STM 135 - Honzo

The author of the mix is Davide Carbone (b. 1987), an Italian electronic music artist based in Berlin, operating under the D. Carbone and Honzo monikers. A pivotal figure in the underground, Davide is a co-founder of respected techno imprints such as Repitch and 3TH Records. Working alongside contemporaries like Ascion, Shapednoise, and Lucindo, he has firmly established himself in the global scene. Since 2006, he has released numerous punchy records on labels like Planet Rhythm, Inner Surface Music, Dynamic Reflection, and Black Sun. While initially focused on acidic, deep, and metallic beats shrouded in a raw industrial atmosphere, Davide later shifted his focus toward a more experimental and complex world of sound—one that flows directly from his subconscious.

The Honzo project was born out of a keen interest in human psychology—specifically primary emotions like fear, anger, and sadness—and a desire to reveal the bipolarity of his musical expression. By incorporating submerged futuristic breakbeats, haunting cinematic soundscapes, cutting-edge modulations, and a dark palette of sonorous textures, Davide figuratively paints a dramatic, post-apocalyptic, and at times brutal fragment of the world. With these distorted, drone-heavy, and hallucinatory recordings, Honzo offers a distinct perspective on techno. This direction was cemented with his debut 12" In A Bipolar Disorder (2013) and subsequent works on labels like Haunter and Arboretum.

Secret Thirteen Mix 135 marks the public debut live recording by Honzo. It explores the depths of electronic design, probing dark, submerged sound areas where few techno producers venture. All tracks were composed by Honzo and deconstructed into single elements, then executed in real-time. The set was recorded at his home studio using Ableton, a Vestax VCM-600, Allen & Heath 42, and an Audio 8 DJ interface.

Instead of providing a setting for toe-tapping, these dense and noisy soundscapes seem tailor-made for out-of-body experiences. It is a recording best experienced in lofty or empty surroundings, allowing the dramatic, cathedral-like mood to expand and evolve. The recording possesses a power and sublime quality comparable to J. M. W. Turner’s classical paintings such as Fishermen at Sea or Snow Storm—turbulent, emotive, and overwhelming.

"The Honzo project was born when I wasn't feeling inspired by making Techno anymore. I was always having these kinds of periods, feelings, and moments where I couldn't follow any rules or schemes. If you set out to work on a specific genre, or base your inspiration on another artist, you are already conditioned by it and cannot 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 tracks, I try to express what I’m feeling at that moment, trying to catch the emotional state and translate it into music. It is something really intimate to me and also hard to work with. It is like going into a trance, a 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 through personal states. The first part is a kind of bad trip, exploring the darkest part of the subconscious, driving through emotions like anxiety, fear, and uneasiness. At the midpoint, there's the will to make an effort—a break in thought before taking control and turning into the opposite state. It drives through the peace of consciousness and clarity of mind, finally ready to flow into an acidic happiness. This can be seen as a reinterpretation of life in a psychotherapeutic key.

The influences that shaped my Honzo journey are Muslimgauze, Éliane Radigue, Autechre, and at the same time Unit Moebius, Beverly Hills 808303, and Aphex Twin."