At 13, Austin Collins began producing and performing music; his classical training had started nine years earlier. Born and raised in New Jersey, Collins works as Au5, pronounced “A-U-Five”, and is based in Denver. The solo project began releasing music in 2010 with the album Minimality. Collins is a musician, visual artist and educator, and has described drawing inspiration from people, art, music, science, abstract ideas and his surroundings. Au5’s music spans dubstep, trance, ambient and experimental electronic styles, with house and drum and bass also among its influences.
A Seven Lions remix contest win in 2013 led to Au5 joining Monstercat. The label released “Halcyon”, made with Fractal, and “Snowblind”, featuring Tasha Baxter; both reached number one on Beatport’s dubstep chart. Au5 and Fractal also made the EP Secret Weapon. After releasing music on Monstercat, Au5 returned to the label in 2018 with the single “The Journey”, featuring Trove. Other label homes include Armada, Owsla, Enhanced, Wakaan, Disciple, NoCopyrightSounds and Ophelia.
Collaborations include work with BT, Tritonal, Slander and Mr. Bill. Au5 and BT made the track “Partysaurus Overflow”, while the EP The Recency Effect paired Au5 with Mr. Bill. Au5’s collaborations with Cristina Soto and Seven Lions include the EP Freefall and the track “Remember”, the latter also featuring Crystal Skies. With Chime, Au5 made “Voidwalkers” and “The Other Side”. Other releases include the track “Lush”, made with Last Heroes and featuring Holly Drummond, and “Closer”, featuring Danyka Nadeau.
In 2023, Au5 released the album Bridges Between on Ophelia. The EP Earthwave, made with Psyuri, followed on Ophelia in 2025. That year also brought the album Snowblind Legacy, made with Tasha Baxter, and the single “Beyond Light” on Au5 Music, Collins’s own label. A 2025 single, “while the time sleeps”, credits Au5 alongside Øneheart, Dean Korso and leadwave. In 2026, Au5 released the single “Inverse” on Wakaan.