Au5 | |
|---|---|
 Image of Collins from Beatport | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Austin Collins |
| Born | September 18, 1992 New Jersey, United States |
| Genres | Electronic, dubstep, drum and bass, house, electro house, ambient, trance and glitch hop |
| Occupation | Music producer |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, Bass, Synthesizer, Digital Audio Workstation (Logic Pro, FL Studio, Ableton Live) |
| Years active | 2008 - present |
| Labels | Monstercat,
Atom Recordings, Armada Music, Adapted Records, Rottun Recordings, Viper Recordings, Anemnesis, Funky Element Records, Gravitas Recordings, Walt Disney Records/Pixar, Magik Muzik, Simplify Recordings, NoCopyrightSounds |
| Website | LivinAWestLife/Draft:Au5 on Facebook |
Austin Collins, known professionally as Au5 (/eɪ,ju,faɪv/) is an American electronic dance music producer, DJ, instrumentalist and remixer from New Jersey.[1][2] Collins started producing music under the name Au5 in 2008. His music spans various genres and styles among electronic music, such as dubstep, trance, electro house, progressive house, complextro, and drum and bass. Collins has released three albums independently, as well as numerous EPs, singles and remixes for record labels such as Monstercat, Armada Music, NoCopyRightSounds, and Simplify Recordings. His song "Snowblind", released through Monstercat, was featured on the compilation Monstercat 019 - Endeavour and has since gathered over 10 million views on YouTube.[3]
Collins had been involved in music from his childhood, as a bassist in a number of amateur bands. His first two albums as Au5, Minimality and Anchus Definy, mainly featured trance elements. In 2012, Collins won the Seven Lions Official Remix contest on Beatport, with his remix of "Days to Come", which was released on Skrillex's OWSLA label.[4] Collins joined Monstercat in 2013 with the track "Sweet", which was followed by his extended play (EP) Blossom. Collins has collaborated with Danyka Nadeau, a vocalist, in a number of tracks, including "Follow You", "Crossroad", and "Inside", all released through Monstercat.
Collins made no releases on Monstercat between 2016 and 2017. During this period, he released the EP Freefall through Gravitas Recordings, as well as the singles Lush and Closer through NoCopyRightSounds. Collins returned to Monstercat in 2018 with his song The Journey. He later released a collaboration with Nytrix, Only In A Dream. Collins has since released official remixes of tracks from recognized artists, such as BT, Celldweller, Illenium, and Seven Lions.
Early Life
editCollins has been involved with music at an early age. He received weekly classical piano training until the age of 12. He started using Easy Beat, a simple multi-track MIDI sequencer, when he was 8 years old, and when he was 11, he learned the Digital Audio Interface (DAW) program GarageBand.[5] Collins was involved in numerous bands, primarily serving as a bassist.[6]
Career
edit2009-2012: Minimality and Anchus Definy
editCollins released his debut album, Minimality, independently on September 28 of 2010.[7] The album spans 10 tracks, mostly composed instrumentally in the genre of trance. This was followed by his second album, Anchus Definy, which, according to Collins, was "a fusion of dubstep and techno", and included "various styles of trance-infused bass music".[8][9]The album was released on June 30, 2011. Incorporation of dubstep elements continued through his first extended play, Iconoclast, which was released on May 14, 2012 through Atom Recordings.
In 2012, Collins, in a collaboration with I.Y.F.F.E, won an offical remix contest of Seven Lions' track "Days to Come" on the extended play of the same name, which was released on Skrillex's OWSLA label.[4] Au5 also collaborated with BT on the single "Partysaurus Overflow" for Walt Disney Records/Pixar,[10] and was also featured with Matt Hales on BT's single "Surrounded", which made it to #2 on Beatport's dubstep chart. Alongside Bada and Fractal, Au5 contributed to the track "City Life" from BT's album A Song Across Wires, released on August 16, 2013, by Armada Music.
2013-2015: Monstercat
edit"Sweet" (A collaboration with Auratic and I.Y.F.F.E), a complextro song, was Collins's debut release on Monstercat on February 11, 2013. He later released "Halcyon", a drumstep track along with Fractal.[11] Au5's first solo release on Monstercat was his Blossom EP, featuring the melodic dubstep track "Blossom" and the drum and bass track "Moonland." A 4-track EP was later released on Monstercat with Fractal on December 2, 2013, titled Secret Weapon EP, with 3 of the tracks uploaded to the Monstercat YouTube channel.
"Follow You", a progressive house song featuring vocals from Danyka Nadeau, was released through Monstercat in March 2014, and a remix EP was released on July the same Year, featuring remixes from Rootkit, Virtual Riot, Fractal, Ducked Ape, Volant, Rhythmics, and a VIP mix. Collins later released "Snowblind", featuring vocals from Tasha Baxter, a dubstep song with melodic and trance elements.[12] It has since become Au5's most popular song, reaching #1 on Beatport and amassing over 8 million views on YouTube. A free self-released remix EP was later released. He closed out his 2014 tracks with the commercial house song "Crossroad" featuring Danyka Nadeau.
2015 saw Collins release Tracks of increasing variety. "Dream Of Love", a glitch hop collaboration with Heavy J featuring vocals from Kenny Raye, was released on Simplify Recordings in May. Au5 later released 3 singles under Monstercat: "Inside", an electro house track with vocals from Danyka Nadeau; "Atlantis", a dubstep song; and "Guardians" a progressive house song featuring Fiora.[13] He later released a 2-track EP with Fractal entitled "Ison / Pavonine" on the compilation Monstercat 025 - Threshold, which would be his last release for some time. Collins stated that he and Monstercat began to deviate in terms of their music, but they were on good terms.[14]
It was announced on February 10, 2015 that Collins would be joining Infected Mushroom on their 2015 US Tour.[15]
2016-2017: Freefall and other projects
editCollins released an extended play, titled "Freefall", on Gravitas Recordings in 2016.[16] He began releasing with NoCopyrightSounds during late 2017, with “Lush”, a collaboration with Last Heroes. He followed this release with “Closer”.[17] Collins released his first sample pack "Elements", following this with "Freefall" based off songs from the extended play.[18] "Goo Lagoon" was released on Gravitas Recordings as part of their "Mirrors" compilation on November 2017.[19]
2018: Return to Monstercat
editCollins released a ten-track extended play titled "The Recency Effect" with British producer Mr. Bill, featuring five original tracks and a remix of each by artists on the label Upscale.[20]
After a 3-year break on releasing on the label, Collins released "The Journey", featuring singer Trove, on Monstercat through the Instinct channel.[21] Collins has stated that he will be working on a collaboration with Seven Lions, after remixing his song "Ocean".[22] Collins would go on to join Seven Lions in his "Journey II" Tour, along with MitiS and Jason Ross.[23]
On October 2018, Collins released his remix of Celldweller's "Eon", which would be featured on the remix compilation of "Live Upon A Blackstar".[24] It contained metal influences, with Collins stating "this remix is probably one of the heaviest and darkest things I've made yet". He will be releasing a collaboration with Nytrix, "Only In A Dream", on Monstercat.[25]
2019: Divinorum
editMusical Style
editCollins has been known to employ trance influences in his dubstep tracks and elsewhere. His tracks are generally characterised by a strong basslines and atmospheric pads. Au5 has produced dubstep, drumstep, drum and bass, electro house, progressive house, trance, ambient as well as orchestral, frequently combining elements of each. He has collaborated with Fractal and I.Y.F.F.E multiple times.
Au5 cites Fractal, Xilent, BT, Mr. Bill and Isqa as musical inspirations.[26]
Personal Life
editDiscography
editStudio Albums
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Minimality[28] |
|
| Anchus Definy[29] |
|
| Divinorum[30] |
|
Extended plays (EPs)
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Iconoclast |
|
| Singularity |
|
| Subvert (with Fractal)[31] |
|
| House Party |
|
| Blossom |
|
| Metronic[32] |
|
| Secret Weapon (with Fractal) |
|
| Follow You (The Remixes) (feat. Danyka Nadeau) |
|
| Snowblind (The Remixes) (feat. Tasha Baxter)[33] |
|
| Dream of Love (The Remixes) (with Heavy J featuring Kenny Raye) |
|
| Ison / Pavonine (with Fractal) |
|
| Any Longer / Hit Rewind (feat. Q'AILA) |
|
| Freefall (feat. Cristina Soto) |
|
| The Recency Effect (with Mr. Bill) |
|
| Energize |
|
Singles
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2012 | "The Essence" |
| "Ennui" | |
| "Iteration" | |
| "The Seahorse VIP" | |
| "Partysaurus Overflow" (with BT) | |
| "Hypersphere VIP" | |
| 2013 | "Lucky" (with Auratic and I.Y.F.F.E) |
| "Sweet" (with Auratic and I.Y.F.F.E) | |
| "Crystal Mathematics" (feat. Shaz Sparks) | |
| "Flower of Life/First Blood" (with I.Y.F.F.E and Helicopter Showdown) | |
| "Halcyon" (with Fractal) | |
| "French Cigarette" (with I.Y.F.F.E) | |
| "Vapor" | |
| "Secret Weapon" (with Fractal) | |
| "Blue" (with Fractal) | |
| "Dreaming" (with Fractal) | |
| "Tendril" (with Collin McLoughlin) | |
| 2014 | "Myst" |
| "Follow You" (feat. Danyka Nadeau) | |
| "Reiteration" | |
| "Etheros" | |
| "Snowblind" (feat. Tasha Baxter) | |
| "Spawn" (with Fractal and Bird of Prey) | |
| "Crossroad" (feat. Danyka Nadeau) | |
| 2015 | "Neptuna" |
| "Serenata" (feat. Keeley) | |
| "Dream of Love" (with Heavy J, feat. Kenny Raye) | |
| "Inside" (feat. Danyka Nadeau) | |
| "Bigger Than Me" (With Tasha Baxter) | |
| "Atlantis" | |
| "Guardians" (feat. Fiora) | |
| "The Cliff" | |
| 2016 | "Virgo" |
| "Shlappy" (With Mr. Bill) | |
| "Return To Moonland" | |
| "Watership" | |
| 2017 | "Blossom VIP" |
| "Arise" | |
| "I Miss You" (feat. Kenny Rave) | |
| "Sea Rose" (With River Accorsi) | |
| "Yeah Boi" (With River Accorsi) | |
| "Impulse" (With Culprate) | |
| "Cosmoscope" | |
| "Goo Lagoon" | |
| "Lush" (With Last Heroes, feat. Holly Drummond) | |
| 2018 | "The Zero Point" (feat. Holly Drummond) |
| "Closer" (feat. Danyka Nadeau) | |
| "Cataclysm" (With Crystal Skies) | |
| "The Journey" (feat. Trove) | |
| "Only In A Dream" (With Nytrix) | |
| 2019 | "Eden"[34] (feat. Danyka Nadeau) |
| "Stargate"[35] (with Tasha Baxter) |
Remixes
edit| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Erasure - "I Lose Myself" |
| 2012 | Lightspeed Rescue - "Keep Your Body Moving" |
| LMFAO - "Party Rock Anthem" | |
| BT, Nadia Ali, & Arty - "Must Be the Love" | |
| Adventure Club - "Wait" (with I.Y.F.F.E) | |
| 2013 | Singularity - "Breathe" (with Auratic and I.Y.F.F.E) |
| Seven Lions feat. Fiora - "Days to Come" (with I.Y.F.F.E.) | |
| Dino Safari - "Ghost Named Charlie" | |
| ShockOne feat. Metrik & Kyza - "Lazerbeam" | |
| Singularity - "Alone" (with Fractal) | |
| Digital Eyes - "Samuel L. Jackson" | |
| Faruk Sabanci feat. Jaren - "Discover" | |
| BT feat. Matt Hales - "Surrounded" | |
| Prismatic - "Minty" (with Fractal) | |
| Scatman John - "Scatman" (with Savant, Fractal, and Prismatic) | |
| Blatwax - "Illuminate" | |
| 2014 | Yanntek - "Moving On" |
| Fractal - "Urchin" | |
| Manufactured Superstars feat. Jarvis Church - "Stay" | |
| Virtual Riot - "We're Not Alone" | |
| Akira Complex - "Odyssey" | |
| Revolvr & Genesis feat. Splitbreed - "Unstoppable" | |
| Juventa feat. Kelly Sweet - "Superhuman" | |
| Xilent feat. Sue Gerger - "The Place" | |
| 2015 | Illenium & Said The Sky feat. Cristina Soto - "Painted White" (with Fractal) |
| Infected Mushroom feat. Sasha Grey - "Fields of Grey" | |
| 2017 | Psy-Fi - "Ecotone" |
| 2018 | APEK feat. Stassi - "Supernatural" |
| Seven Lions & Jason Ross - "Ocean" | |
| Illenium & Kerli - "Sound Of Walking Away" (with Fractal) | |
| Celldweller - "Eon" | |
| 2019 | Seven Lions, Wooli & Trivecta feat. Nevve - "Island" |
References
edit- ^ "Au5 Tracks & Releases on Beatport". www.beatport.com. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- ^ "Au5 Official Soundcloud".
- ^ Monstercat (August 29, 2014), [Dubstep] - Au5 - Snowblind (feat. Tasha Baxter) [Monstercat Release], retrieved February 18, 2016
- ^ a b Michael Sundius, "Seven Lions – Days to Come (AU5 & I.Y.F.F.E. Remix)", Dancing Astronaut, January 1, 2013
- ^ Ben Gutnik, "EDM CHARTS’ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | Au5" EDM Charts, April 14, 2013
- ^ Aleks Zander, "Exclusive Interview With Ground-Breaking Artist – "Au5″ V.I.Peeps, March 22, 2014
- ^ Minimality by Au5, September 28, 2010, retrieved October 21, 2018
- ^ The Seahorse, retrieved August 8, 2019
- ^ Hypnocosmic Spooncraft, retrieved August 8, 2019
- ^ Mike Bastoli, "Partysaurus Overflow Available for Download", Big Screen Animation, November 19, 2012
- ^ "Au5 & Fractal - Halcyon (Original Mix) - Dancing Astronaut". Dancing Astronaut. May 6, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ J, Kevin (August 30, 2014). "Au5 - Snowblind feat. Tasha Baxter". EDM Sauce. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ "Au5 returns with "Guardians" featuring Fiora - EARMILK". EARMILK. October 13, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ "r/EDM - Hey its Au5, ask me anything!". reddit. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
- ^ US Tour. [1], February 21, 2014
- ^ GLU (November 29, 2016). "Au5 Freefall EP ft Cristina Soto". EDM Sauce. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ GLU (April 19, 2018). "Au5 And Danyka Nadeau Become "Closer" And Combine On Yet Another Gem". EDM Sauce. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ Stevo (December 17, 2017). "AU5 Releases Freefall Sample Pack On Gravitas Create". EDM Sauce. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ GLU (November 17, 2017). "Au5 - Goo Lagoon". EDM Sauce. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ "Mr. Bill & Au5 explore the reaches of progressive bass music". The Untz. March 20, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ "Au5 makes his Monstercat return with 'The Journey' ft Trove - Dancing Astronaut". Dancing Astronaut. August 22, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ "Seven Lions & Jason Ross unveil "Ocean" remix package featuring Au5 & Grant Out now on Ophelia Records -". ventsmagazine.com. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ "Seven Lions - The Journey II Tour". sevenlions.com. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ "Celldweller's "Eon" Gets Massive Remix from Au5 [EDM.com Premiere]". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
- ^ "̵̛̛̳̖̪̓̈́͐̿̅ ̵̛̛̳̖̪̓̈́͐̿̅Nytrix. ̵̛̛̳̖̪̓̈́͐̿̅ on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ "AU5 Dishes Out 'Any Longer/Hit Rewind' EP & Discusses Genre Allegiance & Collaborating With Q'AILA [Exclusive Interview] | RaverRafting". raverrafting.com. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- ^ "r/Monstercat - I Am Au5 - AMA". reddit. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ "Minimality, by Au5". Au5. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- ^ "Anchus Definy, by Au5". Au5. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- ^ "Divinorum LP, by Au5". Au5. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- ^ Subvert - EP by Au5 & Fractal, retrieved August 8, 2019
- ^ Metronic - EP by Au5, retrieved August 8, 2019
- ^ "Snowblind - The Remixes, by Au5 feat. Tasha Baxter". Au5. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
- ^ Dexter, Robyn (March 2, 2019). "Au5 taps Danyka Nadeau for transportive single 'Eden'". Dancing Astronaut. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ Watts, Nick (May 15, 2019). "Your EDM Premiere: Au5 & Tasha Baxter – Stargate". Your EDM. Retrieved May 23, 2019.