Wednesday, 17 March 2010 05:38

Is there a more evocative name in all of electronic dance music than Bassnectar? Lorin Ashton’s handle makes plain what we knew all along: bass is like manna from heaven, a life force, and every time he takes the stage, he invites us to drink deeply from it.

Since 2002, the Bay Area musician has been refining his brand of bass music on records for OM Records, Child’s Play, and his own Amorphous Music. But to really partake of his low-frequency communion, you’ve gotta see Bassnecar live, where he mixes together elements of hip-hop, drum & bass, breaks, dubstep, dancehall, and more into a throbbing wall of sound. It’s an adrenaline overdose with political overtones, a celebration of independence and grassroots action soundtracked by a sound that’s irreducible to any one genre.

With his new record ‘Timestretch’ just out, and about to kick off his spring tour, Lorin gave us the low-down on the cuts that his crowds are drinking up like, well, nectar from the gods—the gods of bass, that is. Read on as he explains exactly what kind of damage his Weekend Weapons can wreak.

Azzido Da Bass ‘Doom’s Night (Timo Maas Remix)’ [Vendetta]

 

 

Hysterically classic intro, big drop… I edited a dubstep-style pattern to the beats, and it makes a great starting point for that tempo range.

 

Bassnectar ‘Cozza Frenzy (Mega Bass Remix)’ [Child’s Play]

 

 

The intro is heavy and feels all uptempo and fast, great to add energy to a mix, and then the big halftime slide bassdrop…. Shop = wrecked.
Take the instrumental, loop an acapella over it, and add B-more style bassline stuff to the breakdown in the middle, and that second bassdrop has a big payoff.

 

Zen ‘Your Shout ft. Killabeats & Gry’
[Grid]

 

 

I love this song!!! Another sample offset pattern I did where the beats are basically playing “halftime” at 87 BPM, but everything is moving so fast and powerfully that it just feels like a constant eruption.

 

Bassnectar ‘Teleport Massive (Bassnectar Remix)’ [Child’s Play]

 

 

The booty-style 808s work great to psyche out an audience, and I had to take 17 shameless pills before I was ready to sign off on letting myself keep that buildup in there. It is so shameless. but FAHHHHHK it works.

 

Sub Focus ‘Splash’ 
[RAM]

 

 

I take the buildup of this, and a loop of the peak moment of freakout, and rinse it with heavy bassloops at 87 BPM. It sounds like you are dying and being carried away by angels.

 

Slugabed ‘Slugabed Sez’

 

I harvested an instrumental from his insane beats, and it is the perfect building freakout at 100 BPM for any hip-hop acapella.

6Blocc ‘Jeep Music’ [Digital 6]

 

I had to take the vocals out, but that beat is INSANELY deep. The intro is perfect coming out of any melodic part of almost any song, and the big pausing stalls with bass dives create crazy tension. Plus it is so stripped back, I play a bit of it in reverse, Beastie Boys style, and it works great.

Bassnectar & Jantsen ‘Blast Off’ [Amorphous]

 

Totally walls to the ball cross-eyed lazer bass fiasco, with a heavily-swung b-section in the middle, lots of big countdowns and stuff, makes it easy for people to catch on and anticipate the explosion.

Source: beatportal