Reflections on the anniversary of Bicycle Day and 4/20.
Taking a trip through psychedelic bass history, I utilized my tax return, attending three Philadelphia electronic music shows. TRUTH, headlined The Ave on Friday, The Aspire Higher and The Rust (The Submersion Festival team) spotlighted Kursa for a stacked glitch hop lineup, and tackled the underground on Wednesday for the Verge 23 held by The Universal Emotion. Catching a glimpse of Philadelphia bass, I accidentally reincarnated my live electronic music journey. UK dubstep and brostep, experimental beats, glitchhop and neurohop, to the underground —the genesis.
No shortage of bass, might not be Denver —bass music capital, but we’re brewing.
The Ave, home to Unlocked Presents, longtime curators of bass music in Philadelphia, consistently house the largest names in electronic music. TRUTH, Digital Ethos, Wraz, and Spector illuminate UK dub, one-forty beats per minute — the signature sound behind TRUTH’s label: Deep Dark & Dangerous. With sound-system culture providing roots in Jamaican dub and UK dubstep, TRUTH seemed a worthy start to bass music history, especially for his 4/20 midnight set.
Upon doors, crowds stormed the venue, the signature Deep Dark & Dangerous purple octopus plastered Jerseys, bucket caps, fanny packs, the signature artist merchandise in bass music, primarily TRUTH’s since the fallout of Bassnectar.
The night was heavy with wubs, dub, but in particular Digital Ethos.
While no stranger to Digital Ethos, I’ve missed his sets since 2017’s High Caliber and SubOctave Festival. The result?
Mind-blowing bass, complex sound design and kick-ass arrangement — a set punctuated from your typical dub. During early exploration into bass music, I enjoyed artists like Bleep Bloop and G Jones, artists communicating dark emotions with cinematic fashion. Thundering bass, ominous and lingering — contrasted by tension and story building. Feels like a trip, a wormhole into the artist’s subconscious.
The hero’s journey.
Recent REZZ collaboration “CUT ME OUT” and original “FLIP THE TRACK” highlight Digital Ethos’ potential as a forerunner in bass music.
Maybe I’m a sucker for hip hop percussion, insanely distorted bass lines, and a mature, refreshing take on bass music. Digital Ethos draws inspirations from the crisp production of Ivy Lab to the destructive, cinematic soundscapes of Noer The Boy.
The cherry on top?
Whoever’s working sound at The Ave deserves a round of applause.
The subwoofers blew the crowd off their feet, literally. A perk of stationing your venue on Columbus Blvd: low frequencies, noise complaints? Who cares. Thanks for giving Digital Ethos a hometown performance. A powerful set to remember.
Digital Ethos coming to a city near you? Highly recommend catching a set, especially if you’re interested in heavier, headier tunes. His production skills are pronounced by the illusiveness of his lineups: REZZ, EAZYBAKED, SHLUMP, PEEKABOO, Dirtmonkey, his originality is spotlighted by his ability to accommodate any lineup.
Also shout out Spector, who brought an impressive energy, especially after his six hour car ride, fusing elements of deep dub, riddim, and tearout. Igniting the stage with a sonically-destructive open, successfully ushering crowds for Wraz, who made his promising Philadelphia debut – a soulful performance of one-forty bangers and saturated wubs.
Bathing in bass, crowds of all ages, ethnicities, shapes, and sizes took to the floor. Bass doesn’t discriminate, especially at Philadephia’s designated electronic club, The Ave.
The next show? Goosebumps: Kursa, Duffrey, Smigonaut, Chez, and Sky.Lab, weekends before Tipper’s Rendezvous at Spirit of Suwannee Music Park. The anticipation before Rendezvous provided opportunities for artists like Smigonaut and Chez to foreshadow their upcoming performances, Smigonaut who gave Rendezvous a debut performance, and Chez who hosted underground after parties alongside producer Sqonk, fellow member of Charity Sound System.
However, if I’m being completely honest, I realized my knowledge of glitch hop was one dimensional. Personally, I’m drawn to dark, textural, atmospheric, punishing bass. I found bass music thanks to artists like Midnight Tyrannosaurs, Getter, Tsuruda, Noer The Boy, Woolymammoth, G Jones, Bleep Bloop, Chee, Slug Wife, PROKO, Woulg, Mad Zach, Mickman, Leet, Hullabalo0, NEWSENSEi, SHADES, Little Snake, and even The Haxan Cloak. While I discovered Tipper’s Forward Escape around 2014/2015, my playlists with Duffrey, Dillard, or Somatoast remain largely untouched.
I’m drawn to noises which express anger, a synchronization with my intuitive brain, constantly in contact with dark vibrations. Inspirations like Slipknot, TOOL, Korn, System of a Down, Death Grips, Metallica, Slayer, Black Flag, $UICIDEBOY$, and XXXTENTACION were surprisingly healing, even calming. A controlled chaos.
Its not that I don’t appreciate or listen to downtempo or ‘chill’ music, I just find a natural affinity toward the dark and abrasive. This is coming from somebody who listens to the Grateful Dead for weeks straight, however, I’d argue I enjoy the ethos of rock n roll, the devil’s music.
Who doesn’t enjoy a good jam?
The Submersion Festival team, Aspire Higher and The Rust, served free pizza for early arrivals, drawing crowds for Face Plant’s new project, Sky.Lab — a combination of surreal, ambient soundscapes, closing with intricate neuro-bass. One of the more unique sets, demonstrating a contrast in tempo, taking risks with ambient storytelling, contrasting a heavy lineup while simultaneously debuting a brand new project.
Chez followed with attention on crowd control, warming the audience with upbeat bangers, slinging remixes, and pushing smiles while performing tracks from the Mr. Nibbles EP, a sludgy exposure to the realm of distorted funk. Opening for names like Mr. Bill, Cool Customer, and Spoonbill; keep an eye out for Chez, who’s performing at Infrasound Music Festival this year.
The sheer variety of glitch hop is notable, from the hilarious remixes of Chez to the serious symphonies of Kursa, the genre has a spot for everybody, especially on the same lineup. Smigonaut demonstrated a variety of brilliant soundscapes, debuting a new groove with Philly’s own Zone Drums, hammering the audience with a combination of funky, introspective wonder. His latest project, “Abyss of Bliss” exemplifies versatility and production cleanliness, drawing ambient, drum and bass, and competitive glitch hop sound design. Smigonaut dances the line between groove, distortion, and transcendence, turning the keys in the ignition and launching the audience on a whim. Keeping the crowd on their toes, Smigonaut demonstrated why he took the stage at Rendezvous. Well deserved!
Duffrey stole the show with complex rhythms, euphoric builds, and inviting jazzy sound design featured from his latest EP “Legend of the Alley Cat”. ‘Welcoming’ is a word best to describe the sound of Duffrey. An innovator in bass music, Duffrey’s discography stretches twelve years on Soundcloud, fusing glitch hop, neurohop, and particularly drum and bass on his 2022 project “Shred the Infinite”.
Duffrey’s brilliant grooves, eargasmic engineering, and on-stage chill provide a beckoning experience for new listeners and veterans. Accessible, I’d consider introducing Duffrey to my non-EDM listening, jazz loving father. There’s something undeniably cool about the music of Duffrey, a conduit for the sounds of Miles Davis, Charlie Parker. From the laidback positivity of Honeysuckling to the spine-tingling glitch of Shred The Infinite, Duffrey’s crafted a unique vision of bass music.
Finishing the night with Kursa, I was reminded why I decided to produce electronic music. Kursa’s music is badass. A realization when he dropped Crushed from his Rain Legs EP. There’s no other way to describe the sheer power, force, and influence Kursa’s music has on the bass scene. The soundtrack to intergalactic warfare, sun death supernovas, underground uprisings, deep consciousness exploration. Proof? Check out Kursa’s new single with Philadelphia’s own Alicia Kiah featured on the violin. My kind of music, harsh, abrasive, yet sonically composed to perfection — the contrast of beautiful melodies, dark themes, and dubstep influence. Kursa, a pioneer of neurohop (subgenre of glitch hop, known for neuro bass, dark atmospheres, and hip hop/halftime tempos), is infinitely evolving, crystallizing solid production, and a master of any genre. Recently departing from bass supergroup K.L.O and record label Slug Wife, Kursa’s exploring new freedoms, possibly shifting the spotlight from the collective to the individual, while simultaneously launching “Plant Industry” a new label designated for collaborations under the Kursa alias, according to Riverbeats.life. While this bass-breakup may dishearten fans, I’d argue the proof’s in his discography. A subscription to Kursa’s Bandcamp is all the evidence to know this man’s on a mission with no end in sight. Amassing over one hundred and twenty projects,
I say, Let him cook.
A beautiful night from the Submersion team transitioned perfectly to Wednesday’s underground event, The Universal Emotion: The Verge 23. Traveling from Kursa’s crowded upstairs performance at Warehouse on Watts, to the tinier downstairs stage, crowds skimmed for an emerging underground experience.
Recently moving to Warehouse on Watts from Northern Liberties’ Kung Fu Necktie, The Universal Emotion is mounting success. This is attributed to show runner Joe Koidl, visual artist Tyme, and the Universal Emotion resident artists and crew.
New Jersey native Joe Koidl, DJ alias: Avrge Joe, founded The Universal Emotion during the COVID pandemic, live streaming bass music on twitch with artists like Mindwalker, Oni, Mindality, and Deez. Discovering a niche during the pandemic, Joe and collaborators continued hosting livestreams, eventually easing into “hybrid” (in-person/live stream) performances in late 2021, before bursting onto the scene after the pandemic’s conclusion.
With a stacked underground lineup including Tygris, Bandito Jones, and STARFOX, The Universal Emotion is ready to prove their contribution to the scene. Local DJs, musicians, and artists were all in attendance, DRO1D visuals, FREQ, Anumati, Wessanders, Inspect3r, photographer Kyle Ryan, and many more.
Only the Universal Emotion’s second event at Warehouse on Watts, and judging by the turnout, vibes are high.
Tygris (The Rust) demonstrated superb scratching abilities, incorporating elements of glitch hop over forward-thinking beats and kinetic drum and bass. Original while portraying extreme technical skill, Tygris resurrects the forgotten art of vinyl, blending elements of Tipper style distortions and nostalgic psychedelic soundscapes. His recent release, Shadow Box EP, demonstrates an ability to occupy the dance floor. However, the trick with Tygris is catching a live set — intuitive, in the moment, live scratching is priceless. With so much electronic music pre-rehearsed and scripted, Tygris is a breath of fresh air.
Bandito Jones displayed proficiency in reggaeton-dub influenced beats. Wailing reverbs, guitar samples, boom bap drums, funky and invigorating, with a summertime aura. “Ive been producing around ten years,” he said, “starts out as beep boop noises and eventually you find your way.” Words of advice for any new producers, myself included.
If you stumble across his 2024 Rendezvous Headnod mix, you’ll find yourself immersed in the funk-inspired, charismatic mindset of Bandito Jones, highly recommend, especially with summer on our doorstep. Did you grow up listening to Bob Marley, reggae, dub or UK dubstep? Bandito Jones is the next logical step.
The headliner, STARFOX, tripped audience members into a portal of deep neuro basses, jazzy exaltation, flexing mind melting brass on the dance floor. Blessed to experience favorites from his masterpiece The Nexus LP: Wub Potion Number 9, Open The Portal, and Welcome To Existence. STARFOX contrasts ethereal neuro and mind melting FX with the aid of his trumpet and saxophone, casting shamanic ballads into an ocean of rupturing bass lines. Portal hop, a self coined term for STARFOX’s style of wub — accurately defines his style of bass music, tripping into dimensions unknown. The performance was captivating, energetic, and boosted with Tygris vinyl-scratching and Wessanders guest encore appearance.
“Started my journey throwing acid parties in the deserts of California, just trying to keep the tradition going,” says STARFOX, also hinting at an EP sometime in the near future. “Clearing with management,” he said.
We’ll be on the lookout!
From outdoor lines, flocks of merchandise, and elbow packed crowds, to emerging scenes and vacant dance floors, the scene is alive and well. The common denominator? Community.
I encountered flashbacks of being crushed in crowds, eyes glowing on MDMA… Is this my sweat or somebody else? Memories of the 2010’s trap scene, Diplo, Vanic, hell I’ll admit to seeing Carnage and The Chainsmokers at Ohio University — gotta start somewhere? Unfortunately, there was hardly any room for dancing. The best features of underground shows being the ability to position yourself next to speakers, there’s always room to dance, plus the availability of likeminded individuals: People who actually care about the music.
It just so happened I reincarnated a typical electronic music pathway for bass heads — House, Trap and dubstep, to glitch hop and neuro, and into the experimental.
A right of passage to the evolving bass music scene.
After the show, Wessanders, The Rust spokesman of the night, stressed the significance of The Universal Emotion, “I have one favor: if everybody’s able to bring just one person to next months show, that’s one more person we can introduce to the scene. Joe’s trying to create something special here, something uniquely Philly and I think we should all get behind and offer support. At the end of the day its ours, its our community.”
The writing is on the wall — we’ve seen Bassnectar and Zedd’s Dead sell out the Hampton Coliseum, is that where the genre is headed? Las Vegas’ The sphere?
I hope so, and for a couple reasons particularly.
Bass music appeals to the senses, low frequencies rock bones and maneuver flesh. It’s a visceral experience – mind and body. With a spotlight on sub bass, the music translates a multidimensional listening experience, drawing attention to the repressed “feeling” sensation, touch. I imagine this is only the beginning of sensory based music?
Why should music be limited to the sensation of listening?
Have you ever seen the Futurama episode where Philip J. Fry learns the “Holophonor”, a combination of the Oboe and Holographic Projector? The instrument beams images and archetypes based on mood, tone, and rhythm, immersing the crowd into a spectacle of light, color, and sound. It is, after all, the future. But maybe the future isn’t so far? Shamans of bass music like Tipper, have mastered the art of transmuting bass across the human vessel, perfecting stage design, scavenging powerful sound systems, and curating frequencies particularly for the occasion.
A genre of music catered towards a live audience and sound systems — if you’re familiar with the Grateful Dead, a continuation of their ethos: a musical experience about “being in the moment”, creating community, familiar faces, the wall of sound, and the guidance of psychedelics. Can we deny the association with bass music and psychedelics any longer? In the spirit of the sixties revolution, bass music a similar, promising future of self expression and rebellion. A collective space to embark on the psychedelic journey, exploring consciousness and infiltrating the higher dimensions — unlocking clues for awakening.
After stumbling upon Tipper’s subreddit, I was surprised to read a majority of listeners reincarnating the lessons of their parents– following the Grateful Dead, spreading underground tapes/videos, following the act across the country — a family. A community based on forward thinking sounds, advancing technology in alignment with spiritual values, and an environment of acceptance, peace, love, and interconnectedness. With the addition of nature, a breathtaking venue to captivate the scenery, the final product is a bit…. Utopian. A peak into the possibility of the human spirit. Dissolving the walls of tribalism and personal trauma to breach the new age of existence — an existence of emotional transformation, breaking generational repetitions, building communal aid, and inspiring the search for truth. A return to the primordial sensation of “gut feeling” and intuition. The glitch hop scene (particurarly psychedelic) appears healthier, fitter, sexier than other scenes, even Friday’s dubstep show. Anything to do with the psychedelic influence on mindfulness and health choices?
Hoping the spotlight descends on healing. After all, it was substance abuse, personal trauma, and self-destruction, an inability to feel that cost the Grateful Dead everything – Jerry Garcia, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Brent Mydland.
A trickle down effect into a chaotic scene. Shit rolls downhill.
The Grateful Dead weren’t exclusive: Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Moon, Jim Morrison.
Does psychedelic bass music have the potential to learn the lessons of the turbulent sixties?
Are we able to implement the healing lessons of psychedelics into ourselves, the collective, the scene? Was this what Ken Kesey meant by the Acid Test Graduation? Time for healing?
Since antiquity, individuals utilized sound waves as healing constructs, observing vibrational methods of tuning the body — Cymatics. Observed through sand or water when confronted with vibrational frequencies, the substances morph and sputter into geometric, crop circle-like shapes depending on frequencies. With our bodies comprised of three fourths water, energy, frequencies, and vibrations, electricity, wouldn’t the bass frequencies have a similar effect on the human body, the etheric body, the mind?
Are we subconsciously healing ourselves by attending bass shows?
Only one way to find out:
Turn up the bass!
THE BADBOOB 