Dozens of artists brought the heat last weekend at F.A.R.M Fest 2015 in Hammonton, New Jersey. We were taken to church many times where we channeled our energy and resonated with those around us through beautiful bass music. It’s a tough job to pick the “best” sets from a lineup that performed so well from start to finish, headliners to undercard. Instead we selected five sets which hit harder than the rest: the bass heavy highlights of the weekend in our humble opinion.
(1) Levitation Jones
Coming off a killer Camp Bisco appearance Brian Levitation Jones took us by surprise early Thursday evening in The Untz tent. His boom-clap clapped us into another dimension full of super aggressive melodies and timestretched bass lines. The crowd which was still continuing to gather whipped themselves into a frenzy for a massive get down to start off the festival. It’s a good thing his set was early because the speakers in the tent had a low-end that was deafening, thrilling and potentially unsafe after multiple heavy sets.
Jones inducing Levitation (Lucid Photography)
(2) Psymbionic
Speaking of heavy John Psymbionic crushed that ego killer of a tent with an amazing DJ set at primetime on Friday night. John captured and mirrored the energy of the crowd with well-paced grooves and smashing bass drops that either wobbled down low or rode up high. Each track was a new ride and from beginning to end the set became deeper and more soulful, but always thunderous. From Bassnectar’s remix of Psymbionic’s “One Thing Ft. Christina Soto” to the Psymbionic remix of “Stellar” by Incubus, we were picking up what John was putting down big time. The quality laser and light production in the Untz tent did much justice to this DJ who really blended into the crowd at F.A.R.M.
Psymbionic (bottom right) kickin’ it with some Farmily (Esseks on the left)
(3) G Jones
Late Thursday night Greg G Jones calmly set up his gear before setting off the tent with reckless abandon. The energy was at a fever pitch from start to finish. He hit harder than ever with “Yo VIP”, “Mirage Ultra VIP” and a ridiculous remix of “Ring The Alarm” x “Diamonds On My Neck”. After his set, while the crew was still preparing the Untz Live stage behind him, Greg asked if we wanted to hear some unreleased music from Eprom, though he reminded the crowd, “I’m not doing anything, but I want you guys to hear this.” All class, and he still can’t hear what you’re trying to say if you’re not on his vibe….probably because of the speakers in that tent.
The rear window of a wise and knowledgable patron’s car at F.A.R.M.
(4) Sixis
Early Saturday morning Sixis spun on the spotlight stage. In the wee and weird hours as the sun was creeping toward the horizon Ben Wyss from Berkeley blessed those of us on beach with deep, engaging rhythms and sacred soundscapes. His new EP is called Refraction Point, an appropriate metaphor for the place to which Sixis brought us under the shifting stars over the lake at Paradise Lakes Campgrounds. The downtempo was peaceful and meditate, but always massive with incomprehensible clashes of synthesizers. To be honest we haven’t discovered anything like it outside of the Tipper nebula.
(5) Liquid Stranger
Martin Staaf, the Liquid Stranger, took to the main stage in front of an anxious crowd which had expected him almost two hours earlier. The same thing occurred at F.A.R.M. Fest 2014 because of a late arrival, but this year Martin was hanging around long before his set. Despite the organizational snafu, dedicated fans waited on that beach for an intimate set with an icon of electronic music, and when he finally threw down none were left unhappy. He, too, blessed the beach with an all original set while dropping gems like “Rocket Fuel” and his bumping remix of Damian Marley’s “Welcome to Jamrock.” He humbly mentioned that each was a request from someone at the festival, showing true class by giving loyal fans the heavy dub clash set they were longing for.
The Hoopsie Daisies ladies spinning fire during the set
These massive sets blew us away and an honorable mention is certainly deserved for Gable Johnson III, also known as Honeycomb. He could be found beatboxing on what seemed like dozens of sets during the weekend, sitting in with Brightside, Liquid Stranger and helping Psymbionic when his computer died mid-set. Honeycomb’s freestyle beats which literally came right off the dome were a fantastic compliment to any artist who welcomed him on stage.
Honeycomb (left) killin’ it with Brightside
Connect with Levitation Jones:
https://www.facebook.com/LevitationJones
https://soundcloud.com/levitationjones
Connect with Psymbionic:
https://www.facebook.com/Psymbionic?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/Psymbionic
https://soundcloud.com/psymbionic
Connect with Sixis:
https://www.facebook.com/SIXISMusic
https://soundcloud.com/sixis-3
Connect with G Jones:
https://www.facebook.com/gjonesbass?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/gjonesbass
https://soundcloud.com/gjonesbass
Connect with Liquid Stranger:
https://www.facebook.com/liquidstranger?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/LiquidStranger
https://soundcloud.com/liquid-stranger
Connect with Honeycomb:
https://www.facebook.com/honeycombeatbox?fref=ts
https://soundcloud.com/honeycombeatbox
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