(Photo Credit: Rukes)
Lost in all the spring tours, fall tours and festival headlining spots can be the ever changing, evolving sound Bassnectar has demonstrated throughout his illustrious career. It’s been 14 years since Lorin released his first album. 14 years. With all the hype Noise vs. Beauty has generated since the release last summer, it’s nice to sometimes go back and take a journey through the steps it took to get there.
From Freakbeat for the Beatfreaks, to Mesmerizing the Ultra, to NVSB, they each tell a story. Spanning more than 1/3 of his life, each of these ten albums represent a permanent glimpse into Lorin’s head during that moment in time. Some albums are more “beauty”…some albums are more “noise”…some albums are an amazing combination of both. Possibly one of these albums isn’t your cup of tea? What can always be appreciated though, is the constant churning forward Bassnectar has demonstrated throughout the years when it comes to his sound.
We did the legwork for you and listened to each of these 10 works of art, making the near impossible decision of choosing our favorite off each. Take a look below and see if our choices line up with yours.
“Track 2” – Freakbeat for the Beatfreaks – 2001
Kicking off the first LP is this piece of downtempo heaven. Released when he was known as DJ Lorin, Freakbeat for the Beatfreaks is in a different universe than some of his more recent albums. Even so, you can hear some clear identifying factors that Bassnectar still uses today such as the recurring vocal sample and skillful drum use.
As far as we know, none of the tracks off this album were given a formal title. “Track 2” is our favorite of the bunch, with the haunting siren over the top of unrelenting drums making it an easy pick. Give it a listen and see what you think.
“Delamure” – Beatfreak Bohemia – 2002
Beatfreak Bohemia represents the second of five albums let loose in a five year span. A crazy feat for any artist, it’s clear that Lorin had all these ideas bundled up in his mind and was now finding an avenue to release them into the wild. This album’s a lengthy one, with 17 tracks from start to finish. The choice was a no-brainer for us though, as “Delamure” has transcended time and is appreciated by fans to this day.
It’s not too often that Bassnectar will drop this in a live set, but he still does, and on the rare occasion when it happens you know you’re witnessing something truly special.
“So Butterfly” – Motions of Mutation – 2003
Given a shiny new remix treatment on his newest album NVSB, “So Butterfly” is just as flawless today as it was back in 2003. Light, fluttery synths take up the majority of the song, with an ominous tone lurking in the background. The original is loaded with thought provoking, politically driven vocal clips and we love it. This is one of the many aspects which separated himself from the crowd; he challenged listeners to think for themselves, using his music as food for thought.
“Replenish” – Diverse Systems of Throb – 2004
Diverse Systems of Throb is Bassnectar’s coming out party to the world. It’s his first album released under the Bassnectar moniker, but more importantly it’s absolutely jam packed with breathtaking tracks from start to finish. Your favorite could be “Laughter Crescendo”, “Dubuasca”, “Pleasure the Bassnympho” (with the immediately recognizable Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. vocal clip), or any number of others.
Points can be made for each, but to us “Replenish” is the best of an amazing bunch. A soothing, dream-like melody welcomes you throughout the song and shows you everything great about Bassnectar. Vocal clips galore and beautifully layered sounds make this an all-time favorite.
(link to stream entire album on bassnectar.net)
“Leprechauns Arise” – Mesmerizing the Ultra – 2005
Again, pick your favorite off this LP. With an evolving sound that’s becoming more and more refined, Bassnectar made one of his best productions to date with Mesmerizing the Ultra. “Blow” is one of the most creative songs we’ve ever heard from him and is used routinely in sets almost 10 years later. “Blue State Riddim” has the still sampled “Move your body like that” lyrics. “Parade Into Centuries” wraps up the entire album in gorgeous fashion, giving a great ending to a great album.
“Leprechauns Arise” takes the cake for us though. For a lot of the same reasons we love “Replenish” so much, we love this track just the same way. With some beautiful piano dancing over the top of the track, it’s something to kick back to and enjoy.
“Select Frequency” – Underground Communication – 2007
Released through Om Records, Underground Communication represents Bassnectar’s foray into the slightly heavier, more aggressive side of things. You can still hear his glitch and downtempo prowess loud and clear, but tracks like “Ridiculous Wobble” and “Kick it Complex” showcased a different side of Bassnectar which fans haven’t seen much of to date. Songs like “Fsof” and “Bomb the Blocks” are beloved by fans everywhere, but we’re partial to “Select Frequency.”
Giving fans a taste of what’s to come down the road, Bassnectar expertly collided bass music and hip-hop lyrics to form a track that in our mind is flawless.
“WAV files rub on your brain files constantly.”
(link to stream entire album on Bassnectar.net)
“The Churn of the Century” – Cozza Frenzy – 2009
Face melting mayhem. That’s the only true way you can describe “The Churn of the Century”, and really Cozza Frenzy as a whole. Sure there’s beautiful tracks like “Window Seat”, or straight filthy hip-hop beats like “Teleport Massive”, but it’s with this album that Bassnectar put his stamp on the bass scene as one of the fearless leaders of the fast growing genre.
It’s nearly impossible to choose a favorite off this album: with tracks like “Boombox”, “When I Grow Up”, and “I Am A Laser” in addition to the earlier mentioned tracks. But there’s something about the bouncy, unrelenting bass in “The Churn of the Century” that we can’t get enough of.
(link to stream entire album on Bassnectar.net)
“Above & Beyond” – Divergent Spectrum – 2011
It’s interesting to be able to have the information we have today, then use it to look back in time. With all due respect to every track off NVSB, this has to be one of the greatest examples of noise and beauty that Bassnectar has ever produced. With a very theatrical, cinematic approach to the intro, “Above & Beyond” takes the listener on a journey. Bringing you down to the deepest depths of Bassnectar’s bass and back up to the most light-hitting of melodies, there’s good reason for this track being a favorite of Bass Heads.
Honorable mention needs to be handed to “Voodoo”, “The Matrix”, “Heads Up”, and “Immigraniada.” An argument can certainly be heard for this being the greatest album Bassnectar’s produced to date.
(link to stream entire album on Bassnectar.net)
“Ping Pong” – Vava Voom – 2012
Sandwiched between “Ugly” and “What”, this could very well be the heaviest, most obscene three track span in Nectar history. There’s also favorites such as “Do It Like This” and “Pennywise Tribute”, but in our mind nothing can beat the live experience that “Ping Pong” offers. With the always fantastic visuals which display this track, this song represents a sensory overload when witnessed during a set.
There’s beautiful masterpieces like “Butterfly” ft. Mimi Page…there’s the always great “Empathy”…and there’s also the most well known of the bunch, “Vava Voom” ft. Lupe Fiasco. Bassnectar kept up his ways on this album with balancing the heavy with the light, the ugly with the gorgeous. It was yet another stacked track-list, but “Ping Pong” is just too great live to pass up.
(link to stream entire album on SoundCloud)
“Gnar” – Noise vs. Beauty – 2014
And finally we’ve reached his latest offering. Released last summer, NVSB was the culmination of two years of work and a long overdue half-year hiatus from touring. There’s a bit of everything on this album for fans: from the Mesmerizing the Ultra-style “Ephemeral”, to the hard hitting “Loco Ono”, to sounds we’ve never heard from him yet like “Flashback”. Even “So Butterfly” as previously mentioned got a fresh new remix, bringing it back into the spotlight.
None we feel is quite as grimy as “Gnar” though. Although this track gets surprisingly little airtime during live sets of his to date, we cross our fingers that it changes this summer. Click play and hear some of the most unsanitary drumstep you can fathom.
(link to stream entire album on SoundCloud)
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