Written by John Makela
Introduction
BLACK MOSS, an album that went everywhere.
Southport Sleeper of the year, BLACK MOSS. This article we will talk about (and with) the artists behind this project, HANZ and Reggie Volume. We will also define what it means to be a sleeper at Southport. Under this criteria we will reason as to why BLACK MOSS not only fits the mold, but outshines the rest.
About BLACK MOSS / INTERVIEW
To fully project the reason as to why this album is landing as Southport’s sleeper of the year (SSOTY), we have to show the full story. Luckily we were able to track down the creators of BLACK MOSS and sit them down on a zoom call and get to know them.
Reggie Volume is a Producer / Vocalist from Washington, DC. Volume credit’s his beginnings with music from DC originated Go-go music, Virginia artists like The Neptunes, and Timbaland. Most notably, he cites his father as a significant influence on his musical journey, whom he describes as “not a funk purist, but a funk appreciative.“
VOLUME: I feel like a lot of my first a lot of my first memories of music was just, like, being in the car with my dad and him playing James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Earth, Wind and Fire or, like, fusion bands, Return to Forever. A lot of Herbie Hancock‘s fusion stuff.
It wasn’t long before Volume started seeing the influence these memories brought back. He said.
VOLUME: I actually was in a jazz marching band. One of the songs that we played was from Herbie Hancock, I believe it was called Watermelon Man – I was in middle school, and I was playing alto sax. And I remember thinking, like, yo. Like, this is crazy. – my dad was playing this for me when I was younger. So it just was, like, a recall.
This recall would build a strong appreciation towards music. He now has over a decade’s worth of experience within producing, but found a new start with this album.
VOLUME: It was really rooted in this, like, inner child energy. – moments when you first started to draw, you first started to make music, – it was really a reset and a return to that.
HANZ is the dynamic voice booming throughout BLACK MOSS. He is a Lyricist from a Haitian household in the small Suburb of New Jersey called Lake Hiawatha. He credits the diversity of his hometown as a significant influence on shaping his music taste.
HANZ: I was just receiving different types of music – Kompa music, – also being in church, listening to, like, a lot of gospel. – and my dad playing, like, Jazz stations growing up. That just really informed me on my musical taste.
HANZ’s music taste would extend further as he would get older. He would cite the 70’s all-black Punk group Death as being a large inspiration towards the “colorful punk” approach to the album.
Keep On Knocking / Death (1976).
HANZ: That just kinda opened me up at that time. – I think that in itself is just tied to inner child because it’s discovery and curiosity and not trying to make something, but, just trying to, like, live something, be something, and it’ll come to you.
HANZ: The whole process just felt like some inner child shit, – just being really fun, being really warm. As much as people think punk is this, like, it’s, like, this anti thing. It’s this subculture.
Our interview concluded with some surprising news for the upcoming ideas from the BLACK MOSS group. Talks from Volume of a possible BLACK MOSS EP coming in the near future.
VOLUME: We have a crazy vault of just hella shit – we might decide to just throw out, you know, a couple of loosies or even, like, a small EP of just new BLACK MOSS material.
Live events were also a topic of interest for the future. Citing areas like D.C, L.A, New Jersey, New York, Atlanta, and Chicago. But for now they are simply working on creating. Volume’s 2025 vision consisted of working on his sound through DJ’ing and remixing. HANZ is planning on releasing an alternative-type solo project sometime later this year.
HANZ: I’m working on a solo project right now. – I got, like, my own production on there, which will be, like, a real kinda debut for that, – I just wanna, like, get into, like, full like, a fluidity of, like, expressionism.
What makes BLACK MOSS Special
The sound behind BLACK MOSS is what Reggie and HANZ similarly described as an “inner-child soundtrack”. The project is a punk-fueled rambunctious 33-minutes of music that could never be replicated. The album includes hard hitting guitar solos, amazing vocal work, and inspired production that refreshes the ear. The music on this tape is phenomenal, however the content behind it shows what projects this album to SSOTY.
The dedication by artists this year has brought a multitude of amazing projects. It is much harder to be recognized as an artist when there are so many out there putting in so much work. Where BLACK MOSS stood out was the extension of dedication into each part of the creative process.
The content outside of the music is extremely well-produced, highly unique, and immensely creative. There are music videos for the songs, WE GOT THAT, HARDCORE LOVE, STARCHILE, INNERMISSION, and FALL IN LINE (Which feature 4 parts).
WE GOT THAT music video, credits in description.
The music put out through this project has endless replayability, no song gets old. Even if the project were to grow off of me musically, the product put out is something that can’t not be respected. Look deep and you find years of work, trial and error, and just some gifted and passionate people, aligning their vision together.
This couldn’t have been achieved without their large group of creatives. Credits include directing from Aaron Laserna, Nico Pucciarelli, and Jackson Droege. Photography credits from Aaron Laserna, graphic design from Britney Correa, and Lina Iuppa. Along with artistic installations done by Aziz Ramos, this project truly covered all grounds.
“Bonsai Box” installation used to preview the music in various areas in NJ & NY. Built by Aziz Ramos.
VOLUME: it was just, like, a full on, like, just our community – seeing all these different parts come together at the same time – maybe this can sound like the way you’re going about putting this font together – I think that was a really fluid approach to everything.
Behind the scenes
HANZ’s website https://hantz.net/ shows a bit more behind the scenes of the album. This takes us through the strenuous process of this album. It showcases unreleased merch, thoughts behind the album, and unseen photographs taken throughout the shooting process for music videos.
Behind the Scenes photography for: HARDCORE LOVE Music Video + Album Cover + More.
Photography by Aaron Laserna. Styled by HANZ.
There is also a website built for BLACK MOSS which offers a link to their YouTube. There are also purchase links for streaming. The best part of this website in my opinion however, the BLACK MOSS embroidered trucker hat.
BLACK MOSS Trucker Hat, available for pre-order on https://hantz.net/
Trucker hat designed by Lina Iuppa.
There is an unequivocal amount of work that went into this project. It covers new grounds sonically and just didn’t stop. The project was a large first effort that reached all avenues artistically. This project was truly a creative masterpiece.
Why This is a Sleeper:
Selecting Sleeper of The Year was not an easy-task. This year was full of great, and underappreciated sounds. BLACK MOSS’ selection of the award is the result of amazing music, and a well-executed project going beyond sound. And despite this, it went relatively unnoticed.
What made BLACK MOSS stand out was the amount of dedication, and thought that went behind everything they did. HANZ, Volume, and the team of creative collaborators worked to create something unique. The amount of content, and quality at which it was put out is truly unmatched.
The most surprising part however remains to be the lack of recognition found. While this is their first project the streaming numbers and that could reflect on streaming numbers it is still what I would like to define as, “criminally underrated”. This project deserves far more attention because it was that, a project. This wasn’t just like any other album, this was a genuine project.
SOUTHPORT MAGAZINE 
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