#festivalseason - Bass Coast X is dripping with incredible music and here are five acts you should check out.

May 28, 2018 by Blake Morneau

I've been to many festivals of many kinds over the years. Few names in the world of festivals, especially in my home province of BC, are spoken to me with such high regard as Bass Coast. Over its 10 years of existence I've encountered countless people that tell me Bass Coast is where you find the best. The best music. The best vibes. The best dancing. The best stages for having room for said dancing. The best place for discovering new music and sounds in the great wide open that is electronic music. The best for reconnecting with old favourites in a special space. These are the reasons why my head is turned towards Bass Coast more than ever. I want new sounds and if this is the place to find the sounds of the future, then this is where we all need to be looking for new things to put into our ears. A quick scan of the lineup release instantly got the blood flowing with excitement. These are the five names that jumped out right away. In the next couple weeks, I'll be back to take a deeper look as I dig deeper and get into the shockingly vast expanse of names that are new to my eyes and ears.

Mndsgn

For lovers of quality, chilled-out space-funk, there are few names as essential as Mndsgn. The L.A. transplant is a staple of the legendary Stones Throw records, the home to his incredible, wholly unique albums. His debut record Yawn Zen is a lo-fi funk gem that demands repeated listens to unravel its intense mystery. It's been a constant staple of my listening diet since I first got it into my ears. The gentle funk push, combined with a phenomenal ear for hip-hop makes homie one of the most unique and consistent DJs doing the thing right now. Mndsgn is undoubtedly the first name that jumped out at me when I saw the lineup for Bass Coast X, as I wouldn't entirely expect him to be at an electronic music festival on a river. But, Bass Coast is clearly curated by true music nerds, so I probably shouldn't have been surprised. Soft, warm and embracing, Mndsgn is sure to lay down a sultry festival highlight.

from the album Body Wash (9/16/16) http://stonesthrow.com/mndsgn

Lazy Syrup Orchestra

Anyone who's heard whispers of Bass Coast the last few years has probably heard something about Lazy Syrup Orchestra. Legend has it they were birthed right there on the Bass Coast grounds. Their Slay Bay sets have become legendary staples of the festival, and mentioned as highlights from goers pretty much across the board. I caught them last summer during an incredible performance on a mountain at Tall Tree and their annually-released sets from Bass Coast remain in constant rotation (Also great to put on in a room full of people with disparate tastes because, from my own research, no one ever disagrees with Lazy Syrup). Their sets are always sonic adventures and the endless collaboration adds an extra level to the excitement. It kinda feels like: If you haven't seen Lazy Syrup at Slay Bay, have you really seen Lazy Syrup Orchestra?

Recorded live at 5AM Saturday Morning - Slay Bay Stage, Bass Coast Festival 2017. Featuring @thomas-workshop (Raps & FX) , Cole Grizzy (Trumpet), @qcdef3 (Raps), & @Dunks (DJ/Conductor/MC). Tracklist below... Cover Design by Matt DL - https://www.behance.net/dezinedesigns Tracklist: Barrio Lindo - History of Colour Joe Hertz - At Dawn FKJ - Skyline Moontricks - Mountains Tessellated - Streets Kaytranada - Got it Good Ft Craig David (Lazy Syrup Live Version) Esbe - Tribute to Music (Lazy Syrup Jam Planet Version) Romare - L.U.V. Stro Elliot - The Summer Love Song Kartell - 5AM Goldbloc - Days are Dreaming (Wyln Remix) Tambour Battant - Open Your Eyes Resin Dogs - Space Beats (Lazy Syrup Get Down Version) Def3 - El Fin Del Mundo (LIVE) Alpha Channel - Yonder Stars Praful - Moon Glide (Mark Rae Remix) (Lazy Syrup Live Version) The Avener - Celestial Blues Persian Empire - To Na Bi (Lazy Syrup Live Version) Jain - Come Gater - Light of Love Ft Black Castro The Funk Hunters & Chali 2na Ft Tom Thum - Word to Spread (Smalltown DJ’s Remix) Clem Beatz - Somewhere Nice Plump DJ’s - Lost In Space Jamie George, Chris Lorenzo & Pete Graham - Let Me Down Parrov Stellar - Follow the Sun (Lcaw Remix) Buddy Guy & Tracy Chapman - Aint No Sunshine (Achtabahn Remix) Nicolas Jaar - And I Say (Xinobi Edit) - Justin Jay - Let Go (feat. Benny Bridges & Josh Taylor) Tom Misch - Beautiful Escape (feat. Zak Abel) Elton John - Rockit Man (Lobsterdust Dub Remix) Follow the syrup: facebook.com/lazysyruporchestra twitter.com/lazysyruporchestra instagram.com/lazysyruporchestra Download for free on The Artist Union

D. Tiffany

If you like a good dose of weird with your dance intake, then D. Tiffany is for you. Her grooves are trance-inducing, helping lull your hips and mind into thoughtless movement. Once you are properly captivated it's the easiest of tasks to pump weird musical ideas and sounds into your bloodstream to both discombobulate and delight. Her recent set here in Victoria's infamous Frequency Saturday series was in my body for days. I can't imagine how my brain will respond after a day or two of dancing in the melting heat. Hopefully her set as is as deep in the schedule as possible to allow for maximum brain-melt. Get weird.

@d-tiffany

Ivy Lab

I accidentally saw the last half of Ivy Lab's set last year at a festival and was mesmerized instantly. I didn't know anything about them before that, but their electronic music fit perfectly in with my decidedly hip-hop tastes, but this wasn't just hip-hop beats. It was weird and dark, heavy and groovy, pouring itself slowly into my ears and around my brain. It was an all-encompassing musical experience. When I would mention Ivy Lab in conversation afterwards, many people didn't know who I was talking about but the ones who knew the trio lit the fuck up at the mention of their name. The fervour of their fanbase gets me riled up and this new album, Death Don't Always Taste Good, they released a couple weeks ago, HOLY SHIT. This thing is a beast. I can't wait to hear what they do with these tracks as a framework on a proper, chest-rattling system. 10/10 can't miss.

Ivy Lab ‘Death Don't Always Taste Good’ Release Date: 11th May 2018 Label: 20/20 LDN Format: 2xLP // CD // Digital Cat No: 2020LDN012 Buy Vinyl/Digital from the 20/20 LDN webstore: http://bit.ly/2020LDN012 Ivy Lab present the ‘Death Don't Always Taste Good’ LP, their debut album proper, released 11th May 2018 through their own 20/20 LDN label. Tracklisting: 01. Fortune Teller 02. Ugly Bubble 03. Jet Lag 04. Astral Pirate Theme 05. Cake 06. Vanity Fair 07. A & E 08. Death Don't Always Taste Good 09. Snack Time 10. Calculate 11. Ozbo 12. Cadillac Ivy Lab http://www.ivylab.co.uk http://www.facebook.com/IvyLab http://www.twitter.com/ivylab_ http://www.soundcloud.com/ivylab http://www.instagram.com/ivylab 2020 http://2020ldn.com http://www.facebook.com/2020.LDN http://www.twitter.com/2020_ldn http://www.instagram.com/2020ldn

Woodhead

I've written about Woodhead before, but I honestly think that every chance you get to see Woodhead is a chance that you should take. One of the artists who helped open up house music for me, I have yet to come across anyone who consistently delights me with the utter warmth of their beats and grooves. His mixes have fuelled many a living room dance parties and his night-saving set from Shambhala in 2016 remains one of my most treasured electronic music highlights. If you like swampy warm house and disco grooves you definitely want to get after this set, and even if house isn't something you fuck with, you'll probably find something to dig if you like deep grooves of any kind.

Tracklist: Good2Groove 1.Let Love Live (Frankie Feliciano Vocal Mix) 2. Piece Of Soul (Bas Roos & Guy Steve) 3. Keep On Dancing-Williams Carrol (Vs Edit) 4. Love Is The Message (Moon Rocket- Re-Tide) 5. Why Can’t We See - Blind Truth Ft Tata & Stone (Club Mix) 6. Power - Javi Frias 7. Bad Girls -Used Disco (Original Mix) 8. Don’t Look Any Further - Danilo Rossini (Rossini & Mappa Rmx) 9. Mack Vibe Mr Meaner Ft Jaqueline Woodhead: 1. Luvless - Right Now 02. Loz Goddard - Now Is Where We Are 03. OJPB - Mysteries 04. Ari Bald - That Lonely Night 05. KIU D - Love In NY 06. Eli Escobar - City Song (COEO remix) 07. M.ono & Luvless - Eins A Legge 08. Tiger & Woods - Moonswing 09. Silk 86 - Rhapsody 10. Chevals - Lights 11. Chevals - Hot 12. Long Island Sound - I Chose You Because 13. Adryiano - Me & You & Her 14. A. M. Limonata - After Midnight Special 15. Tee Mango - This Is Where I'll Stay (With U) 16. Demuja - Turn Me On 17. The Black Madonna - Stay

A Year In West Coast Bass with Jim Vanderhorst.

January 31, 2018 by Blake Morneau in Interviews

2017 is the year I really felt like a legit part of the bass community here on the Canadian west coast. I've met and talked with an astonishing breadth of people with fantastical levels of skill and love for their respective crafts. Djs and producers, photographers, dancers, visual effects and lighting people, sound engineers, visual artists and writers – all working to help this music and culture we all love to thrive. One of the people who I've come to respect deeply both on a personal level and artistic level, is Jim Vanderhorst, the man behind Rebel Cause Films – the company behind some of the most unique and definitely most watchable festival and artist recaps films. His eye for his the medium and his never-ending push to show the most human parts of the culture give his videos an unparalleled warmth and sense of community. His compassion, thoughtfulness and willingness to speak up for what he believes when filming, discussing or just participating in the culture is a powerful and valuable trait. As someone who has made his name observing bass culture and translating what he sees for further consumption, I couldn't think of anyone more appropriate to help me take a look back at some of the things that made 2017 such a big year for bass music here on the best coast. As we enter a new year in bass and whatever weird-ass shit the party brings, we take a final look back at a pretty incredible 2017 with the incomparable leader of Rebel Cause Films, Jim Vanderhost.

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What's something that you've noticed in the bass community that you would like to see changed in the upcoming year or trends you'd like to see end?

There needs to be more awareness of just how bad women have it in this scene. There's a big discussion about it right now but a lot of things aren't being talked about. Like, go-go dancers are lucky to get paid enough to pay for there outfits...but they're usually not. They're getting in for free. People walk around thinking they're getting paid a bunch and treating them like shit. Like, 1% of Djs are girls. It's not promoted much and when they do get to play in this area it's an all-girls night, it's pandering and that's not helping the cause either. There are places like Calgary that have some great female acts that are starting to grow but out on the West Coast I'm not seeing it. I think a lot of shit that happens is just not fair. I think men need to really take a second and understand it's not fair. Women are organizing these entire things. Shambhala and Bass Coast are fucking run by women. And yet the talent buyers and everything are all hiring predominantly male acts. The women that are organizing everything are so busy making shit happen for us idiot men they sometimes don't notice the disservices being done. We have a huge long way to go before things are actually fair and I think we need to start taking better care of women who wanna get involved in performance, whether they're go-go dancers or Djs. Guys who want to do it should not complain about things being unfair for guys. So many male stage performers I've seen talk about how hard it is to be a man in this scene.

5 Questions with Rags #61 - Handsome Tiger

January 11, 2018 by Blake Morneau in 5 Questions With Rags

I hadn't heard the name Handsome Tiger before this past summer, and now I can't go long without seeing the name Handsome Tiger. With a slew of one-off shows and festival stops – Including Fest-stealing appearances at those meccas of west coast bass, Bass Coast and Shambahala – the good homie is quickly becoming a fixture in the West Coast bass scene. Consistently delivering a phenomenal blend of smooth, deep bass, hip-hop sensibilities and world-beat flourishes, in a remarkably short time, Handsome Tiger has created a unique and thrilling sound in a world over-saturated with repeats. “It's been about two years that I've been Djing under this moniker and putting out electronic music.,” says Tiger, talking at me from home in Vancouver. “It's really great because shows and opportunities are happening more frequently and I'm very appreciative. All the hard work is starting to pay off.”

Like a lot of my favourite electronic artists, Handsome Tiger's roots lay in instruments, in live music. “I was a vocalist, played guitar and drums and bass. I grew up playing more dancey indie rock/rock 'n' roll/psychadelic kind of stuff. That was where I started. I always had an appreciation for electronic music but it wasn't really in the forefront,” he says of his musical beginnings. “I was trying to pinpoint getting into bass music...You know when your parents tell you something is really cool but you're too young and naive to really get it? I always refer back to that story that I have with my dad. In our household growing up there was always lots of dub and reggae and dancehall and stuff like that – the roots of bass music essentially. I grew up on listening to a lot more of that music and having that around as a kid. Three or four years ago I started heavily listening to pretty much just electronic music, deep bass music, more the UK stuff and I started to wonder, 'Where does this music come from? Oh wait...' This is what my dad was trying to tell me and now I'm 30 and I realize that he's right.” Nothing like realizing your parents were right the whooooole time. Luckily, all his dad's love of low-key legendary bass rubbed off and we get the fine work of Handsome Tiger to enjoy on our dancefloors now. I was fortunate enough to get a bit of the good homie's time in between his rapid takeover of groovy places so we could chat about KoRn, a deep fear and Attempting Vegan.

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1. Do you remember the first album you bought with your own money?

I definitely remember being super excited – this is super embarrassing – there was this CD store that was a 10 minute walk from my school when I was in grade 6 or 7. I remember being obsessed with bands like KoRn and Blink-182. I remember being 12 or 13, all excited and needing the new KoRn album really badly.

I have a friend whose jam is to go through bands catalogues in the span of a week or whatever and after listening to KoRn's entire catalogue, he determined that they are the worst band in the history of rock music.

<laughs> They were good in their time and when that was a thing, but it's very depressing music.

They got some jams. I'll always have a soft spot for “Got the Life.”

Yeah, definitely! I love that track. Pretty much anything off that record...that was the one.

5 Questions with Rags #60 - 2018 Kickoff Spectacular with Jim Vanderhorst (Rebel Cause Films)

January 03, 2018 by Blake Morneau in 5 Questions With Rags

A funny thing happened at Tall Tree this year. I was asked by no less than three separate people if I knew Jim from Rebel Cause Films. (The mighty Everyman was effusive in his praise of the good Mr. Vanderhorst.) Apparently, because I like bass music and live in Victoria, I MUST be know and work with Jim. I didn't know who he was, but I was familiar with some of his work – as is pretty much anyone on the west coast who digs bass music and/or attends festivals and parties fuelled by such music. His work capturing the diverse beauty of musical audiences is, frankly, unparalleled. Turns out he's one hell of an interesting cat as well. I figured someone so entrenched in this community that I think I'm becoming a viable part of (?), a guy who has so much experience and so many stories, would be the perfect homie to kick off 2018. So, in an effort to blast off another year of 5 Questions with Rags in style, I dug up a large portion of the guest questions that got asked over the last year and let this incredibly interesting human being tear through them like some kind of fascinating buzzsaw.

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1. Colin from Pigeon Hole – What's the most vegetable and why?

Potatoes because to take the amount of time needed to describe everything you can do with potatoes would feel like like the shrimp montage from Forrest Gump. There are just so many things you can with potatoes...scalloped potatoes, mashed potatoes, french fries, baked potatoes... Potatoes are so goddamned versatile that when there were no potatoes, Ireland collapsed and turned into a joke for hundreds of years.

2. Jennay Badger...What's your go-to album for a good cry/emotional cleaning out?

I would say my go-to is probably Underdogs by Matthew Good Band.

3. Mike Love...What will you do now, to make the world a little better?

I really want to help spread the message that fear doesn't help anyone. I want to figure out ways to help people move beyond listening to fear. I want to make narrative feature films and I want them to share the basic theme of overcoming fear. Fear of useless, of lack of value. Fear is what we needed to save us from jungle cats when we were primitive stone-age animals. Now fear only drives us to bad decisions.