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

Follow us on Twitter @EGPunkOfficial

Follow us on FaceBook

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.

Z-Dar: AEPH

Whatsup everyone! It's Z once again, and today I'm sharing with you guys some sick music I've been tuning into for a while now. The London native artist goes by the name of Simone Vallecorsa or his stage name Aeph, and I know a lot of you may have been checking him out for years now since he's been going strong for more than 5 years. His intense bassed-the-hell-out style varies from amazingly uptempo neuro funk styled drum & bass to nicely represented dubstep. I literally listen to him for hours on end personally as his catchy style and forward momentum keep it a mainstay on a lot of my playlists, so today at EGP I decided to throw some tracks up with a few reviews for you all to enjoy.

AEPH - SAVAGE JACKSON (BT024) by Aeph

This first song I'm throwing up named "Savage Jackson" off the Bad Taste Recordings compilation album "Bad Taste Volume 5" is a way beyond sick cerebral bore of creepy upbeat D&B bliss. It's intense sound manipulation mixes really well with its vertigo inducing bass that branches off into highs that sound almost alien in origin. A pure party starting track that's sure to turn heads if you wanna drop it when they least expect it.

AEPH - NIGHTRIDER (BT022B) by Aeph

This next one up is called "Nightrider" and its a surprising and original styled entry to neuro funk. It has an ear catching high energy 80's styled intro that builds itself into one of the dirtiest drops that almost makes you believe that you got blasted off your feet. It retains an old school 80's synth feel throughout that really makes the song a fusion of old and new to make something so much better. It later goes off around 4:04 mark into a creeping heavy bass riff that gallops the song into such a driving feel that keep you going hard.

AEPH - HIGHWAY THIRTEEN (BRD010A) by Aeph

This one here is called "Highway Thirteen" and its got such an awesome cinematic feel that really matches the song, kind of what you would imagine would be playing on an intense dirty futuristic Quentin Tarantino movie if he were into this kinda music. It's a song built out of pure adrenaline with creepy atmospheric overtones that break into something memorable, the bass manipulation is top notch here and the highs drive the cinematic feel even more.

AEPH - HOEDOWN (BRD010B) by Aeph

This one "Hoedown" is probably one of the best examples I can give of neuro funk styled D&B. It's intricate as hell and a great party song with breakbeat styled drumming over the usual drum and bass flare. It's got fantastic highs that create a sense of amazement that give a nice dark, but light hearted feel over the bass that create its own rhythms in unison with each other. This is one of those songs you drop in the middle of a set to get everyone going again, a favorite of mine personally.

AEPH - HOLY CALL (BT012B) by Aeph

This last one up "Holy Call" is not for the faint of heart. Don't let its low key quiet minimal intro fool you it's a mind melting demonstration of the skills that Aeph possesses. It's got a lot of variation in structure without making it overwhelming by keeping the beat timing consistent. The way the bass is presented and layered is amazing, and the electro neuro style screams flavor. It's different in an interesting way, something to definitely check out.

Honestly, I can't wait to hear more coming out of Simone Vallecorsa, His already beastly style is something I can see growing into massive proportions. He's got a ton of releases out and I highly recommend getting them as these short previews don't do the total experience justice. Any US promoters should look into this if you wanna get some heads turning, specifically NY promoters cause I would love to be able to catch a show myself once he's around!

USEFUL LINKS:

Facebook
Discogs
Youtube
Twitter
Bad Taste Recordings
Diamond Society
Lifted Music

Catskill Chill 2012: Exclusive with Break Science (EGP Festival Watch 2012)

Sup everybody? Wish yonder! Not even a full week after EvolveFest was the next stop on our festival tour, Catskill Chill. The Chill took us up north into the Catskill Mountains in New York. Placed in a quaint and quiet camp ground, this festival felt more intimate than any of the other one's we've been to prior. As the festival moved forward, the Electric Ghost Punk team had some of the most memorable moments and eye opening experiences than ever before. And it was all thanks to the team over at Velour Music, Brotherly Love Productions, the team at Catskill Chill, and of course, Break Science.

Before you continue, relax, push the play button, and carry on.

Website by Break Science

The following is what went down at Catskill Chill.

Although not the biggest music festival we were attending (just around 5,000 people), all the EGPunks were very excited to be going to this event. It was the first time the main players would all be together in one place, and to top that off, I was getting to meet Brower for the first time as well.. Me and Fitz had headed there together, while Zodd and Brower came separately. This allowed us to settle in and figure out where we wanted to set up shop. After all Fitz has his ENO hammocks and it's always nice to find a relaxing area to set them up and catch some sleep or hang out. After walking around a bit with nothing but our backpacks on we sat down on a small hill overlooking a lake. As we sat there, I began to write a bunch of notes on who we wanted to see, and a basic game plan for the day. A few people came up to us just say hi and introduce themselves, the breeze was cool, and the scenery was perfect. It was "chill", and perfectly so.

As the day kept flying by, and there was no word on Zodd or Brower, so me and Fitz decided to go and check out the music as it began. After walking through the main camp grounds, there was a check point to approach the stages. It was past here where the stages were set up, as well as the main vending area. These grounds provided a central meeting area for people to eat, smoke hookah, enjoy music and be centralized to the middle of what's going on. After this first day of interaction with so many amazing people, my entire weekend had been put into motion to meet and connect with so many talented, intelligent, creative people.

Essentially, that's how The Chill felt. It was a small community, all surrounding the love of music, and how we all communicate with it. After watching Lettuce from the side stage and coming back with them afterwards,  the band took a seat at the green room house. Even Adam Deitch was saying "I wish I could continue playing... I don't want to stop the music". If a drum set had been handy you can bet Deitch would jump right on it.

Fitz with Adam Deitch

Vernon Webb Photography

We actually had the opportunity to sit down with Adam to talk about his projects. He has been the drummer for Lettuce for many years, and like other members of the band (Kraz) he has a side project that's been popping for a couple of years now, Break Science. Currently releasing music under Pretty Lights Music, Adam and partner Borahm Lee break it down for you. Their live performance is so ridiculous. People in the crowd go nuts, with the beats breaking down from effervescent flows, to funky glitchy beats, right back down to the flow again. It kinda felt like the room went from jumping dance party to very sexy party in the drop of a beat.

Here's what down in the interview: (Push Paus3 above, and play below ;)


A few hour after that interview is when they went on, and they tore the house down. The set was intense, and ultimately packed out the stage area so much it spilled out into the common grounds. It was glorious. There were multiple sets that went down that weekend that I consider some of my personal favorites and bests. With so much talent, it only made sense they'd all bring it. The soul, the funk, the jam, and the heart pounding beats...

McLovins by Zodd

Crowd for SoulLive by Wish

Break Science by Zodd

And when you weren't checking out the music at one of the three stages, you could be eating some bbq, or some fresh oysters (might just be my favorite person ever), or hanging out by the lake, meeting new people, buying new wares, exchanging ideas, learning about crystals and healing... the list goes on. The point is, between seeing amazing talent like Break Science, The McLovins, SoulLive, Lettuce, Horizon Wireless... among many more, meeting all the incredible people from all over the world, and feeling at home every night wrapped up in a hammock or cuddled with my friends. If you didn't know, now you know. Catskill Chill is where you want to be.

Photos:
Electric Ghost Punk: Zodd's Album // Pictorial Walkthrough
Vernon Webb: Day 1 // Day 2 // Day 3
Allie Gangi Photography: All of This