Mansbestfriend
Biography
Mansbestfriend is the instrumental alias of Tim Holland, a man recently repatriated. After two years of living in various Spanish cities and touring war-torn Eastern Europe with his just-wedded wife, Yasamin, the artist and Anticon co-founder better known as Sole returns, perspective renewed, to carve a humble piece of home out of the hard, red beauty of Flagstaff, Arizona. And it’s here, at night, between the looming forms of the desert floor and the endless star-specked expanse of clear black sky, that the free-form outpouring of Tim’s ambient inclinations thrive.
Those who’ve been paying attention know that Mansbestfriend isn’t exactly new. Sole began using the moniker five years ago for his mixtape-style compilations of self-produced raps—rusty lo-fi gems made with occasional help from friends, but primarily the product of Tim teaching himself to make music. The first two of the series—'Mansbestfriend' and 'Pt. 2 – No Thanks' — were dirty wastelands of distorted doom, Sole’s words as heavy as always, but with more stream-of-consciousness and often electronically manipulated. While fans were demanding repressings of the limited tour discs, Berlin’s respected Morr Music label (Múm, Styrofoam, Lali Puna) was busy preparing papers. In 2004, Mansbestfriend joined their roster with 'The New Human Is Illegal', A year later, Tim completed Mansbestfriend’s opening salvo with 'Pt. 3 – Myownworstenemy' (written and recorded in Barcelona), and turned his attention to fulfilling the promise of the project. He’d set out to learn how to make music; now he was making the music he heard in his head.
Enter 2007’s 'Poly.sci.187', Mansbestfriend’s official Anticon debut and the rebirth of the name as home to Tim Holland’s freewheeling lyric-less compositions. Where a Sole record is always the deepest, darkest, headiest brand of agitprop rap-pop, Mansbestfriend is the sound of an embattled artist coming up for a deep draught of fresh air. Make no mistake: whether or not there’s a voice to spell it out, there’s a message and a meaning around every corner.