Guzz, "An Elephant in the Jungle"

Reconstructing tropical China from bass-framed samples and syncopated silence

Guzz is a Shanghai-based producer associated with the Beijing-based label Do Hits, which he co-founded with Chinese electronic music figurehead Howie Lee in 2015. He’s a transplant in both places, however, hailing originally from the province of Hainan, a Chinese island whose largest city, Sanya, is latitudinally 167 miles south of Hanoi. Unsurprisingly, Hainan’s climate is closer to Southeast Asia than the China of popular imagination, complete with palm trees, lush jungles, and all manner of tropical fauna. Guzz spotlights these influences on his aptly-named Do Hits debut, An Elephant in the Jungle, drawing inspiration not just from his home province but also the Laotian and Indian cultures (and wildlife) that lie to its west. The result is an album that’s equal parts dance record, travelogue, and anthropological artifact.  

Although Do Hits’ general roster leans heavily towards bass music, An Elephant in the Jungle follows a more sampladelic aesthetic, threading together snippets of folk instruments, classic vocal performances, and other articles of Southeast Asian musical tradition. Guzz’s electronic embellishments are noticeable but not obtrusive, largely limited to rumbles of sub-bass and occasional wrinkles of digital distortion. His strength as a producer shows through instead in the meticulous sequencing of his source material, less connected to what he adds to each song as what he positions and pulls away. Beats are arranged to land dappled and off-kilter, punctuated with sudden pauses that make them feel unstable and alive. Rhythms rush in from nowhere and then vanish with the spontaneity of actual forest encounters. Guzz’s voice is never heard but still unmistakable throughout: sometimes strident, sometimes furtive, coded into a story told as much in spaces as in sound.

Bonus Pick: For a different take on a similar concept, check out Brazilian jazz artist Amaro Freitas’ more recent release, Y’Y, which grew out of the pianist’s experience in the Amazon rainforest.