predominantly Arab musicians, this collection of traditional vocals and instruments is given added punch with touches of unobtrusive electronica. This spellbinding set will find fans beyond the confines of "world" music.
Music Week July 2000

 Sout El Leil reviewed
 Fifth Sun are English producer Greg Hunter and accomplished Egyptian harp player Amir Abdel Magid. Together they have found an ideal mix of Western production techniques and Arabic music, resulting in a collection of Middle Eastern style songs with broad appeal.
Music Week July 2000

 �A new and most delightful piece of work from Alien Soap Opera in their new guise, Fifth Sun, who are classical Egyptian star and renowned kanoon (Egyptian harp) player Amir Abdel Magid and talented producer/engineer Greg Hunter who has worked with The Orb, Killing Joke, Crowded House and Paul McCartney amongst others. This album uses a slightly different technique to Second Wave resulting in a more song based Middle Eastern/Arabic pop style and incorporates the use of more traditional instruments sounding brilliant when played loud.
DJ Magazine July 20
 
 

A peculiar and fascinating blend of cultures and musical worlds, that is the essence of Subsurfing, the collective fronted by English producer/engineer Greg Hunter and Japanese instrumentalist/producer Obi. Their acclaimed 12-inch/CD "The Number Readers" in 1994 was one of the absolute highlights on the ambient firmament, while with their debut album "Frozen Ants" (released on Apollo Records in May 1995) they extended their intriguing pandemonium of cutting atmospherics, enchanting Indian textures and deranged hi-tech dub, displaying a stunning virtuosity in the combined use of electronics and live instrumentation.

Considering the respective backgrounds of Subsurfing's members, it's no wonder their hybrid mixture of styles comes as a refreshment to today's music scene. Obi, a trained Nohkan (Japanese classical flute) player in the Noh theatre (Japan's oldest performing art), before moving to Europe produced several local pop artists in his home country. In Amsterdam he worked on the music accompany ing Joel Ryan's novel "The Number Readers", in Cologne he collaborated with Japanese artist Miwa on a project in which vocals were combined with music randomly generated by computers. Now based in London, where he established his own label AO Records, Obi's output has never been more consistent: over the past years he produced and/or remixed remarkable tracks such as Suzuki K1 & 7.5 cc's "Satellite Serenade", Akiko Kanazawa's "Tanto-Bushi" and "Secret Squirrel" by The Saxophonettes; he also teamed up with th e classic countertenor singer Slava and is working on a new "garage ambient" project baptised Medium Fruit.

Greg Hunter has an impressive track record as studio engineer and (co-)producer for a wide range of artists including Culture Club, Depeche Mode, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Erasure, System 7, Steve Reich, The Mission, Tom Jones and Gene Pitney. With Youth he worked on the Crowded House album "Together Alone" and produced "Pandemonium" by Killing Joke. In the field of dance music probably most noted was his engineering on the Orb albums "Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld" and "U.F.Orb" and his remix work with the band on Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells II" and several Yellow Magic Orchestra tracks. Subsurfing is Greg's first own artistic venture.

Obi and Greg first met in Tokyo, where The Orb were recording "Assassin", and the pair immediately found a lot of common ground between them. Already during the first Subsurfing sessions at the Butterfly studio in London they attracted the attention of musicians like Kenji J ammer (Bomb The Bass, he also collaborates with a.o. Tim Simenon and Keith LeBlanc in the live project Night Of Interference), Kris Weston (The Orb), Charlie Hall (The Drum Club), Steve Hillage (System 7) and Youth. Some of them contributed to the "Frozen Ants" album and together with the band and other guest musicians Baluji (sitar, auto harp) and Jean (Chinese cello, kokyu) shaped it into a brilliant electro-ethnic masterpiece.

 ｩ R & S RECORDS. All Rights Reserved.

 Subsurfing Frozen Ants
(Apollo; AO)
review by Jeff Kihn

              Orb fans who are still scratching their heads at Pomme Fritz and Orbus Terrarum take note: Subsurfing is none other than Greg Hunter, Thrash's engineering buddy on remixes and albums up through UFOrb. Thus Frozen Ants is blessed with the technical dub wizardry of the Orb's good ol' days, but replaces their characteristic stoney goofiness with more mystical, haunting complexities.

Like the Orb, though, Subsurfing has a terrific sense of sonic storytelling which comes across brilliantly in the music. As the liner notes state: "Subsurfing is surviving in the epoch of a cultural melting pot with the beauty of the epic of adventure." Layer upon layer of interweaving sounds build up and ride on soft, bleepy trance riffs and beats that hover between dance and dub. At times you expect the whole thing to overload and turn to mush, but somehow it just doesn't happen. The mix stays afloat in a never-repeating ambient lyric, usually with some sort of wonderful African or Indian chant to carry it along, allowing Hunter to play with ugly dub effects and one-off noises with impunity.

The sound of Subsurfing manages to be classic without being redundant, and experimental without being obscure. A deep journey.
 
 

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Greg Hunter's new band (Orb producer/mixer) which does have a '93 Orb feel to it, but is far more "world music" with the addition of Arabic voices and lutes, Indian sounds, etc. Great stuff.
 
 

 Greg's debut album for MELT, 'Second Wave' was the result of his collaboration with Egyptian master of classical music and the kanoon, Amir Abdel Magid. A predominantly instrumental album, it features a variety of soloists from Amirﾍs orchestra playing on top of ethereal electronics.
 Fusing the ancient traditions of Arabic classical music and the limitless digital future, the music of 'Second Wave' combines pure echoes of North Africa answered back by hypnotic beats. The duo also produced Fifth Sun: 'Sout el Leil' which features singers from the Middle East, and is more of an Arabic pop album; song based and enriched with the sounds of violins and traditional instruments.

 'Lotus Blossoms' is the result of his collaboration with Pops Mohamed, South African musician and self appointed protector of indigenous music. Renowned for his dedication to preserve the tribal music from his homeland, Pops is simultaneously at the helm of the current world music movement experimenting with global sounds ﾜ fusing tradition with modern technology.

 The two were introduced in Johannesburg where they begun recording with Gloria Bosnan, a famous South African opera and jazz diva. They invited Suzan Hendricks, a traditional sangoma healer to add vocals and chanting in order to encompass sounds from all eras; and the Egyptian influence was brought in when Greg went to Cairo and recorded percussion, kowala (flute) and oud with Amir and Egyptian percussionists. The
 album was then finished in London where Kris Weston (fellow Orb member) added guitar to complete a truly global cast of musicians.

 Epitomising the term fusion, Lotus Blossoms weaves together contemporary world jazz, tribal chants, traditional African instruments and stratospheric beats. Embracing sounds and styles from such diverse cultural landscapes, this album creates a wonderfully warm tapestry of sound likely to evoke a trance state in even the most resilient of listeners.

The Dragonfly label is the home of the soon to be legendary Dub Trees CD. This electro-active release is  the work of a potent trio: Simon Posford (from Shpongle and Celtic Cross), Youth & Greg Hunter.

They explore in depth the style of ambient dub music, while breaking new ground with strange rhythms, effects and voice-over techniques. The results are sci-fi trance music that easily engulfs the listener in its web of futuristic sounds and deeply-rooted beats.