Venera

Venera emerged as an experimental electronic endeavor grounded in spontaneous creation and shaped by post-industrial and dark ambient atmospheres. The project unites Korn guitarist James Shaffer, known as Munky, with filmmaker and composer Chris Hunt. On their self-titled debut released in 2023, the pair enlisted additional contributors including HEALTH and Deantoni Parks.

Hunt, who is based in Atlanta, first encountered Shaffer in Los Angeles—the city Shaffer calls home—during joint recording sessions alongside vocalist Xhoana X. Shared affinities for electronics and sonic exploration prompted them to develop material collaboratively, merging granular synthesis, modular synthesizers, drum machines, and processing effects into music and sound sculpture. Further guests joined the effort: L.A.’s HEALTH, the darkwave outfit VOWWS, Queens of the Stone Age’s Alain Johannes, and ex-Mars Volta drummer Deantoni Parks, whose restless free-jazz percussion appears on the track “Disintegration.” Mike Patton’s Ipecac Recordings issued Venera, the duo’s inaugural full-length, in 2023.