Photo by Luca Caciagli

Debut live recording by Honzo exploring the depths of techno and beyond.

The author of the mix is Davide Carbone (b. 1987), an Italian electronic music artist based in Berlin who works under D. Carbone and Honzo monikers. Moreover, Davide is a co-founder of such promising techno labels as Reptich and 3TH Records. Working together with fellow musicians like Ascion, Shapednoise and Lucindo, Davide firmly taken root in the global ‘underground’ scene. Since 2006 he has released numerous punchy records on labels like Planet Rhythm, Inner Surface Music, Dynamic Reflection, Black Sun and his own imprints. Mainly focusing on acidic, deep and metallic beats shrouded with raw and industrial atmosphere, Davide recently turned his interest into more experimental and complex world of sound, which flows directly from his subconscious.

Davide’s new Honzo project born out of his keen interest in human psychology (primary emotions like fear, anger, sadness, which are common for all humans of all cultures) and desire to reveal the bipolarity of his musical expression. By incorporating submerged futuristic-breakbeats, haunting cinematic soundscapes, cutting edge modulations and the whole dark palette of sonorous sounds, Davide is figuratively painting a dramatic, yet post-apocalyptic and to some extent brutal and hopeless world’s fragment. With his distorted, drony and hallucinatory recordings Davide is definitely building a new musical perspective to techno music. It can be heard at Honzo’s debut 12" record “In A Bipolar Disorder” which was released in the late 2013. February 2015 will be marked by his new record on 3TH Records. Moreover, Honzo is also working on new material which is planned to be released on Haunter and Arboretum labels.

“Secret Thirteen Mix 135” is a public debut live recording by Honzo exploring the depths of electronic design, probing in dark, submerged sound areas where only few techno producers navigate. All tracks were composed by Honzo himself and divided into single elements and executed with the software in real time live session. This live recording has been recorded at Honzo home studio using Ableton, Vestax VCM-600, Allen & Heath 42 and Audio 8 dj audio interface. Instead of providing a setting for toes tapping and head nodding, such dense and noisy soundscapes seem tailor-made for outer-body experiences, especially with a recording played at lofty or empty surroundings just to allow the dramatic cathedral mood to expand and evolve even more. J. M. W. Turner’s classical paintings such as “Fishermen at Sea”, “Melrose Abbey” or “Snow Storm” could be a right visual illustration of how powerful and sublime this recording is.

Honzo about his recording:

Honzo's project was born when I was not so inspired by making Techno anymore. I was always having these kind of periods, feelings and moments when I cannot follow any rules and schemes. I mean if you would like to work on a genre of music or if you want to base your inspiration on an artist or another, in this moment you are already conditioned by it and you can not catch the emotion in its pure essence. I had the need to produce something without rules, something that just let me feel good.

When I work on Honzo's tracks I try to express what I’m feeling at that moment, trying to catch the emotional state and express it through the music. It is something really intimate to me and also hard to work with. It is like going in trance, dissociation from this world. The name of my first EP “In A Bipolar Disorder” evolved from this concept.

I tried to structure the mix like an excursion of Honzo's personal states. The first part is a kind of bad trip, exploring the darkest part of the subconscious, driving through emotional states like anxiety, fear and uneasiness. At mid-time there's the will to make an effort, make a thought break before taking the control and turn in the opposite state, driving through the peace of consciousness and the clearness of mind and now it is ready to flow in an acidic happiness. This can be a kind of reinterpretation of life in a psychotherapeutic key.

The influences that shaped my Honzo's journey are Muslimgauze, Elian Radigue, Autechre and at same time Unit Moebius, Beverly Hills 808909 and Aphex Twin.

Reveal Playlist

01. Honzo - Debut Live Recording