Venera is an all-star power duo made up of the filmmaker and musician Chris Hunt and James "Munky" Shaffer, the latter of whom is best known for his work in the legendary rock band Korn. The collaboration, which started around 2022, has yielded a snarled, atmospheric body of work, made with no shortage of outside collaborators—Mars Volta drummer Deantoni Parks and the LA band HEALTH among them. Their newest album, Exinfinite, was released earlier this fall on PAN. Featuring guests including Chelsea Wolfe and FKA Twigs, it serves as a deepening of the core Venera sonic language—both cinematic and damaged. We were able to shoot some questions over to the duo; read their answers, and listen to Exinfinite below.

How did Venera begin? Were you aware of each other’s music before you started collaborating? 

Chris: Venera began after James and I met working on an EP for James’ sister-in-law. We had never interacted before then but once we both were in the same room we realized we got along real well and that we wanted to continue exploring sound together. I wasn’t specifically a huge Korn person growing up but I was definitely aware of their sound and impact on modern music. And working with James has given me a different perspective on and meaningful way into their body of work that I’m appreciating getting to explore.  

James: My sister-in-law was making a record and recording a song with Chris. I was asked to perform on one of her songs, and when I got to the studio and we started to record, it was instant chemistry creatively. Even after we had finished her song, Chris and I kept writing music that day and he was just logging it all, putting together random beats. We just started creating right away—it happened very organically. 

Do you think of Exinfinite as a response to your first record? What excites you about this one?

Chris: Maybe more than a response I feel like it’s a continuation of the ideas we were working through on the first album. Much of the material for both albums was recorded in the same time period so it is a matter of which crystals form the matrix and when, really. We’ve tried to group ideas that resonate with themselves and us and let our intuitions guide what the work should be. That process is part of what excites me. 

James: I feel like we’re sort of reaching for new ground. It feels like a more fleshed out album as far as our vision goes and I think the tracks and production are a little more focused.

What is the common musical language that the two of you share that allows you to work together so effectively? Do you have any favorite artists in common? Is it more of a process thing?

Chris: In general James and I both appreciate texture and intensity in sound and I feel that our sensibilities are complementary—James is very open and trusting and helps guide the trajectory of our pursuits whereas I seem to thrive in going through our recordings and doing the obsessive work shaping details. We of course have similar taste and appreciate similar music but we don’t seem to need to use those similarities much as inspiration.

James: It’s more of a process thing. I’ve discovered some artists through him and what he's done. It helps to try to get into the mind of the person you’re working with. There is just something that happens when we improvise stuff. It’s very impulsive—he kind of does what he does and it fits with whatever I do. It’s a weird, serendipitous sort of thing.

There’s quite a bit of outside voices on this new project. Any collaborative moments stand out?

Chris: We’re very grateful to have such talented artists collaborating with us on some of these songs. Chelsea and Dis Fig recorded their parts remotely so we didn’t get to be in the room with them for this but we did get to spend a day in a studio with Twigs in Los Angeles and witnessing her process unfold with such clarity and magic was a special experience. Also recording a bit of drums for “All Midnights” with my friend Aaron Nevezie in his studio in New York. Working with our mixer and friend Chris Pawlusek played a huge role in evolving the sound of the material, it was a joy to work with him on figuring out the voice of this thing.  

James: The way that FKA Twigs’ feature happened was really very easy. She happened to be in town doing some other sessions at the time and it fit right in with her schedule. I had previously met her and her boyfriend Jordan Hemingway in Paris and they were very nice. I mentioned this project to them before even our first record had come out. I think I sent her the first record and she liked it, so when we asked her if she would want to sing on something for this record, she agreed, and we found ourselves at Henson Studios working on the song. We wrote it together that day in the studio and it was a lot of fun watching her process and getting to collaborate with her. She’s super talented. She actually sat with the engineer and comp’d all her own vocals which I was really impressed by because most singers don’t do that. She sat there and comp’d every phrase with the engineer. 

Tell us about the video for “Tear.”

Chris: Tear tells the story of an amateur hacker that intercepts a secret military transmission composed of alien glyphs. It is a bit of a vignette related to the concepts and narrative threads that our friend Amy Ireland came up with around the themes of the album. Anthony Cinnamea aka EFFIXX made the video and Samanta García A.K.A. @dark___mesh developed the glyphs. These elements appear through the visuals related to Exinfinite.

Without giving away all of your secret sauce, is there a piece of gear or a plug-in that you think helped to define Exinfinite?

Chris: Well, there is a lot of Plinky on the song Caroline. Also the Noise Engineering Ruina distortion helps give most of the songs the kind of crusty patina in the sides. 

James: There was one piece of equipment that sparked a lot of creativity when we first started writing the album called the PULSAR-23. It’s almost like a modular drum machine—it’s a really unique instrument and it takes some time to get used to. Some of the tones are unusual and experimental and it's one of those things where you have to record what you’re doing in the moment, otherwise you lose the sound and it can change everything. You have to kind of document everything you’re doing as you use it. 

James—have you taken any influences from Venera and applied it to your work in any of your other projects? Chris—how has working with James informed your more recent musical endeavors? 

Chris: Since James and I typically generate a good amount of material I feel like the process really helps me become a better editor. Even if I just totally hallucinate it, if I can hear something that resonates with our ideas and sonic desire in one little sound or bar of drums or some tiny but of crust we’ve recorded, the process is that much more meaningful and immersive.  

James: I think I’ve gotten to experiment and go deeper with what I do with Korn, since that material is more structured compared to Venera. It’s a totally different animal with Venera because there’s no limits on how deep I can explore or how weird I can make my guitar sound—chasing guitar tones that sound like synths or where you can’t even tell it’s a guitar. I like blurring the lines between electronic and organic instruments, and I’ve always tried to make the guitar sound like something else, so I get to explore that more with Venera. 

You recorded the album in both Los Angeles and Atlanta. Which one has better food?

Chris: Oh man, there’s good food everywhere. I’d say though Los Angeles is a bit more expansive food-wise though.

James: Ha. Well obviously, I’m biased since I live in LA and I know where all my favorite restaurants are. But I do know that Atlanta has a lot of good restaurants. I just don't know where they are yet. In LA, you can get Indian food, Chinese food, Mexican food, Italian food all in the same block. 

Photo Credit: Brandon Bowen