#83 - Fhin - Off Your Hand
Fhin's "Off Your Hand" - how the French electronic artist created a 1:51 minute meditation on letting go, channeling lucid dream states into hypnotic grooves on his debut album Trauma.
I discovered “Off Your Hand” while listening to Kıyı Müzik’s “Gece.” It quickly became one of my recent favorites: its simplicity and ambience stuck with me, and though the track is short, it introduced me to the artist Fhin.
Not knowing much about Fhin, I turned to Claude AI to learn more about the song, the artist, and the musicians involved. What I found was compelling: Fhin writes, produces, and performs his own material, blending neo‑soul, progressive alternative, and electronic textures. His sound shows influences from Pink Floyd, Radiohead, James Blake, Bon Iver, Jon Hopkins, and Flume.
A quick note on method: below I’m adding a disclaimer from Claude about how and why I use AI to research music, and how that differs from AI‑generated articles.
A message from Claude AI: click to read
Story Behind "Off Your Hand"
The Lucid Dream Producer's Moment of Release
"Off Your Hand" emerged as track 11 on Fhin's debut album Trauma, released November 13, 2020, representing one of the album's most distilled emotional statements. At just 1:51 minutes, the track functions as a brief but profound meditation on detachment and letting go. As a teenager, he discovers lucid dreams, that state of REM sleep in which he takes control of his visions to become its master, and "Off Your Hand" channels this same sense of conscious release into musical form. The song's brevity mirrors the fleeting nature of the emotional state it captures—the moment of finally releasing something you've been holding onto.
From Grandmother's House to Global Recognition
The creation of "Off Your Hand" took place during a pivotal period in Fhin's career. 15 million listeners later, concerts in several countries and collaborations with Parcels, Polo & Pan, Kraak & Smaak, or Zimmer, Fhin moves in 2018 in the countryside at his grandmother's place near Versailles to record his first album. This rural retreat provided the introspective environment necessary for creating tracks like "Off Your Hand," where the intimacy of the setting influenced the song's contemplative nature. The track represents the culmination of his journey from sharing first tracks on SoundCloud to achieving international recognition.
"Off Your Hand" Recording and Production Details
Neo-Soul Meets Electronic Minimalism
Author-Composer, Performer and Producer of his tracks, Fhin offers a music that mixes neo-soul (James Blake, Bon Iver), progressive/alternative (Pink Floyd, Radiohead) and electronic (Jon Hopkins, Flume) influences. "Off Your Hand" exemplifies this synthesis, combining the emotional directness of neo-soul with electronic music's textural possibilities. He composes his first tracks and discovers electronic music, that he aprehends by spending hours playing with textures and synthesizers, and this deep understanding of electronic sound design becomes essential to the track's hypnotic quality.
Home Studio Intimacy and Textural Exploration
Recorded in his home studio setup in the French countryside, "Off Your Hand" showcases Fhin's mastery of what could be called intimate electronic production. This syncretism with a romantic touch and hypnotic groove is an invitation to dream, a cardinal notion in the conception of his repertoire. The track's production emphasizes space and texture over complexity, creating a sonic environment that supports its meditative themes. His background in sound engineering allows him to craft tracks that feel both technically sophisticated and emotionally immediate.
Notes About "Off Your Hand" by Fhin
Release Date: November 13, 2020
Duration: 1:51
Genre: Electronic / Neo-Soul / Ambient Pop
Album: Trauma (debut album)
Position: Track 11 of 15
Producer: Fhin
Label: Self-released
Remix: Trashlagoon Remix released November 25, 2021
Fhin "Off Your Hand" Era Band Details
Album Details
Album: Trauma
Release Date: November 13, 2020
Total Duration: 45 minutes (15 tracks)
Recording Location: Home studio, French countryside near Versailles
Album Concept: Exploring trauma, healing, and emotional processing
Critical Reception: Praised for unique blend of electronic and organic elements
Band Members/Personnel
Fhin - All instruments, vocals, production, composition
Louis VI - Featured on "Trauma" (track 2)
Sahara - Featured on "fallin fallin" (track 6)
Trashlagoon - Remix producer (2021 remix version)
Production Notes
Debut album following successful EPs on Délicieuse Records (2015, 2017)
Entirely self-produced in home studio environment
Features field recordings including grandmother's voice on "I'll Figure It Out"
Part of French electronic music scene alongside Polo & Pan, Parcels
Album available on vinyl, digital, and streaming platforms
Led to collaborations with established electronic artists
Represents transition from EP format to full-length artistic statement
Interesting Facts About "Off Your Hand"
The Trashlagoon Remix That Extended Its Life
"Off Your Hand" received additional recognition through a Trashlagoon Remix released November 25, 2021, nearly a year after the original album. This remix transformed the intimate 1:51 original into a more expansive electronic exploration, demonstrating how the track's core emotional content could support different interpretations. The song was also featured in Fhin's "Live from Home" performance, paired with "The Shape," showing how the track worked both as a studio creation and live performance piece. The remix's success helped extend the album's reach into electronic music communities.
The 15-Million-Stream Journey from Bedroom to Global Recognition
"Off Your Hand" represents a crucial moment in Fhin's evolution from bedroom producer to internationally recognized artist. He studies sound engineering and shares his first tracks on Soundcloud, the label Délicieuse Records meets him and releases his first EP in 2015, his second in 2017. The track's placement as track 11 on Trauma positions it as part of the album's emotional climax, demonstrating how Fhin learned to sequence tracks for maximum emotional impact. Its brief duration proves that profound emotional statements don't require extended runtime—sometimes the most powerful release comes in concentrated form, like the lucid dream states that originally inspired his approach to music creation.