Bassnectar

If you haven’t heard of Bassnectar, you probably don’t even know what Summer Set Music Festival – or any other music festival – is about. Simply put, Bassnectar a.k.a. Lorin Ashton of Santa Cruz, California, is a force to be reckoned with. The veteran bass producer has been touring the underground music world since the late ‘90’s, and recently released Noise Vs. Beauty, his 10th album. Wherever he goes, tens of thousands of devoted fans follow to have his signature style of bass music resonate throughout their bodies. I’ve only seen Bassnectar in person a couple times in my life, and each time was a breathtaking spectacle of human expression. It is an entire community of individuals collectively jumping together only to break into their own form of dance. They will simultaneously launch more glow sticks in the air than any human has ever seen in their life.

The fans have dubbed themselves Bass Heads, and last year they bought 250,000 tickets, and that’s not including the music festivals he headlined. The reason Bassnectar commands so many devoted fans is not just the music, or the concerts, or the glowsticks – it’s because he represents a different side of EDM culture. While many big DJ’s get caught up in the fame and ego of mainstream popularity, Bassnectar makes an overt attempt to avoid the ego trip. When asked about EDM, he replies “It’s a conversation I would prefer to be on the outside of. I think that commercialized mainstream culture is more of the problem”. He symbolizes the anti-mainstream underground youth. It’s a group of people I feel a strong connection with, and a group that dances their asses off better than any other.

Figure

Throughout all of my experiences in the EDM world, I have never witnessed anyone drive more energy into a crowd than Figure. Josh Gard started producing hard electronic music under the pseudonym Figure in 2009, and by 2011 his name was synonymous with Halloween dance parties. His Monsters albums blend custom designed massive synths and horror movie sampling to create a unique style of hard dance music that you know is Figure when you hear it. His production talent is immense, and so are his mixing abilities. Whether it’s 3 AM or 4 PM, when Figure gets on the mixer the crowd goes insane. Like, totally insane. Last year at the Grove stage, the back half of the crowd was relatively still for almost every performer. Within 5 minutes of Figure taking the stage at 6:30 PM, I couldn’t see a single person who wasn’t moving, and the party never stopped as he flawlessly transitioned between his original productions. If you’re trying to dance until you can’t dance anymore, Figure is who you have to see.

RL Grime

RL Grime a.k.a. Henry Steinway a.k.a. Clockwork quickly became a major player in the trap music scene since his remix of Satisfaction by Benny Benassi, and each track he has produced has changed the game. His original Tell Me was the trap song of the summer, and was heard in nearly every trap mix for months. Tell Me was unique in that it didn’t follow the typical layout of trap production – it was melodic, intense, and emotional all blended into one. And when it comes to excellent production work, the list goes on. His remix of Love Sosa by Chief Keef dominated the dance floor. He teamed up with Baauer to produce Infinite Dabs, another favorite of trap DJ’s around the world. But what I’m truly excited for is to hear the tracks off of his new album, rumored to be titled Void. Core is the first track to be released, and it is, as always, a game changer. Once again, RL Grime steps away from traditional trap standards, with the main focus of Core being a dark, eastern vocal melody which lacks any words, and a break proclaiming, “who do the shit that I do.” No one does the shit you do RL Grime, that’s for sure.

Chromeo

I’ve never seen Chromeo, but I’m a big fan of their productions since I heard “Needy Girl” nearly a decade ago. The electro pop duo consists of David Macklovitch and Patrick Gemayel, and has been around since 2002, self dubbed the “the only successful Arab/Jewish partnership since the dawn of human culture.” The main reason I’m looking forward to finally seeing Chromeo is that they perform and improvise their tracks live instead of merely providing a DJ set for their audience. From all of the Youtube videos I have seen, it’s clear that Gemayel is an amazing synth player, and Macklovitch is always on point with his vocals and guitar playing. I’m looking forward to hearing some good new material as well, with their new album White Woman released in May of this year.

Cherub

Cherub, the duo consisting of Jordan Kelley and Jason Huber, is that daytime feel good music that everyone can enjoy. They began their project in 2010 and have produced 4 albums since, and in 2014 their single “Doses And Mimosas” hit top Billboard and Hype Machine charts. Breaking away from the traditional DJ performance, Cherub gives its audience a unique live experience, combining instrumentation, sampling, vocals, and enjoyable crowd engagement. When you see them, you know that their stage presence is authentic, and their music comes from the heart. Their genuineness is expressed in between songs as well, with some of my favorite moments of their performances being the conversations with the audience. As a stereotypical Cherub fan, it’s always a wonderful moment to sing, “to all the bitch ass hoes that hate me the most, oh yeah I hate you too” with a crowd of smiling faces. I’ve listened to “Doses And Mimosas” at least a couple hundred times, but it’s always a pleasure hearing them perform it, because they’ll always add some new unique touch, and there I am smiling once again. With the new album Year Of The Caprese released on Columbia Records in May of this year, I am excited to hear a great collection of new material at Summer Set Music Festival this weekend!

Written and curated by: Kelsey Koenig and Keith Garnant

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