Live Review: Z-Trip

"I've been to Tassie before, but wow! You all need to know how lucky you are to have something like this in your backyard. This shit is incredible." A pioneer of the mash-up style, Z-Trip seamlessly blends two or more songs together to create a composition but, unlike some music pioneers, Z-Trip has continued to evolve with the scene.

Using a combination actual vinyl (something he is very proud of, often bantering with the crowd about this fact and how few DJs still use it) and Serato Scratch Live, Z-Trip gives you one part party/one part music history lesson. Hip hop is blended with Led Zeppelin, The Simpsons theme blended with funk and soul with metal. His excited and humble banter and incredible ability to match huge backing beats over some of music's greatest hooks turned a sleepy gathering into a riled-up crowd.

Taking a moment within his set to appreciate fellow MOFO headliners — Mike Patton's Tetema, who were on stage previously, and James Maynard's Puscifer — Z-Trip threw curveballs turning Tool and Faith No More songs into Coachella-friendly dance tracks. Finally, as the clock struck ten, the set was scheduled to end, but this artist had other plans. Playing a cheeky, almost-purist rendition of Blister In The Sun (a nod to festival coordinator and Violent Femmes bass player Brian Ritchie), Z-Trip showed off his scratching skills and then banged out more tracks into the night.

His techniques are traditional but invigorating, the culmination of his diverse music interests and an incredible ear for what might seem to some like unusual musical pairings. Z-Trip showed that mash-up sets can be artistic as well as the soundtrack to a great party.