Who is Hashmoder?
Hashmoder is Omar Hash!
Professional electronic music producer & artist. Synthesist & music programmer. Pro-audio sound designer, engineer, mixer, master. DJ. Studio owner. Music enthusiast, audiophile & collector.
Born Omar Hash. Raised in London, England, and Toronto, Canada. Lived in Chicago,Illinois, and Scottsdale, Arizona. Currently living in West Vancouver, British Columbia.
Discover and listen to Hashmoder’s music on Bancamp and SoundCloud.
April 20, 2025
Latest Release
Phil Western
Afterflash: A Remixed Tribute
Includes a REMIX by Hashmoder
Phil Western was a true artist and a musical genius based in Vancouver, Canada. He did work and collaborated with Skinny Puppy. Cevin Key, Bryan Adams, Nine Inch Nails, Mirror, to name a few. Phil was also the founding member of the bands Download, PLatEAU, Frozen Rabbit, One, Beehatch, and Off And Gone; as well as having published several solo works dating from 1993 to 2019. Phil Western passed on Monday, February 4th, 2019.
Since 2024, after 5 years since Phil’s passing, a very special project has been in the works between a number of Phil’s friends and musical collaborators.
Robert Shea’s record label — Map Music –- announced the official release of Afterflash: A Remixed Tribute with remixes of classic Phil Western music tracks from: HAN / Robert Shea / Dead Voices On Air / Rim (Tim Hill) / LongWalkShortDock (Dave King) / The Passenger / Love Above Will / Sequence Stranger / Shamanavi / Facsimile Ltd. / Hashmoder (Omar Hash).
The album includes a previously unreleased Phil Western original track Dream Death which Hashmoder worked and collaborated on right up to the night before Phil died. This tribute album also includes a remix of Dream Death produced by Hashmoder.
The following words from Seth Branum — this album’s executive producer (and Phil’s lifelong friend):
“It has been a profound honor to work with all the artists and fellow lovers of Phil throughout this project. More than anything, I hope this album inspires people to continue exploring Phil’s vast catalog of music in all his solo and collaborative guises.”
REMIX LINER NOTES
by Hashmoder
-
Written & produced by: Phil Western
Additional synth + extra bits by: Hashmoder
This is the very last music track Phil worked on before his death.
It was late 2018 when Phil played this unfinished track for me at his studio. I fell in love with it immediately. Then Phil asked me for extra synth layers to add on top and make this track more distinguishable transitionally along the movements between each
arrangement-block along the timeline.
Fast forward to Sunday, February 3, 2019, at Phil’s studio — the evening before his departure to Berlin the following day. I provided him with my audio stems of extra synth layers which were then added to this song’s multitrack session. Everything glued together perfectly. Oh my, Dream Death sounded so full, so beautiful…and emotional.
Where did your genius come from, Phil? Such a work of art through and through.
“It’s the sequel to Truth” (from Worlds End album) Phil hinted. It was getting late. No time to finalize the track that night. Phil had to get ready for his trip to Berlin. “We’ll finish it when I get back.”
We then drove to Commercial Drive, had Pho for dinner, and then I dropped him home afterwards, and we said “Love you brother!” to each other. I watched Phil walk away from my car to the door around the side of his dwelling. I drove away. That was the last time we spoke to each other — the last time I saw him alive.
Phil left us less than 24 hours later.
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Give it a rest
Cuz we're hitting the wall now
Mess with my head
The child in me cries outI must confess
I walked through the marshes
Up to the water's edge
I saw myself drowningI turned away
Went back the way I came
Decided to live
And smiled at your game -
Originally written/produced by:
Phil Western w/Hashmoder (extra synths + bits)Remixed by: Hashmoder
The original version of Dream Death is incredible! How the hell was I going to remix it — so richly perfect, wrapped in Phil’s genius — and not lose the pure essence of the original track’s story, flow, emotions, and feelings? Where do I start?
Many draft remix sessions were scrapped. None of them became faithful to the original. I studied closely Dream Death’s arrangements, and music composition, in order to get clearer direction(s). I needed to produce a remix that must contain my sound-&-style but, yet, remain 100% faithful to the original.
After a painful long time, the end result: a remix with almost an identical structure/arrangement blocks; completely different sounding elements; a middle section breakdown with Phil’s very emotional vocals in solo; layered build-up; and an accentuated drop of Phil’s vocal phrase “turn around” stuttering in a technique from the 1980s — my child/teenhood decade of which I love & cherish.
And finally…a remix made with passion, packed with sentimental love and reminiscence of him.
Phil, you were a gift from God. Thank you for having been in my life.
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Phil Western – “Afterflash: A Remixed Tribute Remixed” Review
— by Ellen the Felon; MK ULTRA MagazineAfterflash Review
— by D. D. DanahyPhil Western :: Afterflash: A Remixed Tribute (Map Music)
— by Justin Patrick Moore; Igloo MagazineMy Return to Sound Debuts on Phil Western’s Afterflash: A Remixed Tribute
— by Jaime DunkleMap Music announces tribute to the late Phil Western featuring remixes by friends and collaborators
— ReGen Magazine
Previous Release
Brutalist (Raw Concrete Mix)
Latest SINGLE by Hashmoder
Electronic dance. 4/4 time signature. 128 BPM.
‘Brutalist (Raw Concrete Mix)’ is an hypnotic electronic music dance track, with syncopated bassline that is comprised of six-layer stack of analog and digital synthesizers, driving the groove throughout the entire track. Hard edge with homage to retro electronic dance music from the early 1980s. Tight beat with very angular, symetirical arrangements in line with brutalism architecture.
Previous Release
Getting There
SINGLE — 'Getting There' is an hypnotic and transcendental music track with three separations which merge together as one towards the long outro. Synthesizer chords and evolving textural layers, along with organic, acoustic percussion. In three-four time signature driven by sequenced synthesizer baselines, 'Getting There' will take you through a long, driving, montage-like, scenic and groovy journey with the intention, vision and final destination leading you the way to an imaginary utopian world of tomorrow. Retro-future sound of an updated 1980s with musical and production/technical influences, borrowing heavily from Trevor Horn, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Yello, Pink Floyd, Phil Collins, Peter Grabriel, and Jan Hammer. Also a nod to The Orb.
Discover and listen to all releases (singles & EP’s) by Hashmoder.
All music tracks can be purchased from Bandcamp.
Project June ‘13
Mixed by Hashmoder
This special mix-set is a sequel to Hashmoder’s Project June. This deep mix still means so much to him, especially around the time when he started losing weight. Hashmoder recorded this mix a day before he left to Arizona for 30 days, stayed with his longtime friend Shawn Willbanks, and hiked Phoenix South Mountain everyday in the scorching Arizona summer heat.
The label Street Sounds was part of the UK Streetwave stable of labels created by Morgan Khan in 1981, specializing in releasing Electro and Hi-NRG releases. Street Sounds were series of compilation albums created from some of the hottest 12″ single (vinyl record) imports of the day. The Electro series ran for a total of 27 albums (and one box set) from 1982 to 1988. The albums were initially labeled Street Sounds Electro, later changing to Street Sounds Hip-Hop after release 12 in 1986.
Hashmoder (Omar Hash) recorded digitally his entire Street Sounds Electro compilation series — from vinyls to directly Avid Pro Tools, with as much digital restorations as possible and widened stereo-field.