Bassnectar & The Politics Of Rhythm
By: Billy Kenefick |
Monday October 31, 2005 |
| Lorin Ashton, aka Bassnectar, on the music industry: "I think for the music industry's sake I'd love to see some kind of musical format that was unable to be duplicated." |
| When I first got my assignment to cover the West-Coast producer/DJ/activist Lorin Ashton, aka "Bassnectar," the first thing I did was look him up on our reliable and constantly-growing internet friend Google. I found his website and poked around to learn more about him. I first noted that the site was visually pleasing with a psychedelic feel. Structurally, it was not much different from other band sites; there were links to a biography, pictures, news, audio, and contacts. But like most net surfers, I didn't want to scroll through biographies or click on links that would bring me to buy something at Amazon. I wanted to see some moving pictures.
It was when I clicked the "video" link that I understood what Bassnectar was all about. His video, self dubbed as a "shameless promo video," is a clear slice of the man in action. Blending performance art with throbbing, pulsating, and exacerbating bass, it was truly a wake up call to me in terms of Bassnectar's musical presence. I saw fire, colors, dancing, smoke, people, and pure energy. I heard bumps, screeches, squeals, thumps, and power. Together, the sights and sounds of Bassnectar's performance video melded into an impeccable and fierce fission of sound, lights, power, bass, and energy. I spoke to Bassnectar on the phone to figure out what was behind his latest effort, a solo-debut double disc entitled Mesmerize the Ultra, his message, and his music. After playing guitar and drums in various metal bands, Lorin Ashton, aka Bassnectar went to his first all-night dance party in 1995. He was immediately engrossed in the power, rhythm, and feel of electronic music. "Within a couple of weeks I was totally immersed in the scene, and a few weeks after that I was DJing and producing," he said. "I had been musical my whole life so I picked it up quickly." Mesmerize The Ultra is a debut double disc set of unreleased material, remixes, and revamped older material. The length and presentation reminded me of Pink Floyd's "The Wall," so I asked Lorin if he was attempting to make a concept album, or if there was a theme behind the work. "That's a funny question because the answer would be so broad and long winded if I were to really give it to you," Ashton said. "Essentially it's a 'meta' concept. The 'ultra' to me encapsulates everything; probably extreme doses of everything. Mesmerizing is one of my favorite states, like enchantment or full immersion. It's kind of a full immersion of an extreme dose of everything." Mesmerize The Ultra is definitely an immersion. Comprising thirty-five tracks of pure Bassnectar, spanning styles from hip-hop, drum and bass, trance, and funk induced electronica; this is an album for the long-time connoisseur just as much as it is for the new listener. I asked Bassnectar about his writing process for the album. "There are thirty five tracks and each one of them happened in a different way. Some of them are tracks where, for example, I would have an old death metal track from one of my bands from high school and the riff would come into my head and I'd think 'You know what, that would actually make a great bassline.' I also have a lot of songs that I hear in dreams when I'm sleeping and I'll wake up or I'll be walking around and I'll get something in my head and I'll call my voicemail." "One time I was in London and I was humming this riff and they had this weird cash register in this shop and it made this noise that was perfectly harmonized, and it was right on time with what I was humming. I called up my voicemail and hummed that in." "One of the songs, "Dubuasca" was made with Michael Kang of The String Cheese Incident, a big bluegrass band. We took vocals from his Iowasca guide in Peru and chopped it up and put mandolin and violin over it. We took an hour and a half of Iowasca chants and his instruments and recorded it in, and I filled in some beats later." Songs in dreams, Peruvian chants...Bassnectar is has no prejudice when it comes to inspiration. Perhaps that is why he has put together quite an ensemble of guest artists and remixes on the album. Remixes from STS9, KRS One, Dorfex Bos, and Freq Nasty paired with collaborations with the aforementioned Michael Kang of The String Cheese Incident and Buckethead show the versatility of Bassnectar. Not only does he truly search the sound spectrum to create something new, he also takes the works of his peers and adds his own flavor. Bassnectar's musical influences are as diverse as his collaborations and remixes. "I'm definitely influenced by the modern sounds that I hear, but my heart is sort of centered around folk music, classical music, rock music...I love The Cure, I love Simon and Garfunkel. I love N.W.A. I love all kinds of death metal and black metal from Norway." "I think music for me is on a much more energetic level. The energy, in terms of the way it makes me feel, is like a profound and sweeping vastness that I can't really articulate." "Modern day I love Mr. Oizo, I love Tipper, Freq Nasty, Black Eyed Peas...I'm really getting into dancehall - not so much the music as the vocals. I like putting them over hip-hop. I'm really into cutting up vocals and using them as an instrument." Politics is something that compulsively becomes a part of Bassnectar's music and message. "I think about global hierarchies and I think about capitalism quite a lot. I think about the realms of injustice that are affected by our own concerns of preserving our lifestyle. It is what I'm always thinking about and where my emotions are usually tied up, either through frustration or inspiration." Some album tracks have very clear messages about society. Listening to the album, I couldn't help but notice the presence of acclaimed linguist Noam Chomsky on the intro of disc two, speaking about the importance of recognizing and defending personal freedom and rights. There is also a song called "Inspire the Empathic" which is spoken word about media issues, imbalance in the media, and the effect on America. "'Inspire the Empathetic' is a follow up to an older song called 'Swallow the Apathetic,' which was an angry, brooding song that featured Noam Chomsky. I was just frustrated with how uninvolved people are, especially people who have power and potential. 'Inspire the Empathic' was more to inspire people and to push forward." "I totally have a clear intention of pushing political consciousness through any kind of medium to which I have access. I identify myself as more of a thinker and someone that participates in life way more than a DJ or a producer. I don't know if I'll be making music in ten years, or writing books, making movies, or mowed down by police [laughs]." In regard to the music industry, Bassnectar has some changes to suggest. "I think for the music industry's sake I'd love to see some kind of musical format that was unable to be duplicated," he said. "I would also take away the censorship from Clear Channel and similar companies that have raped music of its force, individuality, and uniqueness. That would benefit up-and coming sounds, and make it easier for those artists to support themselves." I asked him about his sound, and other new artists in a similar vein. "There is definitely a West Coast sonic movement that is pretty particular to the area. It's influencing LA and the whole West Coast. Our heroes come over from London and sometimes they have trouble understanding it. It's about a hip-hop tempo with breakbeat production, huge bass, and all kinds of electronic tricks, but also containing more melody and sonic experience for listeners. Along with myself there is Kraddy, Rab, Sayr, and Lux." As for the future, Bassnectar said that he would like to work with some more MC's, specifically people with "lots of vocal power." Bassnectar advised all up-and-coming and young musicians that "Anything is possible, but not everything is possible. Choose your direction wisely. Once you feel you have gone far enough, pick a different direction to go in." |
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