Black Hat

Nelson Bean produces and performs electronic music as Black Hat. His compositions combine elements of minimal techno, drone, IDM, and industrial music into fluid song structures propelled by evolving polyrhythms and abstracted tones. On record, Bean’s wide stereophonic spreads find room for layers of textured synthesis, overlapping beat grids, and digital processing. In performance, Black Hat compositions expand into low-end rituals that push loops and live tones into peaks of paralyzing physicality. Bean has issued music on labels including Hausu Mountain, Debacle Records, and Field Hymns. He grew up in Oakland, CA and currently resides in Seattle, WA.