JB Hanak

Jb Hanak (Jean-Baptiste Hanak, born in 1977,) is a French musician, composer, vocalist and painter. He has toured and recorded extensively as one half of electronic duo dDamage (alongside his brother Fred Hanak) as well as many albums and concerts under his solo pseudonym dDash. He was a member of hard-rock group Cobra and took part in contemporary music ensemble Sleaze Art, under the direction of Kasper T. Toeplitz. He recently composed music for a full length album entitled "Nuit à Jour", written by Ingrid Astier, featuring French actor Pierre Richard. Since 2015, he's been creating painted works and drawings and is currently represented by French gallery Anne de Villepoix.
Alongside his brother Frédéric Hanak, Jean-Baptiste recorded and performed as dDamage. The duo meshed and mashed audio samples and synthesized electronics into a brutal blend of Techno, Punk rock, Noise music, Industrial music and Hip hop offset by melancholic, ambient soundscapes. The two-headed monster blazed a raw trail of live shows throughout their native France, in Europe, the United States and Japan. Their inspiration from international scenes led them to a number of collaborations with artists from a diverse variety of backgrounds and influences, earning them notoriety far beyond the constraints of the local French electronic music scene. The dDamage discography reveals a wide range of collaborations with MCs such as MF Doom, Jeezy, Agallah, Doseone, Mike Ladd... as well as with groups and musicians Jon Spencer, The Horrors, Meat Beat Manifesto, Otto von Schirach, Boards of Canada, Bomb the Bass and others. They've put out 8 albums and a number of EPs over 20 years, and their music has been featured on compilations, movie soundtracks and in television commercials. dDamage was brought to an abrupt, brutal end, as a result of the untimely passing of Frédéric Hanak, in 2018.
Jb's first solo album, "Alien Folk Trash, under the pseudonym dDash, came out in 2003. The collection of songs often described as "bedroom indie-rock" was released on Angelika Koehlermann, a sub-division of Gerhard Potuznik's label Mego (label), based in Austria. It was well received and journalists likened the sound to the songs of American musician Jad Fair. Due to his absolute dedication to dDamage, his second solo outing would wait, finally taking shape 11 years later. "Hyperactive Jerk" was released in 2014 on Japanese-French label Tsunami-Adddiction, representing a more personal side, in a multi-disciplinary approach. In addition to the original compositions, lyrics and arrangements... all drums, vocals, guitars and keyboards were undertaken by Jb Hanak himself. The album cover displays his own drawings as well. The singular sound, style and visual identity led him to collaborate with legendary designer Agnès b., who, in addition to actively promoting "Hyperactive Jerk", created clothing directly inspired by the album's artwork.
In 2012, Jean-Baptiste hit the road to tour with French Hard-Rock band Cobra, performing dDash material as the opening act. In 2013, one of the musicians left the group, and Jb stepped in as an official member, up until the band's final split in 2017. He rounded out the guitar-heavy shows, adding keyboards, backing vocals, samples and drum sequences on stage. Cobra released a 'cult' seven-inch called "Des lieux associatifs pour les jeunes" (which roughly translates as "Associative Youth Centers") on Parisian Rock n' Roll label Born Bad Records, and an album "Les Clés de l’inquiétude" (rough translation: "The secret to anxiety") on French label Satanic Royalty. The group performed throughout France, Switzerland, Belgium and rocked stages at festivals such as Hellfest (French music festival), Motocultor Festival, ExtremFest.
In 2014, Jean-Baptiste took part in guitar & bass ensemble Sleaze Art, created by Kasper T. Toeplitz, a renowned contemporary music composer whose prestigious resume includes work with Groupe de recherches musicales, IRCAM and Radio France. At that time, the group was a quartet of electric bass guitars, consisting of musicians Eryck Abecassis, Frederick Galliay, Kasper T. Toeplitz and Jean-Baptiste Hanak. They recorded and released two albums under the course of 2015: "Infra", on Bocian Records and "Infra-Blast", on the In Paradisum (record label). The first incarnation of the ensemble was to provide a sonic backdrop on stage for contemporary dance performances by French choregrapher Myriam Gourfink. The "Infra Souterrain" performances took place in 2014 at Théâtre des Arts in Cergy and later the same year at Théâtre du Blanc-Mesnil. In 2015, they performed versions of "Infra_Purr" twice at art center Georges Pompidou Center, France. 
In 2013, dDamage composed the soundtrack to French director Jill Coulon's "Chronicles of a Sumo Wrestler" : a French-Japanese feature-length drama produced by Japanese broadcasting group NHK Television. The experience sparked a collaboration with Schubert Publishing, eventually leading to Jean-Baptiste composing and performing the musical score for French film "The Open". The film was directed by Marc Lahore, released in 2016 and featured British actor James Northcote (actor). "The Open" was screened at 54 international film festivals, earning 25 awards in all... and was distributed as a Video on demand release in the following year. 2016 marks the beginning of a publishing arrangement with Tele-Music, under license from BMG Music France, to produce an album of library music alongside electronic composer 2080. Feminist film maker Olympe de G commissioned Jean-Baptiste for soundtrack compositions to score her latest erotic short-film in 2017 : "Don't Call Me A Dick", produced by Erika Lust. He went on to compose the music for her first full-length outing "Une Dernière Fois" in 2020. Co-produced by Kidam and Canal+, the film is notable for bringing 70’/80’s French erotic icon Brigitte Lahaie back into the spotlight.
Author Ingrid Astier (Éditions Gallimard) contacted dDamage in 2010 with a desire to develop a collaborative project with the duo. In 2014, Frédéric and Jean-Baptiste wrote two pages for her new book "Petit Éloge de la Nuit", and the seed was sown to give musical form to the written material. Legendary French actor Pierre Richard, a close friend of Ingrid Astier, was presented to Jean-Baptiste, which birthed a musical project based on guitar and vocals. After several stage performances of the songs, it became quickly apparent that an album was the obvious next step. The three of them begin studio work in December of 2018, and the writing and recording continued for over a year, culminating in the album "Nuit à Jour. After signing a release deal with Modulor Records, Jean-Baptiste headed back to the studio to mix the album with Parisian electronic composer Olivier Dax (Dax Riders), and the album was released in december 2020.
Jean-Baptiste's solo album "Hyperactive Jerk" (2014) kicked off a more serious focus on visual arts, drawing and painting. He made several designs for Agnès b., who released clothing items featuring his frantically feverish and maniacally detailed illustrations. His work was then noticed by the art department of Mitsubishi Pencil and he began a sponsoring arrangement with paint-marker brand Posca. Art exhibitions soon ensued and he gained further attention and support from the contemporary art scene via institutions such as L’Institut Français in Japan, le Musée du Papier in Angoulême, or David Lynch's "Silencio" club in Paris. As exhibitions of his work continued, he eventually joined the roster of Anne de Villepoix, who has managed his work since 2015.
Category:1977 births
Category:French musicians
Category:French composers
Category:French singers
Category:French painters