LUV HRTS in Conversation with FAULT Magazine

LUV HRTS
Photo: Jake Inez

LUV HRTS is the musical marriage of EDM eminent Mild Minds (Benjamin David) and ambient indie dreamscaper Victor Pakpour, better known as one-half of Ruby Haunt. Brought together by their mutual love of dance music and, in particular, the soaring euphoria it can evoke, the pair launched their collaboration last month with the release of LUV HRTS debut EP, ‘Hearts, Vol. 1’. The resulting sound is noticeably different from either man’s primary musical offerings to date, making it a genuinely exciting experiment rather than ‘Just Another Rainbow’, aka: a tired, name-checking, platform-sharing gimmick.

We spoke to Ben and Victor about the tensions and freedoms associated with embracing such radical musical diversity, their thoughts on artistic independence versus industry support, and their plans for LUV HRTS going forward.


FAULT: Incredibly, in addition to the release of ‘Hearts, Vol. 1’ last month, both of your alter egos – Mild Minds (Ben) and half of the Ruby Haunt duo (Victor) – have albums coming out in the next couple of months. How challenging is it to balance the needs of your various different projects?

LUV HRTS (Ben): I personally love it, I find it more efficient as we generally make a lot of music in multiple styles, so instead of these tunes going to waste like they did historically, we now have avenues to ship them.

Victor: It’s actually a nice balance because the styles are different, so it’s fun to go back and forth. Both projects do require a high level of focus, so being able to do this as a career is definitely a huge factor in being able to balance these projects.

Ben, on top of your impending releases, you’ve also recently launched a recording imprint, MOODS INTL., where the music for LUV HRTS is being released. How did that opportunity come about, and what made you want to pursue it?

Ben: Two reasons, one being I wanted to be able to release the projects I have going in a timely, fully independent manner and secondly, is to help friends release music that maybe doesn’t have a home or isn’t being worked [on] properly.

At a time when so many aspiring artists are self-releasing their own material and building up followings without any ‘industry’ support, what role do you see yourself/the imprint playing in terms of launching new careers and/or supporting experienced artists?

Ben: I want everyone to reach a point where they can become independent but I think it takes time to get there and sometimes you need help. So we’re happy to be that vessel. I see friends who should have a lot more streams than they do, sometimes I hear they’re on 80/20 deals and that makes it even worse if their labels aren’t doing anything.

Management and I felt we’ve learnt a lot from these previous Mild Minds releases in terms of what works and what doesn’t, so we thought we could use that to help others gain some momentum with very artist-friendly deals and help them to reach a level where their own algorithm is doing the heavy lifting. As you said, there’s a lot of artists at the moment, so we also only prioritise a few artists at a time.

MOODS INTL. is also reportedly set to act as a platform for you to work on side projects (i.e.: not under the Mild Minds name) – with LUV HRTS seemingly the first example of that. Can we expect to see more collaborations like this in future, or are they more likely to be solo releases?

Ben: Definitely some more collaborations. But I do have a bunch of Mild Minds-esque music that just doesn’t fit the umbrella, so I originally intended to have another personal avenue at some point. I just definitely don’t have the time to build out another Instagram and online profile! So we’ll see.

Victor, the musical gap between Ruby Haunt and LUV HRTS is cavernous. You’ve alluded to the idea that the unifying thread between your own creative projects and Benjamin’s is the comparable depth of emotion and feeling which underpin them. To me, that suggests that your primary focus as a songwriter is to create an emotional response from your listeners. Surely that’s a lot more difficult to do when you’re switching genres (and starting a new project!) and, perhaps, don’t know your audience quite as well?

Victor: Yeah, of course, it’s a bit daunting starting a totally new project, but I also believe in making the music for yourself first and then you have to let go of how it’s received. Like you said, my main focus as a songwriter is to create an emotional response from listeners, but that starts within first. It’s been fun switching between the two projects though, because the worlds are different.

Can either you either see yourselves doing something similar again, in terms of crossing the genre divide for another collaborative project?

Victor: Between the projects we have going on right now, we’re super content and the key is that they are all sustainable. It’s important when you start a new project to keep momentum moving forward.

What are your plans for LUV HRTS post-‘Hearts, Vol. 1’? I’m going to take a wild leap and guess that we should expect a ‘Vol. 2’…? How about generally – are you setting goals or working towards anything or just seeing what happens?

Victor: Everything thus far is feeling good and we definitely have a lot of ideas we want to bring to life with the next releases. So yes, Vol. 2 is in the works. The goal is to keep building our world and putting out music.

Which do you prefer: writing new material or performing live?

LUV HRTS: For us we’re mainly here to create the music. That’s where we get the most enjoyment.

Do you have any gigs lined up as a duo? Is that on the cards?

LUV HRTS: I think that time is coming soon. It would be fun to share the stage together as a DJ duo or live set up.

Who is overrated/underrated?

LUV HRTS:

Overrated – Albums that exceed 12 songs

Underrated – Ambient music

What is your FAULT?

LUV HRTS: Not staying on top of practicing the classical piano pieces I learned growing up.


Follow LUV HRTS:
Instagram | Spotify