Hailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, the fittingly named Island Boy is transforming all his Caribbean experience into sound. Richard Hunter-Rivera is beyond qualified for the job of beatmaker, with a degree from NY’s Columbia University in Composition/Theory/History/Electronic Music. How many bedroom producers can say that?

“‘Dun On Life’ is about letting go of the kind of tension that paralyses personal progress and fuels procrastination,” says Hunter-Rivera, “Sometimes I have a hard time making simple life decisions and I think that can be really self-defeating! I’d say the lyrics are about questioning the usefulness of such anxiety and about finding solid ground upon which to root and flourish. I don’t know if it’s a song I’m singing to a particular audience or if I’m channeling my subconscious and singing to myself in a ‘take a look in the mirror, do you like what you see?’ kind of way. A bit of both, most likely.”

“I want all my productions to have a sexy, silky groove to them, regardless of subject matter,” Hunter-Rivera explains. All the better for us, making for a seductive, hazily swaying slow jam on “Dun On Life” powered forwards by repeated synth runs. Friday’s suddenly feeling even better.