Jason Heinrichs

Canadian musician and producer, also known as Anomaly

Jason Heinrichs, also known by his stage name Anomaly, (December 7, 1970 February 7, 2022) was a Canadian born musician and producer from Minneapolis. He worked primarily in dance music and hip hop, and was notable for producing some of the earliest works by prominent Twin Cities rappers Atmosphere, Eyedea, P. O. S., and Oddjobs, as well as his own work with house music duo Roomsa and solo efforts. He also played in Brother Sun Sister Moon, a side project of Information Society's Paul Robb.

Heinrichs was born in Kingston, Ontario, in 1970, to Dr. Richard and Jean Heinrichs; he had a brother, Karl. He graduated near the top of his class from Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1994 with degrees in film scoring and music production, and moved to Minneapolis to further his music career. He was proficient on many instruments, including keyboards, bass, saxophone, and guitar, and was a classically trained pianist. He was also a live DJ, performing in Minnesota, Florida, and elsewhere. He played bass for Brother Sun Sister Moon, a trip hop group that paired singer songwriter Barbara Cohen and synth pop musician Paul Robb of Information Society. The band released one album, 1997's The Great Game, on Robb's Hakatak label. Under his Anomaly name, Heinrichs released the electronica/hip hop album Howle's Book in 1998 on Minneapolis label Groove Garden Records. Heinrichs wrote and produced the entire album, which featured vocals from prominent Twin Cities rappers Eyedea and Slug, as well as DJ Abilities of the Rhymesayers collective and Andrew Broder of Fog. Peter Scholtes of City Pages called Howle's Book "a debut album of moody sample funk and collaborative Twin Town rap". Anomaly also appeared solo on two songs and as part of the improvisational collaborative supergroup Fresh Squeez on the Groove Garden compilation Varietals Vol. 1. Heinrichs was the producer/DJ half of the electronica duo Roomsa, along with singer Lady Sarah, and performed most of the music himself. In 2001, he formed the hip hop trio Cenospecies, notable as the first major project featuring future Doomtree co founder P. O. S. along with rapper Syst. It released one album, 2001's Indefinition, recorded and produced by Heinrichs at his Satori Sound studio. Besides P. O. S., it also featured vocals by Kill the Vultures rapper Crescent Moon. Cenospecies achieved significant local buzz but broke up within a year. The band received the tongue in cheek award "Best band to break up in the past 12 months" in City Pages' annual Best of the Twin Cities issue in 2002. He kept busy as a music producer and engineer, recording many bands in his home studio, known variously as Anomaly's House or Satori Sound. In an obituary for Heinrichs in 2002, Slug described the recordings: "It was the first time we’d seen anyone use a computer and grid to record and sequence music. He supplied the sound effect of the squealing pig on one of our songs ("Nothing But Sunshine") and we laughed for a long time."

Heinrichs died in his sleep February 7, 2022 at his home in Richfield, Minnesota, at age 51.