Nathaniel Windisch: From a young age, did you always aspire to be an artist, or was this something brought to fruition later in life?

Chris Pyrate: I never really had ambitions to be an artist, it’s just what I was. One of the first things I was called was an artist, so it’s just who I am. I kinda would go with the flow of where life would take me and always try to incorporate art into whatever I was doing and it always worked out for me.

NW: Did you always gravitate to street art when you were first starting?

CP: I always gravitate to that, even in fashion. I was first hired by a streetwear company, to design. I was skating heavy at the time, and this was when skate culture was first coming into streetwear, so they sourced me a lot for ideas, you know what I mean? I’ve always been adjacent. You know, I’m from DC, I’ve always been a city kid, come from the streets so that’s where I relate everything to.

NW: What made you gravitate to the floral patterns? This has become somewhat of a calling card for you, what inspired it?

CP: Since I’m from DC, cherry blossoms are a big deal. DC has the second largest cherry blossom population outside of Japan, we have huge cherry blossom blooms. I grew up on Japanese streetwear and anime, so it was an interesting connection between Japan and DC. I started the floral designs when I was away from home and realized I had probably been missing DC at the time.

NW: What is your favorite part about being a designer?

CP: The fact that I can do what I want and receive critique on my art, I like critique. I can fine-tune it live in the flesh, and everyone may not like everything, which is fine. But it’s like a little experiment with my own brand. I get to see the manifestation of my work in real-time.

NW: What was I like bringing designs to the NBA and off the court with some NBA players?

CP: I’ve been a Wizards fan forever and they were terrible forever. I grew up through a lot of eras and I always imagined how it could be better. They let me do what I want and being able to pull from those ideas that I had and influence the team, the branding and the merchandise has been really fun, it’s amazing.

NW: Are there any celebrities that you’ve really enjoyed working with?

CP: Right now, Jordan Pool is on the Wizards. He’s very interactive and engaging. So much so that the team is surprised – they’d be like ‘When did you design this, we could have gotten some content’, and I’m like no, we designed this on the phone. Even after a game, he’ll send me an idea.

NW: I know you’ve worked with a few streetwear brands like you’ve mentioned. Are there any streetwear brands you’d like to work with in the future?

CP: I’ll be straight up, outta nostalgia and homage, I’d love to work with Bape and Ice Cream. That Japanese streetwear era really inspired me when I was younger and skating-heavy. Bounty Hunter, it’d be a dream.

NW: Do you still skate at all these days?

CP: Somewhat, it’s dangerous for me because I paint, and you fall with your hands. It’s not healthy to skate scared, so it’s tough because I’m so cautious with my hands now. So, the last time I skated was probably two months ago.

NW: Where do you see yourself in ten years?

CP: I want to do more creative direction. I want to bring more artists into the fold and kinda curate and facilitate a bit more.

NW: Are there any notable designers that you look up to, either now or when you were younger?

CP: Nigo, Nigo for sure. What he’s doing with Bape. Bape was one of the first times I saw my two worlds colliding. I like animation, I like anime, I like anything super creative, and seeing that combined with apparel and having a youthfulness to it, I’d definitely have to say Nigo.

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Held at the Long Beach Convention Center, the venue itself was a vibrant tapestry of creativity. Attendees were greeted by a visually stunning setup, with booths and installations showcasing the latest trends and innovations across various industries. Fashion took center stage, with established brands and emerging designers showcasing their latest collections and drops only offered for a limited time. Attendees had the opportunity to witness the intersection of streetwear, high fashion, and individual style all converging in one place. The event served as a melting pot of diverse fashion influences, creating a unique and inclusive atmosphere.

Art enthusiasts found themselves captivated by a myriad of artistic expressions on display. From graffiti-covered walls to avant-garde installations, ComplexCon is a celebration of the intersection of art and culture. Local and international artists left their mark, turning the event into a canvas of creative exploration.

All day, beats resonated throughout the convention center as live performances and DJ sets created an energetic ambiance. The event attracted both emerging and established musical talents, offering attendees an immersive auditory experience that complemented the visual feast surrounding them. Zack Bia and friends closed out the first day. Admittedly, I wasn’t super familiar with his work, and his performance, featuring several celebrities dancing on stage with some notable names on the mic, left more to be desired. The second day finished with Kid Cudi, which seemingly drew a much larger crowd while the reception was much more electric. A ton of us grew up on Kid Cudi, so the anticipation was huge, and he delivered, playing some of the classics and treating us with some of his newer works.

What sets ComplexCon apart is its commitment to providing interactive and engaging experiences. Attendees had the chance to participate in workshops, meet their favorite creators, and have access to limited-edition releases. Food vendors from all over offered some extremely tasty treats. The emphasis on fostering a sense of community and collaboration was palpable throughout the event.

ComplexCon 2023 proved to be a celebration of creativity, diversity, and innovation. As attendees left the event, they carried with them not only merchandise but a renewed sense of inspiration and connection to the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary culture. ComplexCon continues to be a must-attend event for those looking to stay at the forefront of what’s next in art, fashion, food, and music.

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Those keen will understand that Memorial Coliseum is a familiar place. Skyline Festival earlier this year in February was a welcome introduction to what would eventually unfold in the summertime. Hard isn’t dedicated to only house music, however, although a Kaskade / John Summit headline is nothing to scoff at. Skyline was only half the battle, literally: Hard Summer opened up 3 whole new stages. Two of those new venues were actual, literal arenas. This is the rave DLC that Goldenvoice just can’t give you.

Isoxo was a huge highlight for me. Watching him glow up from a timid DJ that G Jones brings out sometimes to a full-fledged performer, conducting huge crowds and flying around the stage like a maniac almost brought a tear to my dehydrated eye. Like, come on, Isoxo walked on stage to a guitar solo – if that man’s ego is competing against blimps at this point. I’ll allow it though Isoxo’s beats are disgusting. Truly just unsanitary. From the two paths that glitch bass DJs tend to go down, he specialized in chaos. For the rest of this year and most of next, you might hear his name a few times. 

Oliver Tree made an appearance during Dillon Francis’ set in the face of an audience that was somewhat confused. If you thought his haircut could get worse then you are correct. The Sunday set was more passionate, but I won’t be complaining about his surprise appearance on Saturday.. He’s not exactly known for bangers but Tree is loud enough to get things going. He also took a shot at DJing and resorted to blasting “Sandstorm” for the community, so I think someone somewhere has a completed bingo card to turn in. Dillon Francis knows the shtick though, no one else is able to play “Fireflies” by Owl City on a Saturday night without confidence. Frankly, I’m glad he did. 

Saturday as a whole was overwhelming. The aforementioned Kaskade and John Summit B2B was furious and enticing. The Hard stage was engulfed in 120 BPM bombs that scattered lasers and fire in most, if not every, direction. Kaskade is right off the heels with the Deadmau5 collab, Kx5, so to switch gears so quickly confirms his versatility. A relentless, 20-year career has the man built differently. In contrast, John Summit is a straight shooter. What you see is what you get, and at the risk of sniping at one of the fastest-rising DJs of the 20s: I don’t think an AI generator could coalesce a more perfect fratty house DJ. You already know he played “Where You Are” with Hayla, you already know he slayed EDC earlier this year, and you already know what’s going down in the future. 

DJ Diesel, who’s likely more famous as a musician now than an ex-pro basketball player, was remorseless. There’s no reason for him to go this hard,  yet he refuses to stop. What I really appreciated was the San Holo outro. Light is a truly timeless song, a feat that’s quite difficult to accomplish in electronic music. For Shaq to have made room for an evocative track like that, it’s really cool to see in a set otherwise filled to the brim with heavy artillery. The chemistry between the two artists was effervescent, and it was obvious that they were genuinely enjoying the moment. 

Skrillex and Four Tet is what folks were banking on. I’ve never seen so many inflatables in a crowd before. It was electric, especially for the last set on the last day. At a certain point, they let basically the entire population onto the stage, to the point where our photographer Nate was on the widescreens for more than the headliners. I’m pretty sure they played a Nine Inch Nails remix? Paired with the hits: “Country Riddim” at full force, “Quest for Fire” bumps, and a Ratata remix. The crowd wasn’t prepped for that last one and it hit on a different wavelength.

There were a few things that took me out of the experience. Perhaps we’ve been spoiled with previous festivals this year, but $80 for parking is blatant thievery. This is the most expensive festival on the circuit, which is saying a lot. Not even Gorillaz at SoFi had that level of opportunism – I’m almost certain Taylor Swift’s run is the same. Also, whoever did what they did at the VIP bathrooms at Hard Stage – we’re not going to talk about that. But it didn’t need to happen. Hard Summer didn’t have the extra love other Insomniac events seem to have. My last gripe as the resident curmudgeon: we saw first-hand a firework miss the sky and mortar into the ground which could have seriously hurt someone. No one was, thankfully, but it made me appreciate previous festivals like Countdown where I didn’t fear randomly exploding.

Beyond the headline events, the festival grounds were a haven of creativity and self-expression. Attendees flaunted unique rave kits, fashion statements, and vibrant hair colors, in turn, Hard Summer became a canvas of individuality. Vendors offered a solid array of culinary options and ensured that enthusiasts could refuel between dance sessions. Hard events are a staple of the culture and to experience the best of what’s around is an opportunity worth taking. It’s the best aspects of Rolling Loud (Ludacris, Kid Cudi) and Portola (Skrill-Tet, Sullivan King) fused into a memorable LA venue with the best traversal and infrastructure a festival reviewer could ask for. 

Be sure to check out their wild merch line and keep up with forecasts of future Insomniac events here.

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Now it’s LIB’s 20^th birthday and sanity has thoroughly eclipsed. Long forgotten are the times when bass music didn’t completely dismantle your brain. Rezz, Zhu, Glitch Mob, Mindchatter, Liquid Stranger, and Tokimonsta spearheaded the effort. Other artists like Phantogram, 070 Shake, and Ozomatli provided moments of respite between the chaos. Mind you, this is a five-day festival. There’s enough time to experience everything, but the pace is the trick.

Lightning in a Bottle’s geography compliments the lakefront. The Woogie stage is a northern star on the peninsula where typically more trance and house music is spun. Along the way there, you’ll find a myriad of satellite stages, shops, quaint pockets, and at one point a nice warm communal fire to rejuvenate at. It’s easy to get turned around, it feels like everything is always slightly off to where you last put it. It’s Alice in Wonderland scored in halftime dubstep.

Thunder and Lightning stage wrap around the water until you get to the desert campsites. Most of the music is scheduled for Friday – Sunday, which is naturally when the lake becomes its most crowded. Be that as it may, LIB’s stages for the last 2 years have never been as packed as other festivals. That’s one of my favorite things about it – you can go to the front of the stage if you wanted, or easily find a spot elsewhere if you prefer better audio. It’s meticulous and intricate, the vibrant atmosphere makes you forget how much effort goes into making it a smooth experience.

The number of solid Phantogram songs that I completely forgot existed is embarrassing. They’ve been jamming for more than a decade and in doing so stacked out their discography. “Fall in Love”, “Mouthful of Diamonds”, and “Run Run Blood” – the two-piece harbored a moody vibe that other acts failed to fly near. Rezz closed out on Sunday by taking that energy and clipping it. The Canadian glitch-bass alchemist launched remixes of Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer” and RATM’s “Killing in the Name Of”. Sophisticated flips that echoed the original artist behind screaming distortion walls we colloquially know her for.

My favorite of the festival was Moore Kismet, an 18-year-old glitch-bass artist who is leagues ahead of their contemporaries. Kismet’s music is an octahedron – it reflects an abundance of emotional electricity, in so many directions, and goes absolutely so needlessly hard. They are a master at micro editing, in producing music with thousands of different textures and paths that all flow down the same river. If G Jones is the darkness, Moore Kismet is the light. Both comprise the top of the game right now, and illustrate how intricate, emotional and connecting bass music can be. It’s truly a privilege to be able to see where their music will go in the near future.

Ozomatli played with Chali 2na and Cut Chemist, and I’m curious to see if other EDM publications cover it. On one hand, it’s not their wheelhouse. But will they oversee such a creative set? Frankly, the performance was a black sheep – Chemist only spun on vinyl, their instruments had playable frets and notes, and the rapping felt more like Kool & the Gang (Chali is getting old let’s not kid ourselves). They were one of the best performances of the entire festival, no contest, perhaps in spite of the excess of electronic music? Cut Chemist weaved a narrative with his sample choices: “In the beginning.. the music was simple” queued Ozo to start a drum circle. “Then.. it became more complex..”

Zhu’s set leveled up since his Countdown headline. Like literally, he’s 20 feet in the air on a walkable platform above fire dancers. Fitting his mystique perfectly, especially since there hasn’t been a Zhu performance before midnight in a healthy while. 070 played prior – it’s interesting to see how she was able to fit her performance into a festival that’s more or less already defined.

For example, and for the uninitiated, 070 Shake is the voice behind Fred Again’s “Danielle (Smile on my Face)” (Danielle being her actual real name). The crowd went wild for that track, yet lukewarm for the songs bookending it. The result is an inconsistent set, but one I enjoyed nonetheless. She has a solid command of auto-tune and I’m a simple man.

In reality, LIB is more than the sum of its parts, and dear god there are a lot of parts. It’s the only festival where the in-betweens are just as exciting as the main stages. I remember grabbing some lemonade adjacent to a small village where someone with a megaphone was playing Lego with an audience. Next to that, a perfect replica house from the 80s launching non-stop club music, immersed in drab wallpaper. Further down the road a large, trekking, fluffy beast was throwing a mobile rave – loyalists walking enticed and in tow. Campsites turn into boiler room sets. It never stops and in doing so feels like a census-designated area, if only for a moment.

It’s a safe festival that continues to be worth your time. One to consider when planning out your schedule for next year. Until then, keep an eye out for our upcoming interview with Nala, or check out last year’s coverage to compare and contrast the vibe. Lastly, lock into their socials, both for the main fest and the Do Lab to keep tabs on the forecast.

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Rushing toward Redondo, I was excited to see the breathtaking vocalist LP. The artist got the crowd loose and flowing with the euphoric lovemaking track “When We’re High”. They kept the loving embrace going with “Everyone’s Falling in Love”, the bluesy “No Witness” and “Strange”. LP’s voice is as heavenly as it is powerful. Their vocal range is jawing-dropping, putting listeners in a trance of wonderment. LP is also very gifted with the harmonica and whistling. Their chirps echoed across the sandy LOWTIDE stage. Having briefly met LP at Lollapalooza 2021, they graciously ran to hug me when I nervously stuttered hello and we talked for several minutes about life.

A newer band gaining some stream was the pop-punk band The Foxies. They performed at the chill SPEAKEASY stage. The intimate setting allowed the trio to stick to acoustic instruments. Regardless of what kind of instruments they used, The Foxies were able to bring out a punk sound. “Overrated” is the attitude to have in this era; to stop seeking the viral attention that most crave. The crowd felt the vibrant groove of Julia Lauren Bullock of “Deep Sea Diver” as it went with the ocean theme.

Most of the weekend consisted of throwback 90’s artists that are from California. I felt like a kid again going to the HIGHTIDE stage to see Sugar Ray. Their songs have just the right amount of nostalgic cheesiness that you’ll find me randomly singing to “Someday”. No matter who you are though if you grew up in that time you’ll definitely be singing along to “Fly” and don’t deny it!

Another popular act that fans were ecstatic to see was Sublime. The Ska icons arrived to thunderous applause from the huge crowd gathered on the beach. It was fitting to have Sublime back on the sandy LOWTIDE stage giving the beach stoners some toasty tunes like “Santeria,” “What I Got,” and “Smoke Two Joints”.

Other great throwback bands that graced the stage were Modest Mouse and The Pixies. Modest Mouse started off their set with a trippy, loose instrumental rendition of “Float On” before switching gears to “Dashboard” and “Lampshades on Fire” before going back to playing the traditional version of “Float On”. I wanted to feel more emo and The Pixies provided that with “Gouge Away”. They continued to pluck my teenage angst with my favorite track of there’s “Hey!” And you know as soon as you hear that echoing howl at the beginning of “Where Is My Mind?” you’re in for a great time.

Back at the placed turf stage of HIGHTIDE to see none other than Gwen Stefani. Adorn in a bright yellow tiger print jacket, the Californian singer took over the stage and the crowd. She instantly got the crowd swinging with the poptastic “The Sweet Escape”. She then turned back to the oceanic surfer vibe with “Sunday Morning” and “Underneath It All”. Gwen had to crowd eating out of the palm of her hands as she had fun interacting with them including bringing a little girl on stage for a hug. She also had the perfect blend of throwbacks from her No Doubt days to the mainstream pop charts. Girl power was in the air with tracks like “Rich Girl” and “Just A Girl” but everyone sang along to “Don’t Speak”.

Sunday perhaps meant the most to me as I got to see two legendary music catalogs introduced to me by my father live with The Wailers (Bob Marley) and John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Growing up, my dad had Bob Marley’s Legend compilation album on cassette that I still own to this day. In fact, I played “Jammin” so much that the audio warped on the tape. I got the next best thing, seeing the remaining band members of The Wailers play the song live. It felt good being in the sand listening to the plethora of reggae jams everyone knows like “3 Little Birds,” “One Love,” and “Is This Love”. Truly felt like a moment of peace and unity.

Oh, but good times kept rolling with fellow hippie John Fogerty. No road trip is complete without playing some CCR. Fogerty had recently won the rights to his music catalog after a 50-year battle and BeachLife was his first performance with ownership. He said it was a time for celebration and commemorated the occasion by popping a bottle of champagne on stage. Again giddiness took over when he started off with “Bad Moon Rising”. For over an hour, Fogerty played through his collection like “Run Through the Jungle” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” changing guitars a few times including one that matched his blue flannel shirt. His encore ended with “Proud Mary,” a song I connected with on my drive out west: ‘Left a good job in the city, workin’ for the man every night and day. And I never lost one minute of sleepin’, worryin’ ‘bou the things that might have been.’

For most, this was a fun weekend to kick back in the sun. For me, it was a walk down memory lane as I kicked up sand on a beach I’ve called home. I met some fantastic artists I’ve idolized for years and made some cool friends with the locals. BeachLife was our lifestyle, a perfect way to end my Californian journey.

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San Bernardino, California, was an incredible landscape to get lost in with mountains creating an idealistic backdrop for the event. Walking into the campgrounds you’re greeted with awe-inspiring recreations of Alice In Wonderland-themed interactive displays. It was like the characters from the renowned novel leaped off the page and came to life.

Further into the venue, there was a sobriety comfort zone where strangers can chat and open up about what they were dealing with. A wall of zany doors lead to a comfy tent area where you could sit on the floor and watch YouTuber Lyle Forever. Lyle sat and chatted with strangers in real life as well and yours truly got on the mic to do a quick beatbox cipher.

Of course, Insomniac went all out for the 6 stages. Again all whimsical themes with some being hidden inside domes. The 2 biggest stages were on opposite sides of the event making for a long walk to get to “Mad Hatter’s Castle” from “Queen’s Domain,” but boy it was worth it. The “Mad Hatter’s Castle” had the fortunate luxury of being at the racecourse half of the NOS Event Center. This meant that there was plenty of open space for fans to dance while also offering a seating section for those needing to relax. After walking 30k steps each day, having a seat felt like a godsend! After taking a seat to enjoy the scenery I immediately got back up to the opening sounds of Borgore.

Bolgore is known for the hardcore bass fans that love to headbang. The artist created such intensity it could give you a head rush but you can’t help yourself but bang along to the opening track, “Forbes”. He continued with bangers like a sped-up version of Bad Bunny’s “Me Porto Bonito”. However, some of his transitions weren’t the smoothest with some tracks abruptly stopping but fans didn’t care.

Dillon Francis kept the party going all night at the “Mad Hatter’s Stage”. He went off with an array of techno tracks and out-of-this-world light show that blew everyone’s minds. Francis does a great job of knowing how to integrate and blend catchy mixed genre songs like Tame Impala’s “Let It Happen” or the vocals of System of a Down’s “BYOB” with funky percussion to really make the tracks more vibrant. He was also kind enough to bless fans by sharing some new Diplo collab tunes.

The crown for best stage, however, went to “Queen Domain”. Redtape brought the heat early on in the day by playing a slew of Latino jams from modern artists like Bad Bunny and Cardi B to classic tunes we grew up with. His expert blend of salsa soul with house-dance music was a vibe everyone could get down with regardless of the language barrier. Another set that was great was seeing Alok. The Brazilian DJ rocked a gold, shiny robe and played tracks like “Fuego,” Souja Boys’ “Superman” and other fan songs from the yesteryear.

Heavyweights like Tiesto made it impossible to get under the tent with massive crowds flooding the area. There was no way to squeeze into the tight space where people had been camped out most of the day. Hearing “BOOM” mixed into his rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “Grapevine” showed how effortlessly Tiesto could go from house music to trance.

The honors to close out Beyond Wonderland went to none other than Kaskade who took the crowd on a wonderful journey. First starting off light-hearted and fun and moving to a more of a darker atmosphere before bringing us back to peace. Tracks like “Bright Lights” and “Alive” had us all zoning out and grooving.

Beyond Wonderland is one of the best festivals any EDM fan can attend. It being their 30^th anniversary, Insomniac set the bar high, and it will be hard for any other fest to top it this year. The production value and set design were imaginative and a joy to be around.

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The band quickly followed up with another neck-breaking track “Bozo,” barely allowing the crowd a breath before being dragged back into a dark fever dream. Opening with heavy quarter notes and a shrill snare roll, the quintet softly enters with classic post-punk lyrics adorned with velvety guitars. The frontman, Tony Esposito, begins the third song with a promise that he made to Brianna and Angel – ‘I won’t fuck this one up’. The vocals started a bit muddied, but they quickly grappled with and subdued the behemoth-like audio of, “Might Be Right“. Patrons lifted their arms and chalices into the air as they sang along. Fonda theater began to froth with jubilant patrons – some soaking up as much beer and liquor as they could and perhaps some indulging in different avenues. The bar steadily had a queue and cups were passed about as attendants nodded their heads and tapped their feet.

After a quick intermission Tony described the scent of pizza flowing through the auditorium and the disappointment that they weren’t sharing, ‘now, share with the class children’. They quickly pierced the silence with a cover – “Only a Shadow” by Cleaners from Venus. Admittedly, I wasn’t familiar, but the group seemed to nail it and the crowd approved with another turbulent mosh. With punk origins – their songs emerged from the dark with fuzzy guitar chords embellished with dainty piano and organ notes, animating a dance between heavy and eloquent.

‘This is about an old friend, Shella, this one’s for you’. For the last few tunes, the headman signals to the audio technician to increase the volume – evidently, the drums were boosted and the drummer, Nick Wilkerson, enters with a thunderous drum riff to begin the track, instantly increasing the heartbeat of all present.

With a tempestuous encore, the group closed their show with a final act, “Judy French,” a peppy and upbeat tempo beat that released a bubble of anticipation from within the crowd. White Reaper is continuing their tour and will next be seen in Canada Mexico and the west coast.

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People thought it would get canceled, I’m kind of surprised it didn’t. All were on board to brave the rain and mud amidst greyscale skies. Perhaps the cold energized our constituency. Everyone’s attire was hardly updated to reflect the harsh weather. Day one was brutal – half of the grounds were closed until 3 hours in, resulting in Layla Benitez playing the longest set possibly of the entire weekend. Her 150-minute show kept people occupied and gave folks a reason to bundle up with each other. Good practice for her upcoming Lighting in a Bottle set in May. There was warmth deep within the crowds. The bounce was the answer: just keep moving.

I think somewhere between Michael Bibi and Eli & Fur I got lost in thought about why every west coast electronic festival is destined to fall on the receiving end of the most frigid weather California has to offer. Albeit, subjectively cold – Canadians can laugh at me all they want I don’t care. Countdown Festival had to battle through the same tribulations. Why must 2023 throw us such curve snowballs, I whispered to myself while E&F played an actually very impressive mix at the West stage. This song, in particular, is where it’s at. Having only passed by them briefly last year, I’m happy to have them cohabitating in my playlists nowadays.

The journey there was notable as well. Crowds were packed to get to the West stage because its opening was delayed, resulting in a gaggle of noise heads basically just loitering for 2 hours. Waiting for that opportunity to get the front row in a completely new zone. And so it was. The sound was better on that side as well; the East side was not adequately shielded from the rain enough. I’m not sure if that made the bass sound muddy but it sure was less thorough. In that sense, the West stage was the main stage – bold, brash, and baritone.

Day Two cleared up a little, with even a bit of sun there to remind us we’re still in the solar system. Shiba San was possibly my favorite Sunday set – a friend of the mag Mau P made a vicarious appearance through the latter mix. “Drugs in Amsterdam” played in tandem with Alice Deejay’s timeless “Better Off Alone” was a hit and a half, really impressive mixing there. I covered Monsieur Frazier extensively in our Skyline preview article, he and the entire Understated Recordings are worth writing home about. Pure Los Angeles house crafted with loving ears and test-driven in quaint, seedy warehouses across the county. Was awesome to see Insomniac throw some love in that direction, even just a little.

Diplo closed the weekend with a rare, mostly pure, house set. He also apparently was watching The Last of Us at the same time as his mix, because if you’re at that level you can kind of just hang out and do whatever. It’s like seeing a Disclosure CDJ set in 2014 – regardless of how big your debut album was, it doesn’t mean you have to learn how to DJ. It’s like a free-money glitch.

But his set struck a balance between regular Diplo antics and honorable house cuts. I think I even heard that Skrillex/Missy Elliot collab in there somewhere. The man is a showman. He plays songs that garner reactions regardless of how indulgent or crass they may be. He’s like a wedding DJ on amphetamines, and if that’s a hot take then ask yourself who else would play a Crank That remixes outside of matrimony.   

Skyline Fest is worth your time because if we had to experience the most difficult version of it, a year with proper weather will go even harder. The best part is that Skyline is not just in one place: Chicago and Orlando share the experience as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Insomniac tailors this to even more pockets of the world. Keep in the loop at their website and Instagram, and maybe peruse Insomniacs’ 24/7 twitch channel in the meantime.

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In that sense, this festival was both the end and the beginning. A very loud and shiny bridge connecting two pillars together, as any New Year’s celebration does across the world. But the difference here is twofold:

Volume. Let’s not pretend contemporary electronic music isn’t indulgent. All you’re getting here are risers into drops into risers into drops into laying on the floor and taking it all in. It’s what the people want. Are the people wrong? 

The second is a vibe, or perhaps a theme? I haven’t seen anything like Countdown Fest. The sheer dedication to the premise of the “alien invasion NY event” was bewildering and aggressively vivid. Performers placed into the crowd as guerilla insurgents dressed like aliens with hazmat handlers scooting from point A to point B. You could mind your own business and not notice the group of robots dancing in synch with brain-bleeding sub-bass bumps. Everything here was meticulously planned for immersion: stages, decorations, actors, it was overwhelming.

It’s a double-edged sword though, at least to weird pretentious music journalists like me. The marketing for Countdown was cheesy and unappealing. I had no idea the extra mile Insomniac went by ensuring a safe and unique experience – at least not by promo alone. Like okay, your socials are run by a quirky alien that ~ †ålk$  L¥ke ‡h1s ~. That doesn’t interest me. What does make an impact are the noticeable details: quick turnovers, arts & crafts stations, theme park rides, superb audio, and there was even some dude giving out haircuts. 

But you’re not here to get a fade, you’re here to enshrine a core memory. There were four mainstages, in descending order of grandiosity: Mothership, Nebula, Area 51, and Twilight. Each employed a vague genre for most of the night. Area 51 was mostly for the wooks, with Jantsen and Ahee -esque acts. The mainstream favorites like Madeon, the Chainsmokers, and Zedd took over Mothership for two nights. Twilight and Nebula were mostly left with tech house and bro-step: JAUZ, Flosstradamus, Maya Jane Coles, and Habstrakt to name a few.

Deadmau5 was possibly my favorite. His visuals are gorgeous and the new Kx5 tracks are melodically wonderous. Even some of Joel’s oldest tracks still hit: “Maths,” “Ghosts,”
“Cthulu Sleeps,” it’s difficult to make a “timeless” electronic song and this dude went and made twenty. “When the Summer Dies” is such a good song, utilizing Lights’ properly Mau5’d vocals paired with the kinetic typography in the background. Perfection.

Minnesota is still a really underrated DJ but his people were waiting for him at Area 51. He played a particularly enticing Ludacris/G Jones remix, in addition to his standard armaments “Devour” and the IDHS remix of “Confusion”. Nothing too out of the ordinary with his brothers-in-amps: Virtual Riot carried that torch until the end of the night, the same flame lit by Saka hours earlier. 

The latter has blown up in 2022 and his growth has been nothing short of inspiring. It really makes you have faith in the process that truly unique music floats up in time and after seeing him at Lightning in a Bottle last year, I have only excitement in seeing Saka’s next move.

We were welcomed to Nebula stage by the very subtly named Good Times Ahead, a DJ duo comprised of, you guessed it, two men in their late twenties wearing necklaces. Albeit crass, I quite enjoyed their “Legend of Zelda” remix as did the rest of the audience. ARMNHMR plowed the stage thereafter although I quite preferred Yellow Claw’s energy to theirs. It’s a lopsided comparison. the Claw have been in the game for about a decade with their over-compressed festival anthems, directly from the crystal springs of Holland. Los Amsterdam has aged surprisingly well if you’re a hedonist, because tracks like “Hold On To Me” (featuring our aforementioned Good Times Ahead) and the transient-laced “Open” are formidable in 2023. On the flip side, ARMNHMR’s mixing didn’t impress me much for someone who didn’t know them. They also lacked aliens with ray guns dancing on stage so, I mean, come on now. 

Speaking of Amsterdam’s finest, jump over to our Mau P interview we published last week to get some more insight on the outlook of one of 22’s biggest DJs. He opened for Jason Ross and Deadmau5 on the Mothership stage; threw his trademark techno bop “Drugs in Amsterdam” like ninja stars during a Californian sunset.

Galantis’ set was a feature film. I really didn’t care for the music until going through the live experience. He played a three-song sequence that completely banished me into the shadow realm: “Seven Nation Army” (White Stripes) into “Chicken Soup” (Habstrakt) into “Robot Rock” (Daft Punk). The audacity. Visuals were mid but I was still in awe of the mainstage by that point: ribbons of massive speakers, tantalizing strobes for what felt like a kilometer backward. A particle, moving in rhythm with other happy particles, in a hanger the size of Star Wars carriers. 

If Galantis was a movie Zhu was the romantic evening surrounding it. He was the last act of the night on the Mothership and began the set with a low-key ambient movement. It was closer to 2 am at that point, so naturally, most of the townsfolk were waning away. The intro was soft and slow, gorgeous and cryptic – until it wasn’t. Dropping thereafter a rhythm so energizing I think my phone battery boosted by +3%. You don’t need me to tell you he played “Cocaine Model” although I like to think it was because of the girl holding up the sign: “ALEXA Play Cocaine Model by ZHU”. We’ve come a long way from the time he was that anonymous, hooded, night-sky DJ. I mean, we haven’t, but it feels like we have.

What I haven’t mentioned yet is the rain. Massive respect for Insomniac for keeping everything safe yet exciting in the face of the sky’s retribution. The torrent was manageable on day one but New Year’s proper was a true deluge. It felt less like a music festival than it did a water gym in Pokémon, with bass rumbles instead of boss battle music. And yet the rides were still operational. The stages were sequestered, the artists were dry, while the festival enthusiasts were huddled but raging appropriately. Genuinely it is impressive how they kept operations running in the midst of this, with the number of anomalies that come with the production and facilitation of a music festival. The trust I have in safety at music festivals certainly wavers, but Insomniac leveled up this weekend. 

And so 2023 inaugurates. With it comes a plethora of great music we haven’t heard yet, the anticipation of which is spent with jams we already love. Countdown was probably the most memorable NY event I’ve personally ever been to. If not because of the bass music, then because of the production and design. If not that, then because of the rain. I never realized a music festival could be this immersive – yes Tomorrowland has the stage architecture, EDC has the flamboyancy, and Coachella has… a Ferris wheel – but these aren’t immersive. These festivals don’t have side quests or NPCs or actors in the crowd fueling immersion. It’s difficult to comprehend the scope of it without attending especially when the marketing gimmick is an alien with broken English, but even that is thematically aligned. 

Amidst bass drops, melodic house arpeggios, the boons, croons, and all the drama that comes with delving into contemporary music culture, we here at Quip Mag hope you go forth this new year with the same astonishment that we reflexively vocalized when entering the NOS festival grounds on December 30^th 2022:

“Woah”

The post Countdown Fest loudly inaugurates 2023 in the face of inclement weather appeared first on Quip Magazine.

An anarchic possibly drunk British man points at his keyboardist, far off on at Portola‘s stage left.

“This one right here went and fucked me sister!!”

The crowd jeers in tandem and the poor musician in question cross his throat with a hand signaling for a subject change.

“Aint that sweet?”

I’m not sure if it’s sweet but it’s pretty in line for a Sad Night Dynamite show. These two kids are chaos incarnate, it’s like if Damon Albarn went full mitosis and straight-up duplicated; two musicians that clearly have more electricity in their bodies than normal. Josh Greacen and Archie Blagden are the team, you perhaps know them for their shadow hit “Krunk”, a funk-adjacent downtempo bop that tends to evoke a crowd and then some.

From the critics, you’ll be hearing the Gorillaz comparisons ad infinitum, with refrains exploiting that lazy, self-aware, catchy croons we’ve so come accustomed to. Early SND stuff is more cryptic, however, with slinky top-end tranced out over cryptic vocals. The track “Icy Violence” is timeless in that regard. It’s like walking alone in Silent Hill during crepuscular hours. Even the soft ballad-esque songs still retain an unease, a fervor waiting to explode given the right tick.

Josh and Archie’s hunger hasn’t subsided over the years. They still make crowds beat each other up. They still sing their hooks through what sounds like a dilapidated tank speakerphone. But they keep a cool, crass demeanor in the midst of a context change. Sad Night Dynamite songs are generally on the slower side, but demand folks to rage anyway. I didn’t know you could do that. 

Their last festival of the year was Portola but kept bouncing around well after the conclusion of San Francisco’s hullabaloo. QUIP was lucky enough to intercept them on the circuit and interrogate some info out of them before they left the States.

Audrin Baghaie: How’s life?

Josh Greacen: Life is crazy. It’s a roller coaster of things. But it’s all enjoyable. We don’t have a second to be bored. It’s a good way to be living. 

AB: First time in the states?

JG: We’ve been here with Glass Animals. We had a headline tour a few months ago. 

AB: The scene in London is so pristine. Boiler Room, RA, the underground. We exaggerate it in the states, but it’s an environment that seems so creative.

JG: It’s funny though, we fetishize the American scene. No matter where you are, you want what you don’t have.

AB: The grass is greener for sure, and your grass just hits different. Artists there, they’re built different.

JG: Especially now it’s getting stronger. There were a couple of years where I was like “fuck the UK scene”. Now there’s people doing cool shit. 

AB: Your music in particular is suited for that underground, seedy shit. Like loitering at 2 am, and hearing you guys going crazy

JG: They need to put us on later. We should be on at midnight. We’re not a daylight kind of band. Those are the venues we still like to play. Like I said, it’s a mixture. Our headline in London we were playing to 1500. For us to get that many people in the room is mad. But the other venues are intimate.

Archie Blagden [ARB]: Too intimate sometimes. 

JG: Oh yeah, tell them. The boobs story, right in Archie’s face

ARB: I thought when I was a kid I wanted that, y’know? I’m living the dream. But I didn’t enjoy it. Well, I found it funny. I was looking at Josh like “Yo look look”. He missed the whole thing. Shout out to that girl.

JG: Yeah no we love her.

AB: Let’s throw it back. When you guys were just unknown making beats in London. What’s the low down there?

JG: It was Somerset at first, which is the countryside. We moved to London after finishing the first mixtape. And the goal was… to… hmm

AB: What was the goal?

JG: … To disrupt the apple cart of what we were hearing. Like, everywhere. It seemed blindingly obvious what was missing from the world. In terms of music. And it wasn’t, particularly like we were resenting the week. We were just listening to music that was old and being like “why isn’t this being re-imagined?”

AB: Influences?

JG: It varies. Totally depends. There’s so many. You see all these amazing artists and… It’s kind of luck that you have the right influences at the right time. And they mesh together. That first mixtape was the perfect mesh of influences.

ARB: The specials, particularly their one song “Ghost Town”. That song… so many parts to it. And then like josh said, American hip hop and old bands like The Clash. Fuckin’ just throw ‘em all together.

JG: What are we listening to now? It all changes. A ton of Timbaland. Who else..? 

ARB: There’s an English duo called Jockstrap who are very, very good. BCNR adjacent. But like older music… even some cinema scores there. I feel like once you got a reference of when you put out a piece of music and you tryna discover a sound. Once you discover even a little bit, you kind of reference your own stuff. You identify yourself through the music of others.

JG: Okay okay I found some. It’s a weird mix. Black Star. The new Deadmau5. MF Doom, rest in peace. Weyes Blood. There was a very special time before we released any music when we were totally obsessed with the Specials, the Clash, and the Gorillas. to the degree where it was like… It was so obvious what we needed to do. And we didn’t have any outside influence.

ARB: It was just me and josh in the countryside, also kind of inspired by the scene around us. We’d be writing these songs late at night and it’d be just the woods and stuff

AB: Is that where the name came from?

ARB: No, josh came up with it. I don’t know why. He was reading a book.

JG: I was just reading a book. There is the word dynamite. And I just added it and said it to Archie, and he went that’s the shittest name I’ve ever heard.

AB: Yet here we are 

ARB: [Laughs] Exactly

AB: It’s funny you mentioned Gorillaz cause in your song Krunk, you probably hear this all the time, the refrain is so Damon Albarn. It’s insane.

JG: We met him a couple of times and he even put us on his playlist. His music is fucking godly.

ARB: Yeah, it is

JG: We’ll happily take influence from him. As long as he doesn’t mind.

AB: I saw them play live just two days ago, and all the ingredients were there. They closed with some weird garage house remix of Clint Eastwood.

ARB: Yeah! That’s the one that blew up in the UK. Huge. That was the original, how Gorillaz became big at first over there, it was that remix. 

* * *

Support Sad Night Dynamite over at their site here or stream them on all available digital service providers. 

The post Chatting about the roller coaster of things with Sad Night Dynamite appeared first on Quip Magazine.

We asked a fellow media correspondent about Portola a few weeks ago if they were attending the novel alt-electro festival:

“No, but oh my god”. 

It’s still the best way to describe it. Portola instilled a chain reaction of freakouts across the world with friends of friends showing friends this lineup. 

Fred Again. Huge. Though we’re on the tail end of his surge now the Boiler Room set was stashing 100k views per day. A slew of unreleased tracks is only available to see in person. Flume just released his 3^rd album and Jamie XX was dropping a new song the same day of his performance. All this, and more, on James Blake’s birthday. 

Chemical Brothers took it personally. That live set was like nothing else: Cryptic thespians on screen playing with the music and lights simultaneously. A shaman casting spells with lasers burning forth from his hands and into the crowd. They’ve been in the game for three decades now and after jamming a 25-year-old song live that still hits, I mean that’s it right there, we’re done.

Jamie XX’s IDs are in high demand. I can’t fathom his vault of hard drives with the secret sauce. His music is minimal but pervasive and insinuating, he doesn’t need a lot to set the tone. A few chops of Arabic vocal phrases over garage rave kicks is the recipe. “Idontknow” went hard, especially with people now anticipating the switch-up.

Fred played the hits and then some. He’s armed with just as many IDs as Jamie XX but his are the talk of the town. The Future collaboration just dropped and you already know the crowd went stupid I couldn’t get over the absence of his Romy collab. The XX vocalist/guitarist wrote a beautiful song, perhaps one of the more evocative songs in Fred’s repertoire, and her set was just a few hours prior. It did not play, though I have no merit to genuinely complain.

There was a focus on a wide array of artists during the day. Shy Girl, Dawn Richards, L’Emperatrice, Drama, and Sad Night Dynamite, who went on to demur “they need to put us on later, we should be on at midnight. We’re not a daylight kind of band.” Slowthai and Young Franco, who I spoke with here, seemed to be the most favored acts of the openers. 

Over on the ship stage, Arca had no regard for anything beyond cathartic sub-bass death rattle. She is the late Sophie morphed with Death Grips, and this is the part of the fest that most interested me. Some of these artists ventured so far out of conventional songwriting that it’s, like, occasionally incomprehensible. The music is abrasive and quick and sick and violent and annoying, but she found her people.

Oneohtrix, however, did not find his people. He was a last-minute replacement for M.I.A. (though not last min enough) and folks were quite bewildered. They switched him with Yves as well because it’s pretty much agreed upon that the latter has more closing potential. I liked it though. Electronic music doesn’t need a drop to be enticing, though the fervor live can go either way.

Portola is a new festival, but I trusted Goldenvoice after Second Sky last year and expected good things. Four stages: warehouse, ship, crane, and pier looking exactly how you’re expecting. The harbor boasted a solid foundation for a festival. If not too solid, because hot damn that’s a lot of asphalt. If only for a moment, it seemed like we all together disrupted the western shipping trade routes to rave down.

With Flume, it felt like this was the case, his sounds very loosely comprise the human definition of music. In fact, he hawk-style rail grinds the exact moments between rhythm and lunacy ad nauseam. Those tracks were the port lighthouse that evening. Jasper’s Song was a notable recess from this nonsense, but mostly everything off of HTIF was unreal.

The warehouse stage was a social experiment. They funneled the entire crowd into one small back entrance, usable only after a maze of cross-weaving lines, ignoring the literal garage-size entrances layered across the warehouse facade. People preferred to watch PinkPantheress and Charli from outside the zoo. But it’s only mentioned because there’s nothing else to complain about. 

Admittedly, I’ve never been too into Bicep. They exhume the sophisticated frat boy, only active deep into the warehouse rave where they gather and talk draft kings. So the context was there and the music was fine. It was bouncy enough but I was satiated. I prefer their live stuff over their recorded material. Cold take.

Peggy Gou was awesome too. I only knew her from live sessions over the pandemic. Her house music was so refined and smooth – comfy attacks and smooth releases. Her and the Four Tet / Floating Points mix set was the Crane stage summed up.

What Portola sought to do was kind of accomplished before it happened. The music showcases how much there is outside of the term EDM, a heavy term that Portola very lucidly sidesteps. This isn’t Electric Daisy tier, and the senescent grandeur of festival bangers is few and far between here. Portola ships you off into alternative electronic: micro house, glitch, dark ambient, post-dubstep, breakbeat, and hyper pop.  

Mainstream dance festivals have their place, in reality, you can’t run from it. But now there’s balance. A sub-world of glitchy, above-ground weirdness, and to be fair only a little pretentious, on a huge scale. The SF skyline in the background was a nice touch too.

Check out our Portola interviews with Young Franco, and keep an eye out for the Sad Night Dynamite and Palace features upcoming.

The post Portola’s debut redefines the West Coast festival circuit & disrupts shipping routes appeared first on Quip Magazine.