Emzy Collins
I have always been about doing things yourself in this world and relying on the people around you to support and lend their skills... case in point Below Zero. My post this time is by someone who reminds me of the very core belief I have in regards to music and the love for it. Do it simply because it is who you are with no expectations.
Before Below Zero I was one of the co-founders of the underground collective known as Thump Radio which heavily focused on the sounds of the psychedelic trance world. Through a mutual friend Isaih Titus, who reached out to us. He was working with Vibrasphere, a band that had played for Thump Radio, and this is how I came across Emzy Collins.
I was given a few tracks after meeting up with Isaih, mainly for Vibrasphere, but there were a few others in there as well.  What I didn't realize was that they were in my box until weeks. By the time I got around to listening to them I didn't know who it was or where it came from!
Iit took a weekend back in San Francisco with Sinukus who just happened to say, "hey have you checked out the music by Emzy yet from Isaih?" The very next week when I was working on the next Below Zero show I premiered the track, "Feel Your Love" which to me had all the right moves in it for chill. It had an atmospheric background, some light percussion and the rest was piano filled with a sad voice. I played "Feel Your Love" on the show for weeks and then did short feature. Since then I have had the pleasure of getting to know Emzy, and he is as real and kind as it gets.
He hails from the west-side of the state of Michigan and moved to the Detroit area to attend school at the University of Detroit. He has been there for over 5 years and the Motor City's diverse culture has made a big difference in his life.
Emzy has always played a lot of instruments but he started as a concert pianist. He has developed his songwriting skills from his life experiences and loves all types of music. If you were able to grab his iPod and put it on shuffle you would hear DJ Shadow, Nine Inch Nails and Ray Charles.
His EP is where it all started for him, he was simply a musician before the launch of the EP. He had a ton of melodies written but no lyrics to go along with any of them. It took a heartbreak from a long term relationship to help him find the words to his music. "Nothing Yet" is a black and white color choice for the EP because of the feeling of grey. He didn't want to send out a simple demo but wanted to put something together that was about him and where he was at this time in his life. For him, demo is such a boring statement. He didn't want to walk around and say "check out my demo", since he hadn't done anything prior the title "Nothing Yet" which seemed the perfect choice.
Emzy plays primarily in the Detroit area but did play a few shows down south. It is hard for him to tour as it's on his own dime completely... so if anyone wants to help or book him he is willing and ready! His music is made so that when he plays out live he doesn't have to hide behind anything and keeps it pure.
The latest release, "Moving Time" is his best work to date and when I asked him the meaning he said, "I don't like to talk about meaning of my songs because to some people it may mean one thing than to another, everyone sees/hears their own message. I like to keep it like that." This song was one of the first he brought someone in to work with him. Andy Ross helped produce and structure the track adding a bass line and drums.
Currently Emzy is working in his studio on his music, we hope to one day bring him out west. When I asked him what he thinks is the definition of chill he said, "Well to relax - but you can relax to upbeat music it doesn't just have to be super slow or ambient. When I think of the chill out scene, I close my eyes while my fountain is going in my room and turn the music up and just relax, to me that is chill."