The Z-Dar - AU5

Whatsup everybody! Z here once again and I absolutely need to share with you some pure gold I stumbled on to. The man's name is Austin Collins, He is a 20 year old New Jersey native, and alot of you will very soon come to know him as his stage name and current EDM project AU5 [pronounced A-U-5]. The energy flowing off this guy's tracks is something else, and his production is super tight and upper echelon professional for a guy who surprisingly doesn't have a lot of play, but from the quality I'm seeing that's gonna change very soon. He says he made his own genre out of his influences called "trancestep" which includes elements of electro, progressive house, trance, and dubstep and it really shows. The quality of production comes out really nice you'd think he was a veteran and rightfully so as he's been producing and making music since he was only 12 years of age! That's a feat in itself and there are a lot of younger producers out there as of late if anything the phenomenal quality of this is what we should be expecting in the future once a lot of the younger upstarts, start growing into themselves. Anyways, today at EGP I would love to share with you some stand out tracks from the man to show you what he's all about. Check em out!

Hypersphere [Released - Atom Recordings] by Au5 (Official)

This track is called Hypersphere off of AU5's Iconoclast EP released under Atom Recordings, and its an experience. Starting off with cool glitchy tics and nice melodic highs, it instantly gives off a feeling you come to know as original and a good taste test for AU5. it later breaks off into tight percussion accompanied by some sick bass that manages to be heavy as hell without being overwhelming. It's dubstep at some of its highest and melodic, and that isn't a bad thing.

Depths of Ice II [Released - Atom Recordings] by Au5 (Official)

This track is a preview of his track titled Depths of Ice II also off the Iconoclast EP, and this one is more of a good representation off his "trancestep" stylings he seems to be going for. Melodically is very light and airy, very icy feeling, which is funny since I think those instruments he uses were in Ice Cap Zone in Sonic! (No seriously, let me know AU5 I'm curious). Then you get swept under your feet as the crushing bass beams itself in with some awesome sounding bass manipulation. It's a good one, one of those songs where you think it's too early in the morning to be heavy but you want it anyways.

The Essence [Atom Recordings] by Au5 (Official)

This track is a preview of his track titled The Essence, also released under Atom Recordings, and its got an almost heavenly feel to it. The highs are nice and comfortable then it drags you into an almost vertigo inducing drop that melts into mid bass and low end bass. its a beautiful fusion of trance and dubstep and the beat changes are seamless and fit the overall feel of the entire package.

Au5 - Singularity [Preview] by Au5 (Official)

This gem of a track is a preview of his upcoming track titled Singularity. It's his newest production available and it's a sexy beast of a song. Refining the "trancestep" sound to a whole different level. I can't wait for this one to come out the bass is smooth and grinding at the same time, I'm not even sure if thats supposed to be possible, but keep your eyes open on the look out for this one in the future.

There looks like theres gonna be a very bright future in store for AU5, I personally wanna get a chance to check him out live myself. I may look into trying to get him booked onto some NY shows in the future if possible. Keep your eyes peeled for any releases from this man, Theres a new track coming out with Fractal that's an intense trancey drumstep with some killer vibes to it.

Love & Light
Z aka Zodd

AU5 LINKS!!!

Soundcloud
Facebook
Beatport

'Twilight Frequency' a Break Science and Michal Menert FREE Download

Album Art: Nuria Lee

Yup, you read that title right. To celebrate the kick off of their East Coast tour today (starting in South Carolina), Pretty Lights Music recording artists Break Science and Michal Menert released a five track collaborative EP titled Twilight Frequency. Go download this amazing EP for free, and don't forget to say thank you to these wonderful musicians bringing music to the forefront of the Internet and available for everyone.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Here are the tour dates:

Click to expand!!

About the Artists:

Michal Menert:

Colorado-based Michal Menert comes from a complex musical background of playing guitar, keyboards, and dabbling in a variety of other instruments giving him a unique approach to composing his own style. Menert co-produced the debut Pretty Lights album, Taking Up Your Precious Time, released his first solo album, Dreaming of a Bigger Life in the Spring of 2010, and most recently dropped the mega-LP, Even If It Isn’t Right in April 2012. He also performs with Paul Basic under the moniker Half Color. His sound combines obscure vintage samples from both Eastern European and Western vinyl with rich analog synthesis and organic hard hitting beats. It is a fusion of yesterday's elements and tomorrow's ideas. 
michalmenert.com


Break Science:
The Brooklyn based electronic duo, Break Science kick off 2012 with the release of their second EP entitled Monolith Code (Pretty Lights Music). As seasoned producers and touring veterans, Adam Deitch and Borahm Lee have produced and performed with everyone from The Fugees, Wu Tang Clan, and Talib Kweli, to reggae Lee Scratch Perry and Miles Davis collaborator, John Scofield. On Monolith Code, Break Science evokes a wide spectrum of electronic genres filtered through a musician's lens, all while moving people spiritually AND on the dance floor.
breaksciencemusic.com

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666 Lights' Black Mass & Interview with Mantis (Zodd)

Whatup Everybody? It's Z once again and I'm here to tell you about my time at 666 Lights event that just passed recently called The Black Massive which we totally had to attend to cover and also took the time to preview a bit earlier. It featured acts such as the legendary Airwave, the crushingly awesome Mantis, and the face melting sounds of Jantsen, among amazing others such as Dark Elixir, Druley, Omega, Doctor Voodoo, and It Lives... talk about a serious line-up. We at EGP decided to share with you some of our experiences here and some photos that we got together as well as an exclusive interview with Paul Ollinger from Mantis made possible with the help of 666 Lights and The Artery Foundation.

By: Soley

By: Triple Threat Productions

First I'm gonna have to say the presentation was just amazing, the demonic hell themed party might have seemed almost a little overwhelming at first but it all came together as a fun atmosphere in its own right. The visual thematics were amazingly well represented thanks to lighting artist Morgan Freeman. Visuals of scriptures and cinematics of biblical themes in black and white that were tasteful as well as exciting, they literally covered the entirety of the landscape of the inside of Highline Ballroom. It was a different feel from most NYC parties, it brought a touch of dark unique class to the event.

By: Soley

Airwave set it off with one of the most amazing introductory sequences ever that set the party into motion. Theatrical would be an understatement, as it turned every single head I could notice in the event. Once things got into motion I found myself flowing in the ether just enjoying the emotions Laurent Veronnez projected onto the dance floor. This was real EDM, soul moving trance and progressive that got a lot of people especially a lot of the younger attendees wondering what they had been doing with their tastes for so long.

By: Triple Threat Productions

By: Soley

I have to say though Mantis was my favorite act of the night by far, maybe its just me but I love the style of deathstep that they bring to the table, the death metal influenced structures and crunchy almost alien sounding bass set it off on the dance floor for a while. My good friend Scotty and I couldn't help but dance as he dropped a set that was beyond insane. There were some new songs played that I can't wait to get my hands on. We got a chance to chill out and ask some questions afterwards so take a peek at our exclusive interview with Paul Ollinger from Mantis below.

All the photo links are down below! Make sure you subscribe to the Youtube channel for MOAR great content, as well as the Facebook page to keep in touch!

Photos:
Electric Ghost Punk: SET
Triple Threat Productions: SET // Video
666 Lights

The Z-Dar: 'In Time' Peace Treaty Remix Contest

Whatup denizens of the Internet. It's Z here and its contest time again. Beatport has a contest up in collaboration with Steve Aoki's DIM MAK Records and Peace Treaty for Peace Treaty's awesome song "In Time" that came out last July. Like clockwork, EDM artists/producers from all over the world started taking the stems they made available to bring a ton of remixes to the net for the contest and for everyone's enjoyment. Events like these are what keep the scene alive and fresh as you can get a lot of content out in a short time and you can really see what makes a musician shine with a good remix to contrast them from others. New faces to keep on the radar is also a great plus too with lots of originality and flare to bring to the table in the ever increasing fields of electronic music.

Today at EGP I feel I should give some airtime to the artists and their respected remixes that caught my eye for this contest. I took some time to head over to the Beatport contest page and listened to an ear numbing amount of remixes, picked out a bunch I liked the best that I feel deserve to win the contest. Keep in mind as with any other contest article that this is all my own opinion, I tried to do this with variety in mind so if anything you know that if you don't like any of the individuals up here you can figure that there's sure to be a bunch out there that you most definitely will like. Keep in mind these are in no specific order at all.

PEACETREATY - IN TIME - (WALI FINKBEINER REMIX) [LINK TO VOTE IN THE DESCRIPTION!!!] by Wali Finkbeiner

This first one up is an impressive Progressive House remix by Wali Finkbeiner. It's light and airy, one of those songs that just make you feel right with the intense highs. The production on this song is awesome as well and keeps the original feel intact while building on its original emotional content. (VOTE for Wali HERE)

PeaceTreaty-In Time(Kundo Remix) by KundO

This next one up is a dope Drumstep remix by Kundo. It screams catchy and its upbeat stylings are gonna make it a mainstay on my playlist for a while. One of my favorites for this contest in particular. (VOTE for KundO HERE)

PeaceTreaty - In Time ft. Anabel Englund (Exige Remix) ~ Vote on Beatport! by Eхige

This one here is from the Australian native Exige. This one has that extra flair to it, keeping a more whimsical style of Electro House to the contest. It's good and my first listen from this artist. Definitely gonna check the back catalog on this one. (VOTE for Exige HERE)

PeaceTreaty feat. Anabel Englund - In Time (Kynaze Remix) by Kynaze

This one is an interesting one from Kynaze. Its very Electro House, but it has a bassier vibe and structured  like a Dubstep track. It's ear catching and I love it, the vocal effects are awesome and this song out of all I post here, this one is the party banger. (VOTE for Kynaze HERE)

Peacetreaty - In Time (Third Culture Remix) by Third Culture Official

This one is probably the most melodic entry on this article, this cool one up by Third Culture is an amazingly light and airy Progressive House that instantly caught my body in one of emotional overloads you get from a good progressive song. (VOTE for Third Culture HERE)

PeaceTreaty - In Time (Singularity Remix) by Singularity

This last one here is by none other than Singularity. It's a very trance-esque take on Dubstep, its nice with tight production that Singularity is known for. It's an excellent song to chill out to and probably my favorite of this list. (VOTE for Singularity HERE)

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

These next two I liked a lot but for whatever reason I feel like they didn't beat the rest in the limit I made for myself, so I decided to throw em up here at the end for honors sake. I really do enjoy them though so let this be a sort of shout out to the artists under here.

Volie Joight - REMIX! (Dubstep)
Josh Vega - REMIX! (House)

So that wraps it up this time for my entries on this current contest. If any of you have a Beatport account you can go out and vote on any of these tracks or any others you might find by using their respected Beatport links provided. Hopefully I showed someone something they really enjoy today, and upstarts should really look into these contests they are amazing for anyone looking to get their names out. The winner will be announced on December 11th 2012.

Love & Light
Z

New York Havest Fest 2012: The Eye’s of a Dirty Kid (By: Stringbean)

This year's 16th Damn Sam’s Harvest Festival was held in beautiful Monticello, NY. After a 2-year hiatus it was questionable if Damn Sam's Harvest Festival was able to keep up with previous festivals. Over 30 amazing musical acts including John Kadlecik of Furthur, Immortal Technique, Viral Sound, Mun, Cosmic Dust Bunnies, Dead Milkmen and many more. Alongside the music, there was also live glass blowing by artists of Last Fair Deal and Jacks House of Glass with some very talented live spray painting by artist of Black Ink. From lighter leashes and gemstones to wonderfully stinky green, this year Damn Sam's Harvest Festival had it all. And did I forget to mention the champion of this year's harvest festival…. You will just have to read the whole article.

Nurture Amazing Nature by: Stringbean

Prepare for Lift-Off by: Stringbean

This Catskill set 4 day festival was very relaxed and accommodating to everybody's festival needs. It was quite a liberating and mind opening experience and the staff and security where more than accommodating. There was a very diverse musical scene there from Grateful Dead cover bands to hip hop to punk and hardcore bands including a fantastic performance by John K guitarist of Furthur. From seasoned tours vets to first rodeo kids, everybody had a ball.

Pound It by: Stringbean

All In A Day's Grow by: Stringbean

One main theme of the Harvest festival is the Harvest of the green plant that can cure cancer, be a competitive alternative to high octane clean burning fuel and be made into clothing, with its new uses growing everyday. This year’s champion of the Damn Sam’s New York Harvest festival was Blue Dream, competing against Tiger Eye. Previous champions from “09” Cinderella and “01”.

Luscious by: Stringbean

Can Someone Please Say Icky Sticky?! by: Stringbean

Winner, Winner, Blue Dream Dinner by: Stringbean

Many other very nice options were around such as Vertigo, Og Sour, and a wonderful treat called Chem Dog. Once you had tried all of the different and amazing strains there was great munchie food, such as deep fried Oreo’s, cheesecake, grilled cheese, chicken fingers, Jerry Rolls and that most badass of breakfast foods, the classic French toast with syrup. Although every time I was on the hunt, it was nowhere to be found.

Oil by: Stringbean

Wax Butter by: Stringbean

This venue was different than your regular festival grounds. Both indoor and outdoor stages for the tunes and a massive amount of vendors with many different wares. The indoor grounds gave people an opportunity to escape when it got slightly rainy and chilly. There's always the badasses that likes to brave the rain and mud. Indoor vendor village was literally hallways and hallways of vendors carrying vast collectibles and necessities. There was even an indoor camping area for the more than urban camper. Everything ran quite smoothly 16 years later showing this festival is going strong.