Artist: HRZG

Release: XYZ

Label: Sadan

Release Date: Vinyl & Digital January 24th, 2020

Allow me to introduce you to newly minted electronic artist HRZG. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume it may be the first time you have met, as this is their debut EP, XYZ. Encapsulating the Tel Aviv native is a shroud of mystery, which makes me also figure that you know as much about them as I do about Brexit (to be fair, who really knows much about it). Alas, what I can tell you is of the mercurial, capricious, and ruminative slice of wax this meticulous human (judging on these sounds, I can’t even confirm the human part) has produced. Innovative label, Sadan, stamp these sci-fi, lo-fi, and rummaging sounds for three tracks of intergalactic drift and cybernetic organism hypnagogia.

The eponymous tracks kick off alphabetically with ‘X’. An Ominous rolling beat gains traction with some fizzling clicks that are blanketed by a soft mist, as if to fuse nature with machines and create are harmonious sound, equally balanced in a wander and fear. A riveting bassline subdues the follies, while harnessed energy squawks and boorishly emits form a core. A mediating beep coerces the situation, restraining any destruction. Minimal in nature, it uses a massification with intricate loops and detailed layers. 

‘Y’ proceeds and has a more cosmic feel from the get-go. The twinkling bleep and distant signal accentuate an aimless saunter, weightless, and the sound of falling marbles creates a peaceful curiosity. Fluttering whispers, twirl and fade in the distance, navigating you deep to the galactic beat. Infectious and swaying with a hint of venom, the initial maunder hovers and eventually guides you asunder.

Z’ is, of course, the finale. The cut sounds like Mr. Gadget’s central nervous system, intricate yet unison flicks act as an ant farm, where every beat has its purpose. They are guided by the heart, a relentless pounding that powers all. As you journey deeper into the vascular vessel, you reach the core. The track flips, the percussion cuts as a static storm crackles, fizzles, and swarms surrounded by a reverbed, hollowed, synth. Resuscitated, the cardiac organ pumps back in the warlike kick drum. The countdown ticker and married electric fence see you off the shocking escapade. 

You can feel the influence from past producers in his work, be that Benjamin Damage or even Jeff Mills, the techno is well crafty and deeply examined. It creates a story, from early drift; to adversity and hardship; to the inevitable conclusion. Layered expertly, this pushes electronic music in a more thought inducing direction rather than foot-stomping four to the floor.