In 2020, Phasmid released his debut single ‘Shunned’ on Gimme A Break’s We Are Viable compilation, raising funds to support Leeds-based MAP Charity. Five years on, the eclectic DJ and producer has announced that his debut physical EP will be released via GAB on March 7th 2025.
Having cut his teeth in the UK Garage and Breaks scene, Phasmid took an extended leave from the DJ circuit to refine his sound and production techniques. Hadal Zone is the culmination of Phasmid’s various musical explorations to date, showcasing the producer’s signature clean-cut and bass-led take on breakbeat, electro and trance fusion.
On the A-side, the title track kickstarts the EP with a clinical electro breakbeat workout. While rooted in the production style of contemporaries such as Aloka and Client 03, Phasmid pays homage to the UK dance lineage, sampling Baraka’s 1995 Jungle single ‘I’ll Be There’. ‘Fractal’ and ‘Onyx’ push the project forward with two experiments in percussive UK bass, with a four-by-four surprise in the latter. The B-side opens with the devious Cyberpunk-inspired ‘Neuralware’, which combines ruthless subs with colliding synth intermissions. Cited as one of Phasmid’s earliest inspirations, Kessler delivers a breathtaking remix of ‘Hadal Zone’, complete with flanged breaks and a devastating bassline.
