On May 11th, I attended Warehouse on Watts for an event hosted by the Submersion Festival Team — The Rust and Aspire Higher. A stacked lineup including JEWELSSEA, Inspect3r, Nvctve, VCTRE, and Resonant Language. An experimental bass show with techno/club influences from JEWELSSEA and Inspect3r (1/2 of Nic Baker). After a promising weekend at Tipper’s Rendezvous, artists hit the road for individually curated lineups. The future of bass music, glitch hop specifically?
You may have heard the rumors of Tipper’s retirement— leaving traces of anxiety, “where does the scene go from here?” If you’ve been paying attention, artists like Resonant Language are practicing their lineup curations, moving towards individual tastes and promoting upcoming artists. If anybody’s paid attention, we’ve seen Resonant Language melding the dopest sounds in bass music: Nvctve, Onyx Garden, Richard Devine, Ooga, Alejo, and Crawdad Sniper are notable inclusions.
In a recent instagram story from Mickman, he hints at the changing landscape of contemporary glitch hop, saying “This I think will probably be the last time that a lot of us play together on the same show. We all love each other, ya know, me Detox, Schmoop, Res Lang, the boys….We’re not trying to play the same shows, where you just see all of us… we’re all super inspired by each other….but this next year its going to look a little different for each of us. We’re all stoked and glad that we can switch it up. It’s gonna be good, its a big moment for all of us, kinda scary! Everything happens for a reason, everything’s poetic, so yeah, we’re gonna crush this Mission (Ballroom) show, and then I think we’re not going to play again for a while… Everything’s getting a bit same samey, even for me!”
While this may dishearten fans who’ve grown accustomed to the Tipper n Friends reunion sets, I believe the glitch hop scene is headed for the New Age. Artists with opportunities to explore their roots, curating individual lineups, handpicking talent. An opportunity to express themselves and give back to the community.
How many artists was Tipper responsible for creating, not just through inspiration but handpicking artists for festivals? Artists are following in fashion, following the godfather in giving back to the community.
JEWELSSEA, Philly’s rising techno star, opened the floor — providing contrast to the night’s plethora of distorted neuro. Premiering earlier in May, REAL LOVERS ONLY!!, JEWELSSEA’S two- track EP highlights soul and R&B vocals, including Johnny Gill’s “There U Go”. The project’s upbeat, warm, and inviting— featuring intricate kick drums and soundscapes reminiscent of early nineties club. JEWELSSEA was an interesting choice for the glitch crowd, a choice made by Resonant Language. “I think Pat (Resonant Language) reached into his own pocket for JEWELSSEA. Especially after her boiler room style set,” says Vide, local Philly producer and half of Nic Baker.
A success— the crowd maneuvered the dance floor early, as Warehouse on Watt’s is no stranger to techno, house, and UK garage. JEWELSSEA provides a charming, danceable energy emphasized by her own moves behind the decks. Looking for a night of grooving, vintage vibes, and an original perspective on dance music? Look no further. JEWELSSEA’S a treasure!
The transition from JEWELSSEA to local producer, Inspect3r, only made sense. Inspect3r, opposing half of bass techno alias Nic Baker, seized the decks for a combination of techno, neuro, UKG, drum and bass, the whole shebang. This was not my first Inspect3r set— a regular bookie of the rising Philadelphia bass scene, Inspect3r channels a versatile discography. Tracks like “No Chat/Kickin Hard” demonstrate a genre distorting ability, flipping dubstep into techno followed by experimental bass bangers from the Stuck In Motion EP. Insp3cter does it all, proven by crowd engagement time and time again, keeping you on the edge, changing tone on a whim, while staying true to his wide array of influences. Inspect3r’s about having a good time, a reflection of the party atmosphere curated during his sets. Have you caught a Nic Baker performance? What the hell are you doing? Highly recommend catching the Vide + Inspect3r combo for Baltimore club and techno-breakbeat inspired mayhem. We’re looking forward to the Submersion Festival appearance!
Nvctve stole the stage for a debut performance, shattering expectations with unique stances on halftime and dubstep. Nvctve’s mechanical, unpredictable, and experimental approach to bass production are authentic contributions to a genre saturated with similar sound design. Gaining the attention of Subtronic’s Cyclops Recordings, Nvctve isn’t shy to the spotlight, however this was a debut show, and honestly, you’d never have known! Dancing, smiling, amping the crowd, Nvctve demonstrated phenomenal stage presence — summoning halftime ballads from the Warp EP and Fester EP, drawing influence from COPYCATT and Frequent, cinematic and ferocious, while treating audiences to forthcoming masterpieces. The swift transitions from intrusive halftime-glitch to brain-blasting dubstep ‘tear out’ highlight the versatility of Nvctve. An insane set with the crowd in agreement, who reciprocated the artist’s excitement, raining Nvctve in dollar bills while shouting in triumph. Metallic, glitchy, intrusive with ambient overtones, Nvctve demands our attention! Highly recommend the 2024 Showcase Mix, a snippet of bass music’s promising future.
Who’s bass music’s rising superstar with the Midas touch? VCTRE, known also for his collaborative project INTEGRATE with Black Carl! followed a fierce performance from Nvctve; and after waiting six years VCTRE didn’t disappoint. Pack the blender with halftime heat, neuro basses, southern hospitality, and emotional progressions, and you may produce a VCTRE track. Easier said than done. “Ring Master” from the recent East Kings Point album exemplifies VCTRE’s ability to sweep listeners to the dance floor — never losing energy amongst progressing bass lines and thundering growls. VCTRE’s ability to punch aggressive tones while simultaneously exploring emotional landscapes separates his craftsmanship from other producers. VCTRE isn’t looking for cheap thrills, but he’s still having fun along the way! Consistently releasing fire, VCTRE’s arsenal of tracks seemed infinite, slinging predominately original tunes the entire night. Might be wrong, but swear some of the most thrilling tracks have yet to be released. Will be on the lookout from VCTRE, who’s playing his debut Red Rocks show soon!
After one of the most impressive bass music lineups, Resonant Language took the stage— casually conducting the splitting of atoms. I mean seriously, operating a particle collider with his impact on inter-dimensional space that night. Playing favorites like “Input Slope” and “Non-Scents” from the Input Slope EP, Resonant Language seized our attention by the throat, spiraling audiences through glitched and glurchy sound design, chaotic breakbeats, while infusing danceable rhythms to move the crowd, and boy were they moving. Fresh off Tipper’s Rendezvous Festival, Resonant Language rode the momentum of a sold out festival, delivering a perfected performance, weaving crowd favorites, intricate remixes, and unreleased teasers.
During a brief conversation, Resonant Language explained he’s been producing for sixteen years, roughly six to eight hours a day. Can you tell? His devotion to the music scene is noted, not just production skills and lineups, but spending the majority of the show observing performing artists and networking with fans. Even so much as hugging a stranger before preparing for his set.
Supporting Mickman’s comments on diversifying the glitch hop lineup, Resonant Language built an incredible show, each artist unique from the next, assisting the unveiling of the night. I’ll be the first to admit by hour three or four, “The music sounds the same”…. This is also coming from somebody who typically doesn’t listen to the same genre or sub-genre for more than an hour. When venues book similar sounding artists, there’s safety in the crowd reaction: Dubstep crowd loves dubstep, house loves house, glitch hop loves glitch hop, however, a powerful aspect of bass music is the multi-genre aspect, the blending. The larger bass music becomes, the less the sound’s confined to a specific genre. Bass house, psychedelic bass, glitch hop, halftime, techno… we’re beginning to see a dissolve of genre boundaries. Also who says a lineup has to stay unidimensional, confined to one sound?
I wrote in a previous essay, its only a matter of time before bass music, EDM in general, reaches new heights. Stadiums, beach parties, international festivals, the sphere, NYE Ball Drop. While city-wide raves are certainly appealing, a major aspect of the growing landscape revolves around small, independent communities. The counter argument to stadiums and arenas are creating an abundance of smaller, grassroots festivals. More festivals, more music. The scene can grow equally as large without compromising community to larger spectacles. However, I’d argue Bonnarroo is quite large and the vibes are quite high.
Using the Grateful Dead for reference given the scene similarities to Tipper n Friends, I’ve stumbled over a lesson related to Jerry Garcia. Toward the peak of the Grateful Dead, Garcia became oppositional toward success, emotionally revolting against the climb to stardom from the underground. An act of self destruction for the world to see. While Bob, Phil, Mickey, and Bill readied for sold out stadiums, endless touring, Jerry spent a lot of time getting loaded. A lifetime working toward musical success, sidelined by the impending reality.
With bass music on the precipice of mainstream success, its important to ready ourselves for the reaction, the influx of teens and college aged kids, the rampant drug abuse, the mainstream venues and stadiums. The loser-suit opportunists with money who don’t actually care about the music. It’s important to maintain the sanctity that maneuvered the scene into the mainstream, and more importantly to stick around even when it’s not the “cool underground thing” anymore.
The emergence of bass music runs parallel to the emergence of psychedelic substances. With the legalization and emergence of psychedelics, we simultaneously posses the growing technology to guide psychedelic sessions. Bass music, feeling, is an integral advancement to the multidimensional nature of music, no? Could you imagine the technology of The Sphere, Function One’s, Tipper, Android Jones, dr0id visuals, and clean LSD? The possibility for awakening? Or even a bass adjusted bed from the comfort of a guided psychedelic session or your own home?
I love bass music, not just for the music but the culture and close ties to psychedelia, rave counterculture, the soul, the planet, the reminders of interconnectedness. The vibrations. Are we going to risk losing the message of awakening, spirituality, peace, and love to the emerging mainstream? And are we willing to overcome our oppositional mentality that “good music exists only in the underground”?
My psychoanalyst saw Jimi Hendrix perform in a bar basement on a single amplifier for a crowd of twenty to fifty people. Could you imagine the state of music if Hendrix never escaped the underground, never played Woodstock (my analyst also atteneded) if he spent his life playing those same shows?
Would we even have psychedelic bass music?
Food for thought.
THE BADBOOB 