Artist profile · Drum & bass
Handra
Deep in the music.
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Handra is the Polish duo of Marek Szpak and Filip Zdrodowski, making deep, minimal drum and bass with releases on Addictive Behaviour and Blendits Audio.
Behind the music
About Handra.
Handra is the Polish drum and bass partnership of Marek Szpak and Filip Zdrodowski. Their name comes from the Polish word chandra, describing a feeling of melancholy: an idea that the duo made central to their music.
Speaking to Kmag in 2014, Szpak traced his beginnings to 1990s rave breaks, first as Basement Crew and later as Screwball. Zdrodowski arrived through rap and vinyl collecting, then spent years on the microphone as MC RanyJulek. They already knew one another, but began producing together after Szpak moved to Poznań. Their first shared track was released by Influenza Media, leading them to develop the Handra project.
Their Coat of Dust / Stay Away release on Addictive Behaviour in 2014 set out the balance they wanted: deep, technical, minimal drum and bass with an emotional centre. In the Kmag interview, they described wanting a human touch within darker music, connecting that mood with both nostalgia and nature.
Later releases included Orbit / Concrete with QZB on Blendits Audio. Work with Mystic State also led to Side Effects, which received a remix from Fre4knc on Absys Records.
Artist styles
Source-reviewed associations with parts of this artist’s work. Individual releases may differ.
Deep / Minimal
High confidence · Original production, articulated2014 aesthetic