033 - Hannd
earworm033
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Headfog Mood Life
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7/7/24
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earworm033 ~ Headfog Mood Life ~ 7/7/24 ~
London born and based Hannd has been surrounding himself in the world of music from a young age, always exploring with open ears to the varying genres that the art form has to offer. Making music since the age of 16, experimenting with varying styles before landing more dominantly in the world of house and techno music.
This escalated more seriously after his debut ‘Hannd’ release on Raw Paper Records in 2017. From here the producer and DJ knew that he’d found a sound that was only going to evolve further. To date Hannd has had a handful of releases on varying labels and been developing his own label ‘Comma Traxx’ which aims to release artists that want to explore their own productions a bit more openly than what they may be used to.
Currently Hannd is working on co-founded events project ‘Down To Earth’ alongside pals Boulderhead, Ollie Kirk, FROND, Remotif, Bex, and L Daze.
Spread across Bristol and London, the collective aims to bring otherworldly, cosmic flavoured selectors pushing the boundaries of current underground sounds towards exciting club settings.
Interview
What’s your ideal breakfast?
Ideal: Good ol' English fry up with a bit of spice; Eggs, beans, potato pancake/hashbrown, merguez sausage, black pudding, sourdough toast, mushrooms, tomato.
What was the first record (or CD) you ever bought?
First record = Four Tet 'Rounds' + Burial 'Archangel'
First CD's (not proud of this) = Hoobastank 'Reason' + Keane 'Hopes And Fears'
What’s your unexpected musical indulgence?
I still find myself listening to old screamo / emo bands like Alexisonfire, Bury Tomorrow, Of Mice & Men, it's like overly aggressive, softboi nostalgia and I'm 100% guilty about it.
Does your alias have a backstory?
I used to have the alias Han Dopkins, which is just a simple swapping of letters in my birth name. When I started to make darker or heavier music I wanted something a bit shorter and punchier, so Han Dopkins became Hannd.
What’s the best thing you’ve ever got for free?
I would say education
What would your autobiography be called?
Hannd: How chronic overthinking became chronic over creating of new musical projects and ventures.
Do you have a party trick?
I can attend and leave a party without anyone knowing I was there.
What’s your current rotation of non-dance music?
A band called plantoid are dope, psych-jazz-rock vibes! Enjoying a lot of Japanese ambient music, artists such as Susumu Yokota, Chihei Hatakeyama, H.Takahashi, love their tones, moods and subtle melodies. The a.s.o. and Acopia album's that came out last year, still not bored of them. I'm re-discovering my love of Emiliana Torrini's 'Me and Armini' album from 2008 too.
Where's your current favourite place(s) in the world (and why)?
I had the privilege to climb Kilimanjaro with my dad for charity a few years ago, and it continues to be my favourite place in the world. It was a moment pre-pandemic when I felt I'd confronted a lot of mental health stuff, so going on a crazy adventure, pushing myself physically and mentally alongside my dad spurring each other on along with a group of lovely people all motivating each other. It was the healthiest I'd felt, the most free (no need for a phone on the mountain) and the most connected to the people around me. Getting to do that for charity and raise funds for good causes, it all felt like a dream and I think about it all the time.
Any other passions besides music?
I'm very passionate about mental health awareness with a leaning towards addiction and suicide, something very personal to me and want to help out where I can towards those causes. I'm also an avid reader of books, I've found my love for reading each year as social media becomes more and more consuming of everyone's lives and screen usage, in general, is just way over the top, I found sanctuary and escapism through books and exercising imagination through creative, fantastical writing to be way more calming and enjoyable for my brain.
What’s something you’re proud of about yourself?
I'm proud of being a part of the music industry as someone actively pursuing a sober life, I've not touched any alcohol for over 6 years and despite the challenges around being involved in a pretty substance-obsessed industry, I've managed to function, and be immersed in it whilst having fun substance free! I've met some amazing people, made some amazing pals, created and been a part of some fantastic projects (Down To Earth, Comma Traxx, music releases, DJ'ing, etc.), so yes, very proud of that.
Describe your Earworm mix
Kicking off 2024 I found it quite challenging, the winter blues in full effect with my first winter living in Central London following a move here from Bristol. I found little joy in going out to parties or events, thumping prog was getting a bit taxing and I needed a break from it all. This mix for Earworm is an experiment really, I wanted to find a voice for myself within the more ambient and beatless genres, playing around with the idea of 'ebbs and flows' within tones and moods rather than tempo changes and driving frog wobs. This mix explores quietness to create emotional impact in a mix, contrasted with some loud shifts and epic builds. It was really fun to put together and there are some teases of beats in there too.
follow Hannd:
soundcloud / instagram / facebook / comma traxx