Nov. 27, 2007 - Issue #632: Bitchslap!
Ashton mixes up a sweet Bassnectar
Anybody who defines themselves as a fan of Bassnectar (aka Lorin Ashton) knows this. To be around his brand of beat blending somehow requires more than just dancing feet, and he surpasses easy labels. Yeah, I know; descriptions like “genre-defying” are a dime a dozen in music these days. It’s a shame really, because there are electronic artists out there who simply can’t fit under the blanket “DJ” moniker.
“There is so much stigma that goes along with the concept of DJs and DJing,” Ashton says. “Since I don't identify with so much of that stigma personally, and I think a lot of people's opinion of and idea of DJing is pretty limited, negative and specific, I really feel a decreased level of enthusiasm for being considered a DJ.”
Growing up in the Silicon Valley, Ashton began his musical journey through an adolescent love of death metal. He got turned onto the electronic side of things after he went to his first rave in the mid-’90s. It may sound like a strange combo, but it isn’t hard to hear the influence his first love has on a lot of his production. Fierce beats play off of crunchy guitar distortions and meld with vocals of all kinds—from rap to samples of Noam Chomsky.
It’s all about moving—in many senses of the word.
“I appreciate the creative license I receive from many audiences ... freedom to explore,” he explains. “And I also feel committed to developing an acuteness of reality as opposed to an escape from it.” We’re offered so many modes of escape, after all, and Ashton is outspoken about our collective apathy, speaking out about things like access to unbiased information and Net neutrality.
“As I’ve said before, North American culture is sedated and lazy. We have been bought off by gizmos and a lifestyle that rewards us for sitting down and shutting up. So many hassles are waiting to befall those that stand up and protest—simple things like bad credit, fines, long hold times, just bogus corporate bullshit—and so many rewards await those who go with the flow—fancy iPhones and cars and gaming systems and TVs and trendy clothes ... even free leisure time, or entertainment like dancing and parties and nightclubs,” he says. “All these things keep the citizenry of a culture sedated, and content enough to not rise up and protest atrocities like torture, genocide, war, treason, mass deceit, theft of the national treasury, etc.”
Don’t worry, though. I doubt we’ll ever see a middle-aged Ashton in rock-star glasses sitting down with heads of state. He seems to thrive on unearthing subterranean beats, and if the strong following he’s developed is any indication, folks are willing to venture out and expect more from their beat blenders and, perhaps, themselves. V
Sat, Dec 1 (9 pm)
Bassnectar
with Degree and Shamik, Arlen,
The Protege vs Siriusly Twisted,
Greg St Onge, Dane Party,
Cobra Commander
Starlite Room, $20 (advance), $26 (door)
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