hybrid man

Hybrid Man is the electronic music project of Naarm-based duo Julien Huynh and Will Holden. Formed in late 2018, the pair’s live set suspends time - drawing you in deep for a moment of keen introspection before erupting into euphoric electronica. Keenly, the imaginative world induced nods at dance music past and present, where it fuses ambient soundscapes with IDM, 90s trance, dubbed-out house, techno and beyond for an all-immersive and timeless experience.

At the forefront of Hybrid Man’s union is a mutual penchant for hardware-based production. This passion sees the duo side-by-side maneuvering their equipment with the precision of surgeons, championing left-field sonic artifacts, environmental recordings and manually-played improvisatory instrumentation. A patchwork of influences; Hybrid Man have trailblazed the contemporary downtempo meets techno movement in Naarm, peppering their sound to technical finesse with dub-style mixing and effects.

In 2019, Hybrid Man unveiled their first EP 'Lyrebird' on local imprint Papercuts, presenting four spacious cuts of downtempo breaks and house. Continuing on to make their Butter Sessions debut in 2022, they released their second EP 'Shapeshifting'. Combining propulsive sequences with melancholic pads and melodies, Hybrid Man showcased even more of their natural talent for holding the attention of the listener as they might the dancer.

A highlight at this year's Inner Varnika Festival, the duo also recently provided headline support for IDM pioneer, Higher Intelligence Agency. With a EU/UK tour on the horizon alongside two new releases this year, Hybrid Man have certainly proved they are not slowing down anytime soon.

AGENT
Jasmine Rose: jasmine@watartists.com