Massane Reflects on ‘Another Dawn’ and His Latest Mix

French melodic house artist Massane gives us the lowdown on his recent mix and debut album on This Never Happened, Another Dawn.

If you’re someone who’s followed the releases on Lane 8’s This Never Happened over the past few years then you’ve been lucky enough to hear tunes from artists blossoming in the melodic house realm. One of those artists is Massane, who made his first appearance on the imprint in 2020 with his three Visage EPs and has been off to the races ever since.

In 2021, Massane continued to deliver his immersive soundscapes for listeners to bask in. Not only did he play a sensational set from the French Riviera, but graced speakers around the world with his debut album Another Dawn. Clocking in at 11 tracks, this body of work showed off his innate ability to create moments of thoughtful introspection, while contrasting those same moments with ones where you want to dance all your worries away.

Riding the wave of Another Dawn into the new year, Massane is now gearing up for a new journey ahead. This past week he unveiled his January 2022 mix, the first in a series that will be released quarterly moving forward, which will allow him to show off unreleased gems and some of his favorite tunes at the moment. After the release, we had the chance to chat with this French artist to pick his brain about the mix series, his experience on This Never Happened, and more – and we jumped at the opportunity.

Listen to Massane’s January 2022 mix on YouTube or SoundCloud, and read on for the full conversation with this rising star in the melodic house realm.

Stream Massane’s January 2022 Mix on YouTube:

Hi Massane, thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. How has the start of 2022 treated you so far?

Very well! I have some good news to reveal soon. Some show announcements and new releases are coming. I’m still tweaking some details, but it seems that 2022 will be very exciting.

This year has seen you begin to embark on a new project – a quarterly mix series filled with curated tunes and others unreleased that will take listeners on a journey. When you’re approaching mixes like these, what sort of mindset do you put yourself in?

The most important part is upstream: catching great tracks. I’m monitoring great labels, and I also receive some IDs from producers as well as tapping into my own catalog of released and unreleased material. With that approach, the mix process is very natural. I select some tracks that I really want to play, and I build around it.

Turning back to 2021, release your debut album, Another Dawn, which was filled to the brim with some truly fantastic tunes. Can you walk us through the process of creating this body of work? How long did it take to complete?

Thanks a lot! I started working on some new tunes during the release of my first series of EPs (Visage part 1,2,3) in mid-2020. I wasn’t planning an album at first, but after submitting one or two tracks to Lane 8 he suggested that I think about an album. It was frightening at first, but I didn’t hesitate long and quickly started to see my new tunes as an album. This actually felt very good and fresh to me. I loved it. I locked myself in for a few (more) months composing new tracks, and then I selected the ones that really resonated with me as a whole.

While your solo tracks on Another Dawn are remarkable, the collaborations with Colouring, Kinnship, and Benjamin Roustaing also stood out as special. How did these come to fruition? Is there a story behind them you can share with us?

Vocals add something very special to a track. I was really lucky to get in touch with those artists via This Never Happened. They are very talented, so it was very natural on my side. I presented them with an instrumental demo that they used to develop an idea. A few back and forths later, and the tracks were done. I’m really thankful to them because they helped me take this project to the next level.

As an artist who is growing in the scene today, what has it felt like to receive such a welcome reception from labels like This Never Happened and their fervent fanbase?

The reception came fast, and it felt very good. I can’t wait to finally meet my fans in person now.

The past few years have been rough for everyone around the world. If you could provide a message to those who feel down and out, what would it be?

I’ve received messages from people heavily affected by this pandemic. I can just tell that it’s normal to feel sad or upset sometimes. I think we are hopefully starting to see the end, and I think only time will help the ones that were deeply touched.

Finally, with the new year in full swing and plenty ahead of us all, what goals do you hope to achieve in 2022?

My roadmap for 2022 is starting to take shape in a beautiful way. I should play my new show in crazy places. And if I can pair that with some awesome new tunes and new collaborations then I would be very glad.

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