Interview: Tuntu
Photography by Max Jcurran
Based between London and Leeds, Tuntu made a national impression with Made Different, a short yet meaningful single which was bolstered by a striking visual, directed by a northern based creative powerhouse called GRIT Multimedia, overseen by Miroslav Kiss aka Miro. Since the December release, Made Different has pulled in multiple awards, including Best Music Video by the Big Fringe International Film Festival. “He’s a whizz, man,” stated Tuntu, about the director, Miro. Tuntu met Miro through a mutual affiliation with another artist known as SIMSIMSOSA. After witnessing the creation process GRIT used to direct a music video for SIMSIMSOSA, Tuntu and Miro began communicating before deciding to work together. “We started noticing that we have a similar eye in what we are trying to do,” continued Tuntu. “In August, that's when we started working on this project, Made Different, then I think it took us a good two months to pattern out the video.”
It had been seven years since Tuntu started recording music, evolving it into a professional practice after falling in love with penning meaningful subject matters into his tracks. Before then, Tuntu was taught to mix and record music by a Leeds based artist called Ronnie Zion. After that, he decided to appoint a manager, TJ and Tuntu also founded an independent label called Unapologetic Music. “From then, I was working with SIMSIMSOSA from Sheffield and recording a lot with him,” recalled Tuntu. “In that meantime, it were just me alone.” But being alone wasn’t an issue for Tuntu, who isn’t afraid of being in his own lane. His Made Different single reflects this, a song lyrically laced with themes of self-acceptance and staying true to himself as opposed to hopping onto trends in the vague hope of being noticed. “You know when you see a certain sound popping right? It tempts you to want to jump on that wave, to have you boost up quick, because nobody wants to struggle in this,” explained Tuntu. “So with that song, it's just me accepting my different persona and putting that in the forefront really.”
Tuntu [L] & SIMSIMSOSA [R] Photography by Myles Bradley
The single was produced by GMP Gabriel, who is based in London. Around 2021 Tuntu received an email from him containing the instrumental in a beat pack and decided to roll with it, before recording the single in the months following. Despite not being a part of an official project, Tuntu claims that he released Made Different to ‘test the waters’ and it most certainly made waves. “It's funny, because this song was recorded a year and a half ago,” said Tuntu. “So it was just staying there, I hadn't released music properly for a long time and I thought, ‘Let's do something quite easy for people to soak in,’ so that's a reason I went for that.” The video for the Made Different single was released on Tuntu’s independent YouTube account, which he emphasized was ‘extremely important’ for his progression as an artist. “In terms of you building your own platform, releasing on channels like GRM Daily or Mixtape Madness, it slows you down quite a lot,” explained Tuntu. “But you have got to start from somewhere, for me it was a risk. You know, it's takes a long time to build more monetisation for you to even get paid from videos. So I was like, 'You are better off starting this right now than starting it late in the future.' I'm brave anyway when it comes to this music thing, I am not watching what anyone else is doing.”
The risk Tuntu took with releasing Made Different independently ultimately went down well, as the video received multiple awards in the months following and gained traction amounting in over 17,000 views on YouTube. With regards to what he has in store next, Tuntu didn’t want to give too much away, however he could reveal that he has another single incoming with SIMSIMSOSA. “I am working on a certain video that I'll keep in the air,” said Tuntu. “That one is going to be with SIMSIMSOSA but it's going to be with a different director, so that's some new visuals coming up next but in due time.” Aside from collaborations, Tuntu also stated that he is working on a project right now which he intends to release towards the end of 2023.
Tuntu, thank you for your time. Any final shout outs?
“SIMSIMSOSA, Elz, Sho Elz. Off the top of my head it's hard right now, I'll say this though right - up north, there is something going on creatively, something special for sure. There's so many artists, but realistically if I could shout out every artist up north, I would man. Also, SIMSIMSOSA has a project called ‘Hooligan’ coming out, it's an EP but with a mixtape vibe, so that's going to be something to look out for, for sure.”
Words by Evo