Anyone that has been keeping up with dubstep, or simply electronic music, at some point in the past decade has become familiar with our friend Lorin Ashton, better known as Bassnectar to the rest of the world. His unique style of bass music has dazzled festivals and shows worldwide, and has been doing so for years (his first album came about in 2001). While his sound has progressively altered to whatever he feels his will stun his audience, his method to his madness has remained relatively intact. You can click here to access his interview with NPR in which he breaks down how he goes about his productions and much more.
He may not fall within the lines of dubstep in which artists like Excision or Flux Pavilion have defined how we perceive the genre’s dive into mainstream culture, but Bassnectar is definitely earned a spot amongst the greatest in dubstep. While there is always the iconic ‘Bass Head’ and the first real mainstream dubstep remix in his remix of Ellie Goulding’s ‘Lights’, there is also all the albums that came out years before (Divergent Spectrum was his 8thalbum). In fact, the first track I ever heard from the man was ‘Bomb The Blocks’ and it will always be a favorite tune of mine. Its a good example of his glitch style that makes his music is very unique, which revolves around his quick use of sampling other songs (which is explained better by Lorin in the NPR interview). I personally feel that glitch (whether in glitch hop or some other form) will become more popular in the future, having been reflected in artists such as The Glitch Mob, Mimosa, and Pretty Lights that have also have had rising popularity. Dubstep DJs/producers now days are also diverging from the typical 140 BPM of standard dubstep, realizing that by doing so, they can captivate a larger population of EDM enthusiasts, and also add diversity to their live sets. Bassnectar has stayed ahead of the game here, and it is what has propelled him to his success.
I’ll also be leaving you with his latest mix, which he made for Mixmag. It’s a great sampling of what his sound has evolved to in the past couple of years, and also contains some unreleased material. This is a shining example of all the different sounds we can expect to grow increasingly popular as dubstep continues to remain a dominant genre in the electronic dance music scene here in the states. We shall have to wait and see if the man is truly a prophet and if more producers carry this subgenre in a similar direction. Make sure to catch Bassnectar on tour this fall, and enjoy the mix!
Modeselektor & Ninjaman – Weed Wid da Macka (Bassnectar Bootleg)
Bassnectar – Vava Voom (ft. Lupe Fiasco) (Bassnectar Remix)
Check out our other article on our first Bassnectar experience in Boston here, and also make sure to follow him on Facebook & Twitter.
TRACK LIST AFTER JUMP!
“Here’s a few insane bangers which I decided to compile for my month long European Vacation! We will be hitting 13 festivals and club shows across 9 countries and this is a selection of dirty music which I hope you enjoy when you find yourself in a high-speed chase, or tightrope-walking between skyscrapers in a windy metropolis, or sumo-wrestling someone much larger than you…” – Bassnectar
Full tour schedule here: www.bassnectar.net
Tracklisting:
1. Si Begg – Intro
2. Random Rab – Beethoven’s Filth
3. Bassnectar – The Matrix ft D.U.S.T.
4. Modeselektor & Ninjaman – Weed Wid da Macka (Bassnectar Remix)
5. Metrik – Your World (Bassnectar Remix)
6. Bassnectar – Ugly ft Amp Live
7. Bill Posters & Deckscar – Face Off (Bassnectar Remix)
8. Bassnectar – Cozza Frenzy ft Seasunz (aca)
9. Bassnectar – Vava Voom ft Lupe Fiasco (Bassnectar Remix)
10. Run DMT – Sugarcube (Bassnectar Remixxx)