Bassnectar - October 13, 2007
For the last decade, Lorin Ashton has helped develop the North American underground dance music scene. From touring full time as a DJ (an average of 125 shows per year), to his production & remixing under the alias Bassnectar, he has ammassed a dedicated fan base, crossing over from hip hop to electronica to breakbeat to ragga/dub to the jam band scene and the greater Burningman scene.

In 2005, Lorin released the first full length Bassnectar CD, Mesmerizing The Ultra, a double album debut on Organic / Amorphous Music, available through Fontana distribution, a division of Universal Music and Video Distribution. Having remixed or collaborated with the likes of, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Buckethead, Michael Kang (The String Cheese Incident), FreQ Nasty, Saul Williams, Noam Chomsky, Cheb I Sabbah, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Crash Berlin, Landslide, Heavyweight Dub Champion & KRS One, and Perry Farrell, the Bassnectar sound has benefited from a wide lense of exposure, and evolved from cutting edge dance music to where it exists today: a mutant mash-up of multiple styles and genres.

Imagine the heaving basslines of Drum ‘n’ Bass and Breakbeat (think Dieselboy, Freestylers, Tipper, Aphrodite), the massive beats of old school Hip Hop (think PublicEnemy, Beastie Boys, Run DMC), glitchy tones and sonic tricks of modern Electronica/IDM (think Prefuse 73, Plaid, Pest, Underworld, Aphex Twin) all mashed up with hip hop lyrics, cut-up dancehall/ragga vocals, samples of political speeches (from activists like Noam Chomsky, Mumia Abu Jamal, Michael Ruppert, Michael Franti, Martin Luther King, etc) and pumped through a variety of tempos. The new Bassnectar music is an exotic blend of both the listening experience and the dance experience. As a DJ he has achieved enormous success. Rated “Best Of The Bay 2005" by the SF Bay Guardian, and Number 1 in Nitevibe.com’s recent DJ Dreamteam contest, he is constantly booked 3-4 months in advance, on a regular tour schedule, playing to thousands of different people a month. From sold out festivals to overcrowded clubs and warehouses to tight and tiny bars and venues; his following continues to grow due to his unique charisma and a cutting-edge futuristic spin on electronic music.

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