About

Bio

Throw a Chemical Brother, a Super Nintendo, a dusty box of vinyl records, and a stockpile of synthesizers into a blender, and what do you get?

zircon – aka Andrew Aversa – has been fueling his electronic dance music releases and remixes with an unusual combination of sonic sources and influences for the last five years. It’s a recipe that has earned his second album Impulse Prime the Best Techno Album and Best Techno Song of the year at the Just Plain Folks awards in 2006.

- In addition to three albums and one EP released under the "zircon" moniker, Aversa has over a dozen remixes featured on OverClocked ReMix (from old-school video games), highly-lauded dance remixes of Philly-area rockers IKE and Octane, and a number of original songs written for a wide range of clients, including game developers, filmmakers, and hardware companies.

Tools of the Trade

zircon writes, produces, and engineers out of his home studio in Philadelphia, PA, using the following gear:

  • Computers
  • * Dual core e6600 (2.4ghz) w/ 2GB RAM, 1.1tb storage, 512MB graphics memory, Windows XP Pro
  • * Dell Inspiron 1.86ghz Pentium M Windows XP Pro laptop with 1GB RAM, 100GB storage
  • Hardware
  • * Korg X-50 Synthesizer
  • * Presonus Firebox Audio Interface
  • * Shure SM58
  • * Fender Affinity Strat
  • Monitoring
  • * TASCAM VL-S21 Monitors
  • * Beyerdynamic DT880 studio headphones
  • Software (Hosts / Sequencers)
  • * Image-Line FLStudio 7
  • * Sony Acid Pro 6
  • * Propellerhead Reason 3
  • * Magix Samplitude 6 Studio
  • Software (Synthesizers / Samplers)
  • * Cakewalk Dimension Pro
  • * Korg Legacy Digital Edition
  • * Native Instruments Pro-53
  • * Native Instruments Akoustik Piano
  • * Native Instruments Elektrik Piano
  • * Native Instruments Kompakt
  • * Native Instruments Kontakt 2
  • * Native Instruments Intakt
  • * Native Instruments Reaktor 5
  • * Native Instruments B4
  • * Native Instruments fm8
  • * Native Instruments Absynth 4
  • * Native Instruments Battery 3
  • * GMedia impOSCar
  • * Spectrasonics Stylus RMX
  • * Spectrasonics Trilogy
  • * IK Multimedia SampleTank LE
  • * White Noise Additive Synth
  • * White Noise ZeroVector
  • * Image-Line Wasp
  • * Image-Line WaspXT
  • * Image-Line Simsynth
  • * Psychic Modulation Aethereal
  • * Psychic Modulation Arptron
  • * Psychic Modulation Cerebrum
  • * Psychic Modulation Cortex
  • * Psychic Modulation Meteorite
  • * Psychic Modulation Photon
  • * Psychic Modulation Subconscious
  • * Synapse Audio Junglist
  • * u-he Zebra 2
  • * Wusik Wusikstation 3
  • * Aciddose Xhip
  • * Andreas Ersson polyIblit
  • * antii Asynth
  • * antii Augur
  • * Big Tick Cheeze Machine
  • * Big Tick TickyClav
  • * Brooks & Stegner Arppe2600va
  • * Brooks & Stegner MinimogueVA
  • * buzzroom BB303i2
  • * e-phonic Drumatic
  • * Green Oak Crystal
  • * Ichiro Toda Synth1
  • * Oxe Oxe FM Synth
  • * rgc:audio sfz
  • * rgc:audio Triangle II
  • * Simple-Media Silkworm
  • * SK Ganymed
  • * Steinberg Neon
  • * Superwave Superwave P8
  • * Ugo Motion
  • * Ugo Texture
  • * Ugo String Theory
  • Software (Processors / Effects)
  • * ArtsAcoustic Reverb
  • * IK Multimedia T-Racks
  • * Har-Bal Visual Mastering System
  • * Wizoo Wizooverb W5 Surround Reverb
  • * Native Instruments Guitar Rig 2
  • * Native Instruments Spektral Delay
  • * Native Instruments Vokator
  • * PSP Nitro
  • * iZotope Vinyl
  • * DaSample GlaceVerb
  • * dfx Buffer Override
  • * digitalfishphones Dominion
  • * digitalfishphones Endorphin
  • * Kjaerhus Audio Classic Effects Series
  • * mda Effects Series
  • * MDSP Compressor
  • * Prosoniq Northpole
  • * Smart Electronix Ambience
  • * Smart Electronix Cyanide 2
  • * Subtek lofi PLUS
  • * Tiny God Murmur
  • Software / Other
  • * Antares Infinity
  • * Zero-X Seamless Looper
  • Soundware / Samples
  • * East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra Gold Edition
  • * East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra Gold XP Pro
  • * East West Quantum Leap Colossus
  • * East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Choirs
  • * East West/PMI Bosendorfer 290
  • * East West Ultimate Pianos
  • * East West Percussive Adventures
  • * East West Percussive Adventures 2
  • * Quantum Leap Stormdrum
  • * Quantum Leap RA
  • * Quantum Leap Brass
  • * Quantum Leap Guitar & Bass
  • * Bela D Media The Giovani Edition
  • * Bela D Media Lyrical Distortion vol. 1
  • * Bela D Media Diva: Extended
  • * Bela D Media Diva by Design
  • * BT Twisted Textures
  • * The Producer's Vault: Big Shots
  • * Zero-G Vocal Forge
  • * Garritan Personal Orchestra
  • * Garritan Orchestral Strings
  • * Spectrasonics Symphony of Voices
  • * Best Service Blue Box 16-CD Sound Effects Set
  • * Soniccouture Abstrakt vol. 1
  • * Soniccouture Abstrakt Breaks
  • * Ueberschall VCP120 Vintage Chord Progressions
  • * Prodyon Spacehawk
  • * Prodyon Rough Slices 1 & 2
  • * Goldbaby MPC Vol. 2 Vinyl Drum Samples
  • * Roland L-CDX Volume 4 (Strings and Orchestral Percussion)
  • * Sonic Reality R.A.W. Universal Groove Kit
  • * Sonic Reality Acoustic Guitars Capsule
  • * Sonic Reality Eletric Guitars Capsule
  • * Sonic Reality Bass Guitars Capsule
  • * Sonic Reality Studio Drums Capsule
  • * Sonic Reality Eclectic Drums Capsule
  • * Sonic Reality Groove Capsule
  • * Doru Malaia Super Percussions FX
  • * Doru Malaia 230 Ethnic Drums & Percussions
  • * Doru Malaia Superdrums 8000
  • * e-LAB Smoker's Delight
  • * e-LAB Foundation
  • * e-LAB Obsession
  • * Bob Clearmountain Drums II
  • * Steve Smith Rhythmic Journey
  • * Gota Yashiki "Groove Activator"

zircon (Andrew Aversa)