Quotes:
"A cosmic treat of epic proportions" – DJ Magazine
"You can almost feel the first sunrays of the day gently warming your face" – iDj Magazine
"Wow..One of my favourite records" – Tiga
"So damn good" – Duke Dumont
Releases:
Bookashade - "Regenerate" (Lazersonic & Zak Frost rmx) – Get Physical Music – 2010
’Levels’, feat. Ali Love – Eye Industries – (inc. Shadowdancer rmxs) 2010
’Thermionic’ – Gomma Records - 2010
’Aquaplane’ – Turbo Recordings – (inc. Williams and Unit 4 rmxs) – 2009
Debut album – ’Adventures in Stereo Vol. 1’ set for worldwide release on 6th July 2011 via AIS Recordings.
Lazersonic & Zak Frost - monthly two hour radio show 'Adventures in Stereo' on leading FM and online stations in over 20 countries.
full biography
'Ships that pass in the night' is the perfect cliché to sum up Lazersonic and Zak Frost's seeming inability over a decade-and-a-half to actually meet each other. Going to the same clubs, being part of the same scene and even sharing some of the same friends, the duo were seemingly destined to meet, but after 15 years of living parallel lives, perhaps that should read destined never to meet?
Yet in spite of their shared musical heritage, Zak Frost (yes, that's his real name) and Irfan's paths didn't fully cross until they were finally brought together at Scotland's T In The Park festival. And so contact was finally made and a creative partnership was sealed. Whether there was thunderclap or other ominous sign when this happened is unclear, but one thing is certain, the musical alchemy of Irfan and Zak's ideas was something amazing. This was evidenced immediately by their first joint effort, 'Aquaplane', the arpeggiated, richly warm arm-raiser that was snapped up by no less than Tiga's Turbo Recordings and has been giving goosebumps to everyone within earshot ever since its release in 2009.
A comment from Tiga that it had "7am written all over it" was to shape the sound of Lazersonic & Zak Frost thereafter. The soothing of that all-night-dancing ache by the sun as it flickers its way over the horizon is captured perfectly in the warmth and depth of Zak and Irfan's sound.
While they share such a similar musical schooling and reference points ranging from Plastikman to Aphex Twin to Orbital, the duo's differences also add extra layers and influence to their sound. With Irfan's more urban grounding – his production credits include Riz MC and Busta Rhymes – and Zak's underground DJing background – which include running celebrated noughties London club night Nodisko – they both bring different elements to the table.
Dance music's long and rich history has proved that producing soulful machine-made music isn't an easy feat but time after time, release after release, Lazersonic & Zak Frost manage to achieve it. From the serotonin-soaked strains of 'Aquaplane' to the wide-open, bubbling analogue electronics of follow-up 'Thermionic'; from the trippy psychedelia of 'Levels' to their deep and dubby take on Bookashade's 'Regenerate'; Irfan and Zak successfully inject emotion, spirit and neck-hair-raising, floor-pleasing melodic hooks into each track.
This knack of creating a humanising warmth within a sonic environment that many other render sterile is maintained throughout debut album, 'Adventures In Stereo Vol. 1'. Quite how they manage this is a mystery, but it seems their passionate commitment to detail and love of imperfect analogue equipment and its quirks may offer at least a partial explanation.
The end result is an uncategorisable yet coherent and complete album that takes the listener through a variety of moods and emotions, with a finely struck balance between that 7am feel and the pull of the dancefloor. The fact that their sound doesn't fit comfortably into any pigeonholes was one of the deciding factors behind Zak and Irfan's decision to set up their own label, AIS Recordings, and release the album themselves.
The same care and attention displayed throughout the album also goes into Irfan and Zak's monthly 'Adventures In Stereo' radio show which goes out on FM and online radio stations in more than 20 countries.
With 'Adventures In Stereo Vol. 1' primed to follow the global success of their radio show and singles to date, one thing's for certain: Lazersonic & Zak Frost's 'adventures' are going to be well worth following. Watch this space.
Ian Roullier