Hugo Massien debuts new EP via Madam X's KAIZEN

Hugo Massien has landed on Madam X's KAIZEN imprint with EP 'Outer Reach'.

Spanning across three tracks, the record blends warehouse-ready breaks and bass with powerful, emotionally-driven house and trippy 2-step.

Opener 'Inexplicable' glides across a pulsating 4x4 house beat, with sprinklings of ethereal notes and an ambient breather resulting in the track being an immersive, reflective one in its nature.

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'Outer Reach' follows, packed with pummelling breakbeat and old-school nods alongside choppy vocals and warping synths. Clutching onto ambient elements of the EP's opener, it introduces a stronger rave element, hybridising the two contrasting notions.

Meanwhile, 'Shimmer' is a dubbed out 2-step affair, with its wonky bassline quite literally shimmering throughout, bringing the record to a close on a gritty, and dancefloor ready, note.

“I invited Hugo to play Kaizen Klub five years ago in our formative ‘Bussey Building’ stages," Madam X explains. "He played a load of unreleased heaters that tore up the dancefloor and I’ve been dying to release his music. I’m super chuffed we’ve finally been able to make this happen, he’s one of my favourite producers around!"

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"I first started talking to Crissi AKA Madam X AKA Kaizen head honcho about 5 years ago when she invited me to play at a Kaizen Club party in Peckham," Hassien tells Mixmag. "I grew up a massive DMZ fan so it was surreal having SGT Pokes hosting my set. I loved the event and Crissi and I got on super well. Since then we kept in touch and have been waiting for the right time to do a release ever since. Well, that time is now!

"Over the years, as my listening tastes have expanded, as an artist, my own sound has become more and more versatile. I like making the deep, emotional, ethereal music as much as the heavy club stuff for which I’m better known. Anyway, in my view being impossible to categorise is a good sign. All the best things are hard to categorise and I mean that in the broadest possible sense. This EP seeks to capture that spirit, while transmitting the state of mind I felt while making each track."

'Outer Reach EP' by Hugo Massien is available now, check it out here.

Niamh Ingram is Mixmag's Weekend Editor, follow her on Twitter