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What'sup!? Z again and I'm just coming back all the way from Michigan from the newly christened StereoTerra Music Festival. This certain festival holds very close to me as I made a ton of new friends and met tons of motivated individuals for the common cause of getting together and having fun doing whatever it is that they do best. I got the privilege to see lots of amazing DJs and talent try out new songs and styles that were very eye opening and break away from the norm of their usual genres, so today in taking note of which at EGP I'm gonna share with you the acts that blew me away.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Stratus is no stranger to the game as you all should know by now. His set was more of a celebration of his normal stylings with a lot of familiar songs being played like "Understand?!". But, midway through his set he threw on some original trap music that he had presumably been working on and I just have to say that his method of bass control made it all the more intense. If that was any indication of what he's gonna be releasing in the future then all fans of bass music need to be paying attention because it was so intense that even I had to go in and rage a bit. He has a playful manner on stage that fits his image very well and for my first time seeing him although it was a morning set It was fun as hell. His set was a bit on the short end of the spectrum but It wasn't any less that what I had imagined.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Robotic Pirate Monkey was a ton of fun, I was impressed with the way they weave in and out of each other and use each others equipment to make impossible combinations with pieces of equipment that one person using each just wouldn't normally be fast enough or mentally capable to do, and it shows in their music. The set was one of the most energetic of the first day, they were making jokes on stage wearing masks throwing them out to the crowds and dancing around like a bunch of best friends having the time of their life. They bring a playful integrity to their shows that shows you how down to each and connected to their fans they really are.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Griz put it on hard. He played a lot of his back catalogue and it got the crowd going. His energy on stage is really something to be admired, as he always looks as if he just started and enthusiastic as ever. He's a great showman and displayed which mid set by bringing out the saxophone and going in with it, He has some minor technical difficulties with his equipment and fixed it up in 2 seconds without anyone noticing, certifying his position as a professional DJ and producer. It was one of my favorite acts of the entire festival.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Tittsworth's set was some madness, lots of mooba beats and intense bass, I actually had to thank him after the show for putting on such a good time. My only regret was that it was too short and I didn't get enough pics because I was dancing so much. I feel with a longer set time he would destroy crowds but I'm assuming that there was time constraints on the festivals line-up.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Zoogma put on literally one of the greatest live shows I've seen yet. If you aren't familiar with Zoogma they are a jam band with electronic elements fused in very nicely, a great thing to catch if you ever get the chance as they are regulars in the festival scene. They played tons of new content and old, Their entire set flowed together with high energy almost metal sounding stylings into vibed-out soulful riffs and amazingly done remixes, Their "Starry Eyed" remix was terrifically set up and the got the crowd with every type of energy to dance to imaginable, from rock, dubstep, drum and bass, to other things undefinable. Do yourself a favor and catch them any time you see them on any bill for any event.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
RJD2 is an artist, simply put. His skill with vinyl records was something else, his flow into tracks on top of other tracks seamlessly put into each other on traditional analog equipment amazed everyone and brought a humbling energy to the crowd and other DJs. His composure on stage and ability to create a mood was the mark of a true professional in the game. Deservedly a headliner by far and I can't wait to catch him again. Next time maybe without a camera so I can sit down and fully take in the complexity of what was going on.
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Photo By Zodd
Michal Menert definitely brought a level of intensity to his set which makes me wonder why this Pretty Lights Music artist doesn't get as much as attention as his other labelmates. He was singing along to every song he had with words showing his attachment through pure soul in his music, it was fun to watch. his high energy set contained heavy basslines and smooth synths, and left me struggling to name the genre being played, other than swag.
For a first year festival, the line-up for StereoTerra pulls no punches as they brought in people from every side of the spectrum. There were a lot of other great names playing like Muzzy, Freddy Todd, Crushendo, and The Spring Standard just to name a few. I expect this festival to be one to look out for in the next year if the amount of effort and quality showcased in the musical choices and creative effort in all directions for this event is any indication on the direction its going to eventually grow into.
Wassup everyone? It's Wish[Paus3] here and I'm hunkering down in NYC while Zodd and Fitz are making their way out the Michigan for StereoTerra! Ever since preparing for Camp Bisco, I have had my ear to the festival community becoming a little more fine tuned. One event that caught my eye instantly was a Facebook page that popped up in my news feed called "Destroy Gnarnia the Festival" (EDIT 8/17 It seems the page has been taken down). I started looking into the page, why would someone create something like this without reason. Well the reason was pretty shocking. According to posts on the page, there had been 490 arrests, most of the felony charges, in and around the festival. Holy cow right?! I had to look in deeper. What I've been finding is more disturbing than the initial shock and question of, "who's to blame". The differences between posts there and on the official event invite are vast...
Let me start by saying the festival looked awesome. It was a first for the folks behind it, this was Gnarnia's inaugural year. All the pictures and video that came out, the lineup, the grounds... everything looks so legit. The website provides everything for you, from camping guidelines, to ride sharing, to a ton of activities they were holding. There's no doubt that people would be wanting to come out to this one, this was no underground festy. The problems began when there were more people than expected, and of course the increased amount of police presence in the area.
Fact is, police are in every event whether you know it or not. Breaking the law in any way WILL put you in a position to get caught by law enforcement. Being at a festival is not an excuse to do illegal things, but that is a personal decision. At Gnarnia, it seemed that the police were a little, hyper-active if you will. DT's trying really hard to set people up, harassing and arresting people next to tents that weren't theirs, being violent, randomly searching persons, hippie profiling, and all-in-all using terror tactics to get what they wanted. This is what stands out as the most significant issue here. Not the problems the producers had with tickets or camping, or even having the cops in the festival grounds.
"If you are for the path of open communication and change, share this article"
According to one trusted festival goer, the majority of arrests happened outside the festival at road blocks and at hotels and cabins. Apparently the festival grounds were not connected to the camping fields, one had to take a shuttle to get back and forth.... too many people decided they should drive their own cars. They had also told me about the sale of alcohol on festival grounds. As normal as that seems, North Carolina has a department for that, called the Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE). This allowed them to be on festival grounds whenever they wanted, in other words, more law enforcement around. So you had several different police departments doing "their own thing".
Getting back to the Facebook pages. The "Destroy" page has been garnering a lot of attention, but in my opinion is negatively affecting the community. People are angry their friends got in trouble, as anyone would be. Everyone is looking for someone to blame, which is literally pulling people apart. If anything everyone should get together and figure out a way to change legislation. I personally have been blocked from posting on the page after posting my rant to the page owner (I apologize for my French!). It sickens me that people are seeming more ok with seeing a police state in action than they are with a first time festival having first time festival issues. On top of that, people like myself, who are looking for answers and momentum and not just suggestions of conspiracy within the ranks of the promoters, are being silenced. The owner of the page won't even release his/her name to the public, but they will sit behind their desk and do nothing but instigate. When asked for pictures, I was replied to that I should post them, and people were "too scared" by the police to actually pull a camera out and film. If you don't exercise your rights, they will be stripped away from you. It's all smoke and mirrors to me, tactics to get people riled up, but there is no clear cause. On top of that, the page is censored (as certain posts have been on the event page as well). To me, it means make up your own mind. It's obvious that there are gaps in this story, but once again the over all lesson seems clear to me. This is a motion towards a police state. Ya'll didn't like it? Guess what, stop blaming everyone else but yourselves.
As a community, we are strong. There are hundreds of thousands of us, all with similar goals. We just want to have a good time at these events, but what do we stand for? The problem is that everyone is too comfortable. Festivals become marketing tools and we forever are stamped as a drug culture. If you are for the path of open communication and change, share this article. Don't let a bad experience shy you into a corner, instead make a stand. I hope that those wrongfully arrested and were harassed get their justice (if those stories posted are true).
LAST RANT:
The grounds were held on Beech Mountain, NC. Seemingly the middle of no where (it is), this town is only lively during the winter time when skiing and snowboard season open up. To have a mass amount of people in their town is both a great and terrible thing. As people, we don't like seeing things we are not used to coming into our comfort zone, but business loves it. Something else to think about here is the lower rate of crime in this type of area. Seeing a "neo-hippie" music festival coming into town, well that's an instant mark for law enforcement. I have never been involved with organizing something like this, but take Camp Bisco for example. Last year 25,000 people came through to Mariaville, NY. It caused so many issues with traffic, the locals, and it almost seemed like the festival might have to find another home. But it didn't. The problems caused the year before were handled in a new way this year, and Bisco was in it's 11th year.Now I do not know the way money gets thrown around for both private security and/or police, but it seemed like MCP was working directly with the police to insure the traffic moved and people that weren't supposed to be there were not there.
I am so unbelievably excited for StereoTerra! This is the first annual festival for StereoTerra, being held this weekend in Edenville, Michigan. It features one of the best lineups I've seen all summer. On top of that its being held in nature. Imagine the woods, two rivers and a lake... the place looks gorgeous. There's also going to be plenty to do outside of dancing and jamming out, with such activities planned as a festival wide scavenger hunt, their own version of the dating game, and "the worlds largest dreamcatcher" over the course of four days and all for a pricetag of 75 dollars! I have a feeling this may be the festival of the summer and Electric Ghost Punk will be there to provide coverage. Here's a quick sampling of some of the artists playing.
