When the full schedule was released for the 3rd annual Buku Music and Art Project yesterday, some might have noticed the newcomer taking the very first slot of the festival, C-LaB. But what most don’t know, is the long and rocky road C-LaB had to conquer before he will perform on a festival-sized stage for the first time.
Chase LaBure, aka C-LaB, is a New Orleans native and you can catch him around town most weekends as a local opener for major touring artists. With a degree in music and a background of hip-hop production, becoming a DJ was the next obvious step for C-LaB. However he has completely switched it up from his roots, playing multi-genre sets heavy in house music, which is very uncommon for the New Orleans nightlife scene.
So how did a local opener get a chance to perform at one of the premier music festivals in the South?
Last month, Buku Music & Art Project and EDMutual teamed up for their BASSIK 2 BUKU DJ competition where each DJ posted a 30-minute set and fans had 2 1/2 weeks to vote on their favorites, then the top 5 would go head-to-head for a spot at Buku Music & Art Project this year.
With less than a week til voting ended, C-LaB found himself falling short at #11 in the ranking but knew he couldn’t give up so easily. For the next 4-5 days, he spent every waking moment going through each one of his contacts and sending them a personal message letting them know about the contest he was in and how much it would mean to him if he made it.
Within several days, Chase climbed his way all the way to the #1 spot. However, the competition wasn’t quite over yet. In the very last hour of voting, several people popped up into the ranking with hundreds of votes coming in each minute, and C-LaB was bumped all the way to #5 when voting ended. After EDMutual and Buku took out fake votes, a couple people were knocked out and C-LaB was ready to go head-to-head at the #4 spot, which meant he was in the second time-slot for the competition.
Last Friday, Republic New Orleans was filled both with supporters of their favorite DJ and the usual weekend crowd looking to hear some amazing music. That night, each of the performers brought their A-game and every single person performing that night gave it their absolute all.
In choosing the winners, there were 3 criteria the decision was based off of: (1) Crowd cheer (2) Fan Votes and (3) Buku’s Choice. It was definitely a close competition, but between his enormous amount of supporters and the incredible set he threw down Friday night, C-LaB’s hard work had finally paid off. He won the BASSIK 2 BUKU DJ competition, earning him a time-slot at Buku Music & Art Project 2014.
Check out C-LaB’s originality and genre-crossing madness for yourself and get your Buku Music & Art Project experience started off right. In the meantime, get ready to turn up with C-LaB’s mashup “Backseat Yeestyle”
Connect with C-LaB: Facebook / Soundcloud / Twitter
Photo: Flyy-By-Nite
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