Urban Heat is Bringing Their Epic Sound to The World
With a new-found trust in their abilities, the Austin-based threesome is poised to bring dark-wave, industrial synth to the mainstream.
It’s unusually dark at The Neurolux in downtown Boise, Idaho. The late August sun has already set on a stormy weekend, leaving no light to be absorbed by the small club’s black walls. The smoke machine is working overtime, covering the legions of heavy, black eyeliner and fishnet tights in a murky white haze. After a month of email correspondence, I’m not sure I’ll be able to find Jonathan Horstmann in the shadowy bar. Stepping outside for air, I see the lead singer of Urban Heat striding down the sidewalk, flanked by his two bandmates. I shouldn’t have been worried; you could easily locate the enigmatic frontman at the back of a dark cave. He’s impossible not to look at. On stage, Horstmann’s charisma is amplified by the quiet confidence of Kevin Naquin and Paxel Foley. Although they aren’t as well known to the Pacific Northwest crowd, Urban Heat’s blend of industrial new wave and Horstmann’s husky baritone quickly wins them over. The band generates so much power during their live show it feels like the back of the building will blow out. The small stage, or any stage for that matter, just doesn’t seem big enough to hold them.
Sitting in a noisy coffee shop the following morning, I watch Horstman escape the Monday downpour. Weary-eyed, the soft-spoken frontman is just as engaging as the night before. The past year has been surreal for Urban Heat. Their dark-wave single “Have You Ever” went viral on TikTok with over one million views, exposing the band to a significantly larger audience. “There’s a difference between liking a song because you’ve heard it a ton of times versus hearing a song that makes you say ‘hold everything, what the hell is this?’” Horstmann says of the band’s viral hit. “‘Have You Ever’ didn’t connect with people because they used it in dance videos or whatever. It was the lyrical content.” Besides touring, the Austin-based threesome has been busy winning local awards and landing coveted slots at several high-profile festivals, including South By Southwest and Cruel World Fest. “What is it they say?” Horstmann asks as we discuss the group's recent triumphs. “Success is luck plus preparation.”
The multi-instrumental vocalist started creating synth music shortly after the birth of his first daughter, an event that forced Horstmann to come to terms with some hard truths about his future and his sobriety. “When my daughter was born, I reevaluated everything,” he says. “I didn’t want anyone in my life that I couldn’t trust with my newborn baby. That meant cutting out a lot of people, including the musicians I was playing with. I have nothing but respect for them now, but at that time, there were a lot of substances involved, and I was coming to grips with my need for sobriety.” Horstmann wasn’t sure if pursuing music was a viable option. “I was thinking about quitting music to focus on ensuring my daughter had health insurance. But I had invested so much of my life and money into being a musician, changing my career path would’ve been the least prudent decision.”
The singer began exploring analog sound design to showcase his bittersweet lyrics about romance and society. “Funny enough, I wanted to do something where I wouldn’t be covered in sweat at the end of every night. I started Urban Heat as a solo project with synth and sequencers. There was a lot of knob-turning to make everything happen live, so I wasn’t running around like I do now.” He teamed up with Naquin and Foley in 2019, quickly releasing the single “Stay” and several other songs over the next two years. In 2022, the band released their six-song EP Wellness. “Now the show is about inhabiting the physical manifestation of the song. Half is sampled, and the other half happens live. That allows for a more engaging and artistic interpretation of the music.”
Urban Heat has updated ‘80s synth by combining it with proto-punk and dark industrial beats, creating a sound that is just as intoxicating as their live shows. But it wasn’t until recently that Horstmann felt completely comfortable in his stage presence. “It’s so freeing; it almost brings me to tears,” the singer says while discussing letting go of his rigid pre-show routine. “I had to separate that part of myself—I had to put on a uniform, but I don’t need that anymore. If my voice is warmed up, I can go zero to one hundred in 30 seconds. I have ADHD and OCD, so there were certain things I always needed—the black briefs with the black band. If they had a white band, the show would be horrible. I’ve released most of that; it’s taken so much stress away from performing.” Listening to Horstmann, I can’t help but ask if an added element of trust plays a role in his newfound ease. “I’m trusting that everything is happening as it should,” he responds. “I do trust myself more, but I also know where not to trust myself when it comes to my sobriety. I’m returning to meetings to ensure I have that support system while we’re on tour.” He continues, “I’ve started tattooing myself again. I haven’t been able to do that for ten years. When I was drinking, I gave myself a lot of bad tattoos. Listening and trusting myself enough to avoid making those mistakes was a big deal.”
Horstmann has moved from a place of substance dependency and trauma to one of creative integrity and connection. His last project BLXPLTN, often focused on political anger in a way that hindered the frontman from connecting with audiences. With Urban Heat, Horstmann has found a way to express those same ideas while building a kinship with fans. “The goal is to write songs that come from a personal place but also allow the listener to attribute their own experience and meaning to it.” The group’s song “That Gun In Your Hand” is a perfect example. The track has societal undertones but isn’t so overt that it doesn’t leave room for personal interpretation. While Horstmann is eager to build a relationship with the band’s growing audience, he isn’t interested in taking it easy. “Some music is made to be played in the background, but that’s not what I do. I want to make epic music. I want our songs to be little three-and-a-half-minute films.”
Indeed, Urban Heat’s music inhabits a realm where emotions may drastically shift from song to song but still fit together to form a vast, expansive landscape. The track “City Lights” is a shiny, upbeat ode to young optimism, while “A Simple Love Song” is a dystopian march that barrows the talk-sing style of David Bryne. Although the group is part of a growing synth revival, Urban Heat is building a world with Horstmann at the center. Saying the frontman has “star power” feels inadequate and disingenuous. There’s no doubt that Horstmann has always possessed frontman qualities, but it’s more than apparent that his transformation over the past handful of years has only heightened his abilities. “I got laid off right before this tour started,” Horstmann tells me as we wrap up our conversation. “Now I’m not having to check out of my creative space to go into some other mode. Whether I’m on stage or not, I get to be myself right now, which is really special.”
Packing up my bag, I mention Horstmann’s recent interview with Spin Magazine. “We have an article in Spin Magazine,” he responds excitedly. “That’s fu— insane.” When I ask him about the article painting Urban Heat as the saviors of Austin’s music scene, Horstmann responds, “I hear a lot of talk about there not being any real rock stars anymore; I think ‘well, they just haven’t seen me yet.’” The frontman laughs at his overt boldness before continuing, “I don’t see us as saviors, but I’m very motivated, I’m very determined, and I have a very unhealthy work ethic. Those three things are the recipe for any kind of lasting cultural impact.”
This article has been edited and condensed
