ZAPTRA

Zaptra is the stage name for electronic music producer, Art Paz. Zaptra began in 2004 in Los Angeles, CA with drum machine and acoustic guitar, but has since expanded to include a wide array of musical devices and software that characterize the layered and complex sound heard from his last two releases.
The Rise Of The New Dawn EP (summer 2009) establishes some key elements that identify Zaptra: electric guitar and effects, synth strings sections, and often consistent groove aesthetic choices in producing drums and percussion. The subsequent full-length self-sitled album, “Zaptra” (May 2010), continues to explore the same ideas of groove and ambience (“Rise Of The New Dawn”, “The Brightest Moon Light”, “Diplomatic Panic”), but this album sees Zaptra explore more varied contexts for the synth and guitar combination, such as dance grooves (“Taking It All”), breakbeats (“Soon I Hope”), piano arrangement (“Passenger In The Night”), and processed vocals (“Enter”, “The Wise”). Strong influences for Zaptra include Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Radiohead, Boards of Canada, Björk, and Ulrich Schnauss.
While Zaptra has been seen performing in New York and San Francisco, he is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA and has been known to frequent the Airliner Club, a venue popularized by the weekly recurring Low End Theory event. Zaptra is a currently active artist with plans to both perform while at the same time continue to gather materials for another release. For more info www.zaptra.com.