Audnoyz Bio

Audnoyz music has evolved over the years from its original eclectic art music beginnings.

Audnoyz is the artist guise of music-tech industry veteran, composer/producer Steve Thomas.

The Audnoyz concept can trace its roots back to Thomas' 2003 jaz-mobi Project album and a mashup called "Jadermash." Inspired by remixers of that time, the track was constructed using samples from the other tracks on the album overlaid on the1999 Sympatico jazz recording of Maggie Rizzi’s No Rage. It is this styling and approach to production that led to the creation Audnoyz Project Vol 1 (2008), where sound design, sonic sculpting, archival samples, and found sounds all collided. The random intersections of audio and noise creating complex textures; discordant sound interactions creating ethereal harmony.

Audnoyz Project Vol 2 (2011) expanded on this production aesthetic including the use of sampled material coming from a deep catalog of past recording projects. Notably the placement of vocals, treated as instruments as part of the arrangement, with nobody purposefully singing to any of the tracks. Germany’s Sound & Recording Magazine acclaimed Audnoy Project as “Kopf Kino” meaning ‘Mind Cinema’, an aural journey for the inner eye and Electronic Musician Magazine found it to be “a natural work for filmmakers to explore… This genre-breaking collection pleases, startles, and stimulates the mind.”

Around the time of the second album release, the Audnoyz sound caught the ear of award-winning film composer Shawn K. Clement, leading to the commissioning of The Message Remix that appeared on the animated feature film Quantum Quest soundtrack.  Further impressed with how the "The Message" remix appealed to his musical sensibilities, Clement proposed a more robust collaboration: Audistry. Bringing together Clement's deep Other-Worldly cinematic orchestral music and signature guitar sound with the Audnoyz genre-mashing production aesthetic. All starting a working relationship that endures to this day.  In 2013 Guitar Player Magazine acclaimed Audistry a mind-boggling mash up of tones and genres.

Audnoyz Project Vol 3 (2014) signaled a slight shift with the presence of genre mashups and evocative contemporaneously captured vocals of the great Patty Barkas and vocal samples featuring Barkas and longtime collaborator Mliss Calzaretta.  The album envelops you in cerebral electronica, tormented 16th century Baroque motifs, stirring orchestral elements, pulsating techno / eurodance beats, contemplative piano-jazz and sublime vocals from the heavens. The 10 tracks that comprise Audnoyz Project Vol 3 are sometimes bombastic, at times contemplative, yet always cinematic, evocative and exciting.

Audnoyz Project Vol 4 picks up where Volume 3 left off. Yet embarks on fusions of style and form unique to this ever-evolving artist aesthetic.  This latest work on the Audnoyz creative continuum envelops you in an aural journey, filled with unexpected genre juxtapositions and eclectic sonic pairings. Like previous Audnoyz releases, many of these tracks are not bound or beholden to the confines of popular form. It’s all here and more! From a poignant triadic rock anthem to the sonic poems of searing vocalese, to genre-bending mashups where 16th century Baroque meets 21st century jazz rock fusion, and contemporary indie remix.

In a moving tribute, and a gift to the world, many of these Audnoyz Project Vol 4 compositions lovingly showcase the supremely beautiful vocals of the late Patty Barkas in a way that frames her unique art in a fitting context.  Much of this music arises from the searing depths of emotion, the places we all sometimes fervently wish we didn’t have to go and, emerges from there with all the resilient power of the human spirit to make the best from the worst.

What’s next on the Audnoyz creative continuum? Stay tuned and thanks for reading!