"Remix freak Lorin Ashton has perfected a unique blend of heavy breakbeat and sci-fi atmospherics" - Future Music Magazine
"A kaleidoscopically brilliant funk conception. Very highly recommended" - All Music Guide
"Tempo shifting bass nastiness and glitchy synth action in full effect on this release. Huge!"
- B-Side / URB Magazine
For More Information on Bassnectar please contact Gunnar Hissam at Om Records
Influences
I admit that my whole life was completely changed by Nirvana and Metallica. I loved Smells Like Teen Spirit and I wasnt even a teen yet...i just loved the raw energy. One time i read an interview with James Hetfield of Metallica, and when asked who his influences were, he gave the nod to a list of bands i either hated or had never heard of (except Black Sabbath), and i remember being shocked, becuase i naively thought his influences would be Megadeth, Slayer, Pantera, etc....give me a break, i was like 13 or something.
The point is, my influences are not necessarily how i sound, and they include everything from NWA to Simon & Garfunkel to The Cure to The Field Of Dreams Soundtrack to Sibilant & Metal Spark to Cannibal Corpse, Exhumed & Emperor to My Dying Bride to FreQ Nasty, Tipper, Ed Rush & Optical, to Frank Zappa to The Who to Boards Of Canada to REM to Salt N Peppa to Run DMC to Led Zeppelin to Grave to Disembowelment to Beethoven & Mozart to Mr Oizo, Mr Scruff, Mr Rogers, Mr Si Begg, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Mr Mayagi, to loma prieta earthquakes to native american flute music and the soft humming of my mother. I guess Bassnectar is an amalgamation of every sound i've ever heard, mixed with ultra wicked basslines...
Sounds Like
breakbeat, drum n bass, trip hop, glitch hop, hip hop, hop scotch, whisky, wanderlust, parody, gangsta rap, 60's devotional space rock, dancehall, ragga, balkan, gypsy, polka, death metal, christian rock, folk music, bellydance, elbo dance, happenstance, handstand, bouce, lunge, wiggle, pump, fake, pass, mix into nightmares, daydreams, laughter, panic, disruption, eruption, conviction, commitment, dedication, spaciness, softness, gentleness, raw grinding booooommmm shaka laka and an eclectic obsession with endlessness & The End.
Having remixed or collaborated with the likes of KRS One, Heavyweight Dub Champion, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Buckethead, The String Cheese Incident, Saul Williams, Noam Chomsky, Cheb I Sabbah, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Crash Berlin, Landslide, and Perry Farrell, as well as having released records on OM Records, Virgin, 6 Degree, Functional Breaks, Ceiba, Groundwork (Starbucks) and Kool Keiths Sync Recordings, the Bassnectar sound has benefited from a wide scope of exposure, and evolved from cutting edge dance music to where it exists today: a mutant mash-up of multiple styles and genres.
NEW VIDEO - BOMB THE BLOCKS
Arrival - Bassnectar Remix of Heavyweight Dub Champion feat. KRS One, Apostle, & Stereo Lion
live at DNA . SF . 07
"UNDERGROUND COMMUNICATION" :: THE NEW ARTIST ALBUM COMING SPRING 2007 ON OM RECORDS
There are 365 nights a year, and on roughly 1/3 of them, somewhere across
North America, you will find a modern day social mosh pit of head-nodders
& head-bangers, freaks & ex-ravers, hippies & hipsters, dub reggae heads,
artists, fashion experimentalists, social activists, and hip-hop
enthusiasts; all packed into one steamy room of grinding, orgiastic
expression and musical experimentation known as a bass ritual; or more
precisely, a night with Bassnectar.
Playing at over one-hundred and fifty shows a year; to thousands of different people a month; from sold-out theatres to national festivals, from crowded clubs and warehouses to tight and tiny bars and venues; Bassnectar's enormous popularity reflects the current hunger for raw substance in modern music and a desire for social integrity inside the party scene.
After more than a decade of full-time involvement in the underground electronic music scene, 2005 saw the debutof Bassnectar’s double-disc collection entitled "Mesmerizing The Ultra," a journey through next-level musical mutations, dreamy dubtempo, massive bass lines, heavy sledgehammer beats, head-nodding hip-hop, and a wild assortment of unlikely collaborations; remixing and producing with such artists as the enigmatic and mysterious Buckethead, the jam band super group Sound Tribe Sector 9, cult bluegrass rock star Michael Kang (String Cheese Incident), roots musical activists like Michael Franti (Spearhead), Heavyweight Dub Champion and KRS One, and dubstep/breakbeat pioneer FreQ Nasty. Both critically acclaimed and voraciously consumed, the record helped define the current sound of the West Coast Underground.
On the new album "Underground Communication", Bassnectar takes another step forward in his genre-bending blend of musical styles and emotions, combining the visceral melodic presence of modern listening music, with the force and volume of sound system dance floor devastation. Whereas the previous record featured collaborations with musicians and bands, the new record is more of an exploration of hip-hop, featuring scores of MCs and rhythmic poetics mashed atop a heavy, driving range of tempo and, of course, those signature throbbing bass lines. Rooted firmly in political conviction, philosophical intention and backed by a rabid fan base and dedicated following, “Underground Communication” sets a new standard for the possibilities of merging music, art, new media and social activism.
Speaking on the meaning behind the title of the album, Bassnectar explains
"It centers on the concepts of indie media, the strength of underground
networking, social activism and defiance through music, hip hop, and the
internet." Judging from his enormous following without any commercial radio
play, media push, or licensing product placement hype, the title fits
perfectly, and comes at a time when issues of net neutrality, corporate
media, and privatization of radio and news outlets couldn’t be more crucial.
Already gaining critical acclaim from tastemakers at URB, FLAVORPILL, and
BPM along with winning local Nitevibe.com, SF Weekly and SF Bay Guardian
honors for San Francisco's "Best DJ" and forging new paths within the
Burning Man scene, the jam band scene, as well as underground hip hop
circles and all styles of emerging electronic music, the Bassnectar concept
is constantly expanding and redefining itself.
New singles entitled "Yo" featuring Spanish rapper KristinaMaria and "Bomb
The Blocks" featuring underground queen MC Persia on Om Records 12" vinyl
with remixes by Princess Superstar, Amp Live (Zion I), Speaker Junk,
Ghislain Poirier, Daz I Kue (Bugz in the Attic) and Magik Johnson are out
now.
For More Information on Bassnectar please contact Gunnar Hissam at Om Records
yo so i js heard what u opened up with @ soco music fest.. that shit is STRAIT UP deep dirty goodness. keep that up! i also like it when you chop shit up. yr stage dancers r shredding it HARD haha
ohhh yeah my man!... i hope your ready for rothbury.... well, i hope rothbury is ready for yoU! hahah i'm so stoked to dance the cosmic dance with you my great dear brother!.... you are amazing and i love your skillz and whomps... you are. bassnectar. thank you so much .. peace n illumination..
Yo! Nectar! You killed it. Not once but twice in one day. Now that's basstastic!!! Give thanx. It was hectic but a great experience. I'd be happy to do it again. Oh yeah, here's your pic. "Hands in the everybody"
ok you officially blew my mind.. twice in one day..... my birthday is monday, and i am now satisfied because of u.. thank you dear lorin... I again am pleased... wish we could have met.. but i was just a sweaty mess.... til the next time.... till we meet again,,
Wish I could be gettin down to that basstastic sound with you tonight in Denver. I know you will bring down the house. See you at Red Rcoks! I think I'm just as stoked as you :)
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