The Love of Beer
James Huntington, aka Hm.t Dm.t
The experimental-electronic-music community is reeling over the death of James Huntington, a local beatmaker and promoter who performed under the name Hm.t Dm.t.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner did not respond to an email from CityBeat, but friends say that Huntington committed suicide on Wednesday night. Police have investigated and suspect no foul play, says San Diego Police spokesperson Andra Brown.
A regular at the Middletown nightclub Kava Lounge, Huntington was a co-founder of Liquid Geometry, a concert series that showcased the city’s experimental electro artists. He also helped start “Family Matters,” an invite-only event in which artists share their latest creations.
“As far as contribution goes, he’s been right there in it, working to make shit happen all the time—putting out music, playing music, being a cool cat,” says Mateo Silva, Kava Lounge’s manager.
Known for his wacky humor and face-melting live shows, Huntington’s music was often as unclassifiable as it was intensely groovy. Nowhere is that more clear than on the Hm.t Dm.t track "Breakfast Hash," a cut from a recent electronic-music compilation by Dataset Clothing:
Dubstep producer Aaron “Misk” Zimmermann says he and fellow dubstepper Donnie “EshOne” Valdez would often see Huntington at their shows, and they were blown away when he started making beats of his own.
“Everything he was doing was never good enough, and he was always trying to be a better performer and a better artist,” Zimmermann says. “Out of everyone I knew in San Diego, I thought he was going to be the one who really went somewhere with his music.”
Huntington contributed a remix of one of Zimmermann’s tracks to Zimmermann’s forthcoming album, First World Problems, which comes out on March 6 via Boston's Vermin Street label. Zimmermann dedicate 50 percent of the album’s proceeds to Huntington’s family.
Huntington’s friends will collect donations at Kava Lounge tonight. In the meantime, watch this video of a recent Hm.t Dm.t performance:
