KAYZO Brings the Doghouse to Monstercat for “This Time”

The Monstercat family kept getting bigger and bigger throughout early 2017. A collaboration between Bassnectar and Dirtyphonics featuring Ragga Twins was set to drop one week later, but in late March 2017, the label added another new member to its roster.

Hayden Capuozzo, known as KAYZO, had been one of EDM’s fastest-rising stars and showed no signs of slowing down. He had released his EP “Welcome To The Doghouse” the previous spring through his own label, Doghouse Recordings, and now he brought the Doghouse aesthetic to Monstercat for “This Time.” KAYZO had always hit hard, but “This Time” stood as potentially his most intense, dynamic release to date—carrying a dangerous energy designed to make listeners want to let loose all control. It was a thrilling debut, and Monstercat had every reason to be excited to call him family.

Listen to KAYZO’s Monstercat debut, “This Time,” below:

Bringing an Independent Label Into the Fold

KAYZO’s arrival at Monstercat carried extra significance because he came with his own established label identity already intact. Doghouse Recordings represented his personal creative vision, and rather than abandoning that identity to fit within Monstercat’s brand, “This Time” let him bring the Doghouse aesthetic directly into the bigger label’s ecosystem. This kind of arrangement—an independent artist-label joining a larger, more established imprint while retaining creative identity—reflected Monstercat’s broader strategy of absorbing distinctive voices rather than homogenizing its roster.

Escalating Intensity

“This Time” represented a genuine escalation in KAYZO’s sound. Where his earlier releases had established his hard-hitting reputation, this track pushed further into dynamic, high-intensity territory that tested the upper limits of what he’d released to that point. The track’s dangerous, loose-control energy signaled an artist actively pushing his own boundaries rather than settling into a comfortable, repeatable formula.

Part of a Growing Wave

KAYZO’s signing came during a period of rapid expansion for Monstercat’s bass and dubstep-adjacent roster, with high-profile names like Bassnectar and Dirtyphonics also entering the fold around the same time. This wave of signings reflected Monstercat’s evolution beyond its earlier drum and bass and electro house foundations into a broader home for heavier bass music—positioning “This Time” as both a strong individual release and a marker of the label’s expanding ambitions.