Fact Mix 790: Henzo

The Manchester producer and DJ raises the temperature with a clutch of unreleased dubs and classics.

Henzo is a member of Manchester’s Strange Riddims crew, whose club nights and radio appearances trace connections between dancehall, reggaeton, grime, rave and more. His own productions combine elements of dembow, 2-step and half-time D&B to create sparse, heavily percussive club tools, while his edits have taken the knife to classics like Pev’s ‘Roll With The Punches’ and Radiohead’s ‘Idioteque’ in ingenious ways.

Last year, Henzo inaugurated DJ Python’s Worldwide Unlimited label with Not Like That, Not Like You, an EP that came about after Henzo heard the New York producer playing one of his tracks at a club he was managing in Manchester. It proved to be one of 2020’s best EPs, and marked Henzo out as a talent to watch from a city that’s responsible for some of the UK’s most exciting club sounds.

“This mix is a smorgasbord of old and new; things that I have been working on and the sounds that influenced them, including some forthcoming stuff and some dubs that are doing the rounds between re:ni & Laksa, BFTT, Clemency, AYA and the Strange Riddims crew, plus a few more,” Henzo says.

“There’s an underlying idea of re-contextualising some of the tracks in the mix with steep drops in tempo that almost shift their genre, as well as long, elaborate (and somewhat self-indulgent) blends that melt the tracks together into something new.”

Not Like That, Not Like You is available now, with all label profits donated to Manchester’s The Rec Centre. You can find more of Henzo’s productions and edits at his personal Bandcamp and Strange Riddims’ Bandcamp.

Tracklist:

Drippin – ‘Stinkin’ Tool’ [Ball ‘Em Up]
Korzi – ‘Inside, But Out Here’ [Unreleased]
Henzo – ‘Iron Lighter’ [Forthcoming Left, Right & Centre]
Cassie – ‘Me N U (Henzo’s 1ne Time Remix)’ [Unreleased]
? – ? [Forthcoming]
Strange Riddims – ‘Mindshake’ [Strange Riddims]
Kowton – ‘Loops 1’ [Livity Sound]
Levon Vincent – ‘Man Or Mistress’ [Novel Sound]
Henzo – ‘For Your Consideration (Terrace Mix)’ [Self-Released]
Front De Cadeaux – ‘Pédé BPM’ (Fabrizio Mammarella rmx) [Roccodisco]
Henzo – ‘Grand Theft Horse, Oh’ [Unreleased]
Missy Elliot – ‘Pass That Dutch’ [Elektra]
Pluralist – ‘Move2Me’ [Panel Audio]
Chunky – ‘Experiment 727’ [Swamp81]
Bambounou – ‘VVVVV’ [Disk]
Henzo – ‘Kix’ [Unreleased]
Mosca – ‘White Mice’ [Not So Much]
Speedy J – ‘Sculpture’ [Electric Deluxe]
Kowton – ‘Glock & Roll’ [Whities/AD93]
Circuit 900 – ‘Halite’ [Flood]
Henzo – ‘For Your Consideration (Gym Mix)’ [Worldwide Unlimited]
Korzi – ‘There In Five’ [Unreleased]
Dat Oven – ‘Icy Lake (Shunji’s Clean Mix)’ [Jellybean Recordings]
96 Back – ‘Bend Down’ [Unreleased]
Strange Riddims – ‘What You Trojan About’ [Strange Riddims]
Henzo – ‘One Day She’ll Realise She’s Tougher Than She Ever Knew’ [Unreleased]
BFTT – ‘XCUSEME’ [Unreleased]
French Fries – ‘Machine’ [ClekClekBoom]
? – ? [Unreleased]
Henzo – ‘Cheapest Reverb (Thunderous Mix)’ [Unreleased]
Strange Riddims – ‘Where Is Slowest’ [Strange Riddims]

Listen next: Fact Mix 789: Afrodeutsche