These days a lack of web presence is counter intuitive. The selfie is passé, while being professionally photographed is en vogue. North Carolina producer HANZ obscures his face entirely from the Internet. It’s one of many creative decisions that fed into his 2014 debut Reducer.
Originally self-released and later scooped up by the illustrious Tri Angle, Reducer manipulated rap samples through dire dystopian production that recontextualises breaks, dub, dancehall and hardwires it through musique concrète techniques. The result is irrefutably pulverizing. When Björk commanded the booth at Tri Angle’s Five Year Anniversary Party at Red Bull Music Academy in May, HANZ was among the artists she spun for her DJ set—the biggest rave cosign on the planet. All of these endorsements come despite HANZ’s shadowy presence and off-the-map origins. If the intent of Reducer is to strip all distractions in order to direct focus to the music itself, HANZ proves commitment to that motive with his contribution to the Friday Night series. The “short manual mix” is comprised entirely of his production—mercilessly HANZ—so that the conversation begins with an H and ends with a Z.
“short manual mix” tracklisting*:
01 Clutched
02 Fit
03 x-ray
04 Off it
05 Dead weight
06 Sink
07 Face Back Face
08 BBB
09 i’ve gotten taller
10 Very Very First words (the history of)
11 Dues
12 Heres what to do
13 Capsule
14 clutched reprise
*All songs produced by HANZ
HANZ’ Reducer is still available for free download and a vinyl pressing via Tri Angle is in the works. HANZ will also be performing at Hopscotch Festival on September 12.
