Bassnectar

Bassnectar is the stage name of Lorin Ashton, a San Francisco-born electronic music producer and DJ based in Santa Cruz, California. The project is associated with breakbeat, downtempo, drum and bass, drumstep, dubstep and electronic music, and is listed as a person act with Naux Faux as a member.

Career

Ashton begins making music in California’s underground scenes, moving from heavy metal and hardcore punk interests into electronic music, raves and DJing. He is influenced early on by Metallica, N.W.A. and Nirvana, then by local metal and punk acts and by the rave and Goa trance communities around San Francisco and Santa Cruz. He learns drums from his uncle, who brings him hand drums and cassette tapes of Brazilian samba and batucada rhythms, and later develops his own playing by combining riffs, experimenting with 4-track recorders and effects pedals, and making DIY techno with drum machines, guitar, pedals and vocal effects.

He studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he takes an electronic music minor, majors in Community Studies and also minors in Education. He starts going to raves in 1995, works closely with promoters and party organisers in the San Francisco scene, and helps put on warehouse parties in San Francisco and beach events in Santa Cruz. He also takes an early turn to DJing after learning on turntables from a friend named Bonnie, a downtempo DJ from San Jose. His move into performance grows out of both event promotion and a wish to contribute to the communities around him.

Releases and live work

Bassnectar makes a debut in 2001 with the studio album Freakbeat for the Beatfreaks. He is especially known for his live performances, light shows and community engagement. The name comes from a sticker reading “Butterfly Beings Drink Bass Nectar”, given to Ashton by a DJ called Brother, whom he identifies as an influence on the early Santa Cruz full moon collective scene.

Background and influences

Ashton describes his early musical life as shaped by discovering music that felt intense and unfamiliar rather than mainstream, and by a local underground scene of metalheads, punks and experimental musicians. He cites influences including Exhumed, Spazz, Gory Melanoma and Dawning, as well as the broader rave communities that push him towards electronic music. He also describes working as Barney the Purple Dinosaur at children’s birthday parties while in college.