The start of a fresh school year brings many things. New clothes and gadgets, new faces around campus, new cafeteria food that still tastes like crap and new classroom computers that the professors still can’t manage to get working. The new year also brings something else—the need for some fresh sound.

Nothing's more terrible than getting to a party, or your friend’s house to pregame, and hearing those same tired tracks play all night (well maybe a few things are more terrible). Even worse is when the people just want to dance and the guy with the iPod is blasting the Grateful Dead and spilling his life philosophy. You want someone to change the noise but everyone’s thinking the same thing: what can I put on? Thank god there’s finally some music that’s not only good, but made for the college crowd. Yeah, I’m talking about Kap Slap.

Kap Slap – Noun: A funnel of beer followed by a shot of 151, thus giving a “slap” in the face. What college kid can’t appreciate that? But no, I’m not talking about a drink, I’m talking about the artist.

Jared, or Kap Slap, is a senior at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania who started experimenting with mashups in 2009, and released his first song in 2010. Now, in 2011, he’s all over the semi-underground scene with the encouraging tag line of “Mashups for Raging”.

His songs mix Skrillex, Avicii, Deadmau5 and all your other favorite Dj’s with more popular tracks from Katy Perry, Brittany, Drake, Weezy... I could go on but why don’t you just take a listen?

Even better, all his music is available for free download or streaming. It’s easily found at his Homepage, or through Facebook and Twitter.

Speaking of fresh sound, I’d be a fool if I didn’t mention one more artist making waves in the mash-up world—3LAU. He’s a DJ with a similar story to Kap Slap, a college kid making music for college kids. Check him out.

Whether Kap Slap, 3LAU or someone completely different, keep on the quest for that new music and always rage responsibly.