ZiP Visuals Presents Inaugural “Transcend Lab” Event
Written by: Dan Warren
This year, we’ve seen individuals in the VJ/visual art space beginning to lead a charge in providing new live experiences. Earlier this year, Tenorless curated his own downtempo event, “Hypnotic Theatre,” which featured mind-melting audio/visual pairings, including: Somatoast and Tenorless, Dillard and Oneirogen, Entangled Mind and The Void, and Maxfield and Papa Bear. The goal of this seated event was to “provide an evening of cinematic new media art,” while also giving attendees “a cohesive experience from start to finish.”
The Tenorless event opened the door in many ways for creators to start tapping into their communities and host their own events centered around visual art. Matt Mendez, better known in the scene as ZiP Visuals, is next up to embark on this path with his debut curated event in Brooklyn: Transcend Lab.
Taking place at The Chocolate Factory on Saturday, August 17th, Transcend Lab is a next-level, immersive audio/visual experience. The event will feature expertly-curated VJ and DJ sets, dancers that are wearing motion capture bodysuits, and real-time interactive art installations. The visuals will be displayed on a massive LED wall, while the beats will be booming on a crisp Void Acoustics system.
This event will introduce motion-sensor technology like we’ve never seen before. ZiP truly has the attendee experience in mind, as there will be an opportunity for fans to see what it’s like to be a VJ and actually participate. The interactive art installations will allow them to create their own experience at the show, while taking in the audio/visual wonders surrounding them.
ZiP Visuals has been on an absolute tear over the last year and a half. To name a few highlights, he created content and was even the VJ for Dead & Company’s final tour; he performed a masterclass set with Mickman at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn this past NYE weekend. He provided an insane visualizer for Tripp St.’s unreleased mix last year and he had captivating performances with Lotus, Daily Bread, and Noizu at Elements Festival last year. ZiP was also running visuals again at the Water Stage this past weekend and he even got married to the love of his life, Marci, earlier this year!
Ahead of Transcend Lab, we had an opportunity to chat with ZiP about what fans can expect from this one-of-a-kind event. Check out the full conversation below as we unpack ZiP’s vision for this audio/visual thrill ride. Tickets are moving fast, be sure to grab yours here!
Q&A WITH THE TRANSCEND LAB MASTERMIND: ZiP VISUALS
Matt Mendez sheds light on his upcoming interactive audio/visual experience: Transcend Lab
NS: Congratulations on throwing your first event! Tell us a little bit about how this idea blossomed into a unique audio/visual experience. What made you want to throw a show?
ZiP: This has been something that was on my mind for a while. After years of touring and working on other people's projects, I really wanted to branch out to do my own thing. Recently, I have been working on integrating live motion capture into my performances. I just needed a platform to present all this hard work.
After telling the idea to my friends at 4Life Entertainment (the production team behind TnF, NYC Summerstage, Elements, etc.), they believed in my vision and Transcend Lab was born. We want this event to be something new for nightlife, so outside of our Audio/Visual lineup, the VJs have created fun interactive installations that allow attendees to be a part of the show.
NS: You provided visuals for the Hamdi/Potions/Player Dave show last year at The Chocolate Factory. How does it feel to throw your own event there a year and a half later?
ZiP: It's a great feeling; hosting my first event at this venue feels right. After that Hamdi show, I got to know the owner, Daniel, and actually became their in-house VJ for a short period last year. I really enjoy working with the staff over there, so when I was looking for a venue, they were the first people I reached out to.
It's going to be a lot of fun to transform their space into something more than it already is - in addition to the 270-degree projection system they have, we are bringing in a massive LED for the stage, a second LED wall for one of the art installations, and we are filling the balcony with more Void speakers! We brought on our good friends from Lacuna Productions to bring in the extra Voids and tie them into the already-existing 4-Point Void Acoustic Soundsystem. So the show is both immersive visually and audibly!!
NS: Tell us a little bit about who will be performing! This lineup looks absolutely stacked.
ZiP: For the Visual Lineup, we have some of my favorite rising stars in the VJ scene; they each have their own unique style that sets them apart from others. Oneirogen has been one of my favorite content creators for a while now. His blender work alone is extremely breathtaking, but once he added his skills in Notch, his performances became even more captivating.
We also have Tyme coming up from Philly; Tyler is a very talented artist with a very specific aesthetic to his work. He seamlessly mixes Resolume, Blender, and Touch Designer in a way that I don't see too often; he makes me second guess how he does things and I feel like that's getting harder to do these days. Lastly we have the GLSL wizard Psybernautics coming out for a solo set and some B2B sets with me for the Zippernaut sets. He is constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible with GLSL in both Synesthesia and Touch Designer. He is one of the leading developers in the Synesthesia Marketplace – if you've been to an electronic show in the last year, it's a safe bet that you have seen his work before.
Being a 'visual centered' event, I wanted to bring in an Audio Lineup that matched the artistic expression of our visual artists. Each producer selected for the lineup not only has their own unique style, but they have been pushing the boundaries of their genre and stepping out of the box artistically.
From the Pretty Lights Live Band, Chris Karns is one of the best turntablists around and has always had an artistic approach to presenting his music – I couldn't ask for a better person to headline my first event with. We are bringing out Mike Wallis from the UK to not only do a solo set, but also to play B2B with Chris Karns. Mike is a pioneer in the genres of glitch hop and downtempo electronic, and to have him on board means a lot.
Mindex is coming out to do a special journey set with Tyme. Slava (Mindex) is constantly pushing the boundaries of genre and style; his art is truly an immersive experience by itself. Mikayli is a Brooklyn native and a rising act in the electronic scene; he has a unique blend of Hip Hop, Dubstep, and DnB. He is also the DJ/Producer for our final act LuFilthy. LuFilthy is a local rapper known for his lyricism and distinct voice - this will be towards the start of the night and feature a special Zippernaut performance.
NS: A big part of this show is obviously the visual side of things. Tell us a little bit about the interactive art installations that will be set up. What are attendees walking into when they enter the Transcend Lab?
ZiP: I wanted to come up with some fun ways for attendees to interact with the art and give them a chance to discuss how it works with our VJs. To do this, we created two unique installations that will change throughout the night.
The first one is what we have been calling 'The Interactive Mirror.’ This installation utilizes a Kinect to track the motion of participants, and analyzes the data in Touch Designer and Synesthesia in Real Time. After it is manipulated, it is projected back in front of the attendees; like a mirror. Some patches we made do fun audio reactive effects over the motion data, while others utilize AI to create images on the spot that resemble the participant's figure.
The second installation is run through a wireless midi controller. We will be walking around and allowing attendees to layer effects over one of the projectors, allowing them to VJ a portion of the show and experience what it is like to mix visuals. Both are made to have guests engage with the VJs and learn more about our process.
NS: This all sounds incredible! We can’t wait to check this out. Anything else our readers should know about Transcend Lab?
ZiP: I just want everyone reading to know how much their support means to me. Being an artist, I have had to deal with my fairshare of nonsense when working events. I wanted to create this show as a platform for my friends and artists to showcase our art and not have to deal with all the negatives that can occur with working with a third party. This event is created by, organized by, and completely run by artists - so we are going to be able to express our art the way we want to. I really hope you get to come out to the event and experience audio and visuals in a new way!
NS: Where can our readers learn more about the event?
ZiP: Our Linktree has a bunch of info on. It leads to our website, all social accounts, and even has a spotify playlist for people to check out the music and get a sense of the audio vibes for the night
Our website also has a bunch of write ups about each artists and the production teams involved, as well as some site maps and other fun information
Tickets can be found here!