What started as an experiment merging youth culture and social action has turned into a multi-faceted, multi-faced project called Bassnectar. The brainchild of Lorin Ashton, it exists as an open-sourced musical project that is as diverse as it is heavy, as raw as it is meticulous, and as fierce as it is imaginative. Bassnectar combines sound and force with weight while spanning the spectrum of sonic style, covering every genre imaginable, and smashing it all into a collision of intense, wobbling bass lines, hypnotic soundscapes, and surreal melodies reflecting the sound of the world around him. He calls the end product “omnitempo maximalism,” which basically means no rules, no limitations, and no hesitation in fusing the familiar with the strange or the classic with cutting edge.
Whether remixing, collaborating, writing, DJing, performing live, or working on constant social networking, Bassnectar’s music is the lure and social impact is the very sincere intention. According to Ashton, “We are blessed and so deeply fortunate to be alive and awake right now. It is a basic truth, but it’s very powerful. I think privilege confers responsibility, and Bassnectar is a reflection of that opportunity to give back.” Since it’s inception, the Bassnectar project has grown to include millions of bassheads worldwide, spawning the creation of the Bass Network project inviting fans to participate in street teams, safety missions, and creative features for every show or festival event. Later on, long-time Bassnectar supporters collaborated to form the official Interactive Giving Fund foundation to inspire and promote charitable project like the Dollar per Basshead, Net Neutrality campaigns, Climate Change courses for high school students, and charity events supporting a variety of social justice movements.
Idealistic? Maybe. With endless music being concocted and pumped out of the labs by a growing legion of collaborators and bass scientists and with an ever-growing fan base of loyal bass freaks on the loose, this idealism became the basis for a new cultural bass movement. During the early years, the Bassnectar project harnessed new technologies to bypass corporate barriers and reach fans directly, creating new models adopted and adapted by many self-publishing artists today.
As producers and studios shut down, algorithmic playlists replaced music journalists and blogs, promoters and venues were consolidated, and social media became a weapon of misinformation, division, and hate, the pandemic of 2020 expedited a well-needed change in the industry. While healthy idealism and positive social justice helped build a new culture of music enthusiast, the tools used to foster it would ultimately be gamed to tear it apart. In 2001, an anonymous Instagram channel created in darkness posted false accusations against Ashton which would take a 3-year long court battle to prove to be a hoax. Legally prohibited from speaking in his defense in the Court of Public Opinion, the Bassnectar community shifted further underground… but the music never stopped.
In 2023, a team of renegade developers under the direction of Bassnectar’s creative director launched The Other Side, a unique, interactive platform unlocking a steady stream of mix sets, unreleased track previews, and new releases for hundreds of thousands of Bassnectar community members. The new collaborative medium empowered the release of the 17-track album, The Golden Rule, the episodic livestreamed video series “RELIVE,” a monthly podcast series featuring a variety of artists and performers, and daily community chats through the official discord. In 2024, Bassnectar released No Colors bringing back long-time collaborators Zion I and Seasunz, original featured in his breakout 2009 Cozza Frenzy release.
A decade ago, the internet was an escape from real life. Now, real life is an escape from the internet. As the legal court case draws to a close, early documents have entered the public forum providing proof of the fabrication of claims. Armed with the truth and hundreds of new sketches, remixes, throwbacks, and mix sets, he prepares once again to return to the stage and continue his life-long mission of inspiring positive change, promoting activism, and blasting bass bins across the the world.
Enthusiasm is contagious. Join us at The Other Side.
