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When you hear the word 'punk' what comes to mind? Maybe you think of The Sex Pistols and spiked-up hair, leaning into subcultural stereotypes from the 80s that persist today. But to be punk is more than just to wear metal-studded chokers. To HASZNAT, “Punk doesn’t exist. Non-conformity exists. True free thinking.” And they’re right. In its truest form, punk is more than a tangible fashion fad. It’s liberation from the mainstream, from systems of creative suppression and oppression." In essence, it’s HASZNAT.
“It’s a matter of the rat race and how much I despised that feeling of my life being subdued into a format I just truly didn’t agree with or conform to. That is what Punk means to me.”
HASZNAT for Homegrown
HASZNAT is a Bengali audio-visual artist from London. Their work is as uncontained as their presence, which tyes together multi-genre music and avant-garde visual artistry. HASZNAT is unapologetic in their non-conformity, which started from their divergence from the classic school and career paths many of us are pigeonholed into. They tell Homegrown they quit their job at Joe and the Juice and forewent university to “focus on being my own business.” On her immigrant parents’ response and forging her own path, they say, “They didn’t get it at first but biting that bullet, leaving my hometown and friends to pursue my own life was the most painful but necessary move to better who I was.”
Today, HASNZAT is their own muse. After working as a director and stylist at 19 years old, they shifted their focus to individual creative endeavours. In 2022, they released ‘REAL ROTTWEILER’, a techno rap track from their punk debut EP ‘HASZNATONLINE’. HASZNAT channeled her background as a creative director into their debut single’s music video, which draws viewers in with its dark mystique.
“All the powerful femme curations I was styling and envisioning through my mind on other people was practice. I was creating me. Always have been, always will be.”
HASZNAT for Homegrown
A year later, they’re back with ‘HASZNAT 2.0’, a multi-genre electronic LP that HAZNAT considers a “regeneration of sense of self, through mantra of subliminal messaging and empowerment.” This LP is equal parts industrial and ethereal, taking us on a sonic journey that mirrors the going-out experience. The project depicts “half the storyline at the club, through the sound systems, and the second half post-rave sweat down.” HASZNAT describes the project as a “whole new electronic realm of self-discovery through [her] own journey as a nonconformist and trans femme person.” Their work solidifies them as a trailblazer in every sense of the word —from their musical innovation to their bold visuals and the way they meld the two together.
But what I find most striking about HASZNAT, especially as a fellow Bengali, is their commitment to themselves. HASZNAT is nothing if not radically themself. When asked about how her Bengali heritage impacts their work, they told us, “I am influenced by myself as a subject matter, not a singular aspect of my identity. The side of my Bengali heritage coming in is just my existence.” That being said, their hunger to succeed is at least in part attributed to a lack of representation growing up. This is particularly pertinent within electronic music and alternative spaces, where HASZNAT is a much-needed source of Bengali visibility.
HASZNAT shows us that the punk ideology is one that we should all adopt. It's creatively free, unapologetic, and unafraid. They say that they are “New but not a rookie. Watch this space.”
You can follow HASZNAT here.
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