Urban Heat

For the temperature phenomenon in cities, see Urban heat island.

Urban Heat is a post-punk band from Austin, Texas. It consists of frontman Jonathan Horstmann along with Kevin Naquin (beats, synths) and Paxel Foley (bass, synths). Their single "Have You Ever" went viral on TikTok in 2022,^[8] and received the 2023 Austin Music Award for Best Song.^[9]

Urban Heat
Origin	Austin, Texas, United States
Genres	Post-punk^[1] Synthpop^[2]^[3] Synth-rock^[4] Darkwave^[5] Gothic rock^[6]
Years active	2019 – present
Labels	Artoffact Records^[7] Spaceflight Records^[1]
Members	Jonathan Horstmann Kevin Naquin Paxel Foley
Website	urbanheatband.com

History

Horstmann, a native of California, was raised in a conservative Christian family, and had little exposure to popular music growing up.^[4] He moved to Austin in his 20s, where he had played in Austin-area punk and indie rock bands. After the birth of his first child in 2019, he began writing songs using synthesizers, so he could write music with headphones on.^[10][2][3] He had also recently been diagnosed with OCD and bipolar disorder, and become sober after a history of alcohol and drug addiction.^[11] Although Horstmann had intended for a solo project, Naquin demanded they collaborate once he heard his demos. Foley was then recruited to play bass. Horstmann was familiar with Naquin and Foley from the Austin indie community: he met Naquin at a video shoot for the musician SORNE, and he and Foley were part of the same group of fixie riders.^[10][3]

The band's progress was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Austin, Texas. They were slated to play at the 2020 SXSW festival, which was cancelled. Horstmann took his family to North Carolina to stay with in-laws for three months.^[2] Despite the interruption, Urban Heat released six singles before their debut album, Wellness, came out in 2022. The band played at SXSW and the Austin City Limits Music Festival in 2022.^[12][5] In 2023 they played SXSW again,^[13][14] the Cruel World Festival,^[10] and toured.^[6][8][15]

Their album The Tower is planned to release in 2024.^[16]

Discography

• Wellness (EP) (2022)^[17]
• Goodbye Horses (single) (cover of Q Lazzarus) (2023)
• The Tower (2024)^[16]

References

1. "URBAN HEAT — Spaceflight Records". Spaceflight Records. from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
2. Schenck, Nick (2020-10-15). "Austin Synth Trio Urban Heat Looking To Regain Its Momentum". 3rd + Lamar. from the original on 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
3. "Urban Heat is Synth Pop for the Future". Almost Real Things. 2022-04-28. from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
4. "Artist of the Month: Urban Heat". KUTX. July 2022. from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
5. Portillo, Nayeli (2023-02-10). "Urban Heat's Darkwave Road Map for Uncertain Times". www.austinchronicle.com. from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
6. "Rising goth stars Urban Heat slither into Savannah's Lodge of Sorrows". Savannah Now. 2023-06-22. from the original on 2023-06-22. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
7. "Urban Heat". Artoffact Records. from the original on 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
8. Moyer, Matthew (2023-12-06). "Austin darkwave trio Urban Heat return to Orlando for a Will's show". Orlando Weekly. from the original on 2023-12-16. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
9. Renovitch, James. "2022/2023 Austin Music Awards Winners". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
10. O'Connor, Andy (2023-05-24). "Urban Heat: Could They Be Heroes?". Spin.
11. "Urban Heat's Jonathan Horstmann on Getting Sober for His Kids". Spin. 2023-05-23.
12. "Urban Heat". SXSW 2022 Schedule. from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
13. "Urban Heat". SXSW 2023 Schedule. from the original on 2023-09-22. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
14. O'Connor, Andy (2023-03-16). "Blondshell, Urban Heat Rock SPIN's Five Worlds Party In Austin". Spin. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
15. "Austin's Urban Heat on transforming post-punk". soundvsystem. 2023-03-28. from the original on 2023-03-28. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
16. Whitaker, Marisa (2023-10-27). "Urban Heat Unveils 'Like This' Video, Announce Sophomore Album". Spin.
17. Stephenson, Becky (2022-07-29). "EP Review: Urban Heat - Wellness". New Noise Magazine. from the original on 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2024-01-28.