There’s a very specific kind of project that doesn’t just want you to listen to it; it wants you to understand it first. Like, really understand it. Read the documents, absorb the mission statement, maybe reflect on the global state of humanity for a minute, and then press play.
War Torn, the debut EP from producer HZPROD (Damir Hadzalic), is exactly that kind of project. It doesn’t arrive as just a collection of tracks. It arrives as a fully assembled framework: concept, rollout plan, visual identity, humanitarian angle, and a very clear sense that this is meant to be more than music. And to be fair, that ambition is real.
HZPROD, a Bosnian-born, New York–raised producer working largely through online collaboration, has built this project from the ground up; financing it himself, coordinating artists across different countries, and essentially teaching himself how to produce while making the thing. Which is either incredibly bold or slightly unhinged, depending on your perspective, but either way, it gives the project a kind of raw intentionality you don’t usually get from debut releases.
The central idea behind War Torn is conflict. Not just in the obvious, geopolitical sense, but internally, culturally, systemically. Each track tackles a different angle, with a rotating cast of collaborators interpreting the theme in their own way.
The opener, War Within, featuring Zombie Juice and ShoeGang, sets the tone by collapsing internal struggle and global conflict into the same space. It’s heavy, but not in a purely sonic sense; it’s more about framing. The idea that personal battles and larger crises aren’t separate things, which is a recurring theme throughout the EP.
Then you get Dreamer, which shifts slightly toward something more hopeful. Not in a naive way, but in that cautious, “things are bad but maybe not permanently” kind of way. It’s positioned as relief, but it still carries the weight of everything around it.
A.F.R.I.C.A zooms out even further, tackling inequality and systemic barriers. This is where the project’s global perspective becomes most explicit, and also where it risks feeling a bit overstated.
Slave Music, featuring Charles Hamilton, is one of the more interesting moments. There’s a personal connection here, and you can feel it. The track digs into themes of identity and control, particularly within the music industry, and it benefits from that lived-in perspective. It’s less abstract, more grounded.
Then there’s Peace?, featuring KXNG Crooked and The Game, which does exactly what the title suggests: questions whether peace is even a realistic concept anymore. It’s probably the most direct track on the EP, which is saying something.
Sonically, the project blends boom-bap foundations with more atmospheric, alternative elements. It’s cohesive enough to feel like a single vision, but varied enough to avoid blending into one long track. You can hear the learning process in places as this is a debut, but it rarely feels unfocused.
What makes War Torn stand out isn’t just the music; it’s the insistence that the music means and is for something. This isn’t framed as a personal catharsis project or a trend-chasing release. It’s positioned as a kind of awareness tool, even a donation funnel, which is… not something you hear every day.
War Torn walks a very fine line between genuine purpose and overwhelming intent. It wants to raise awareness, inspire change, tell stories, and still function as something people will actually listen to casually. That’s a lot to ask from a debut EP, but for the most part, it holds together.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for various publications around the world, the former lead writer of review blogspace Atop The Treehouse and content creator for Manila Bulletin.
