Over the last few years, I’ve come to consider CRSSD Festival one of my most looked forward to events all year. The bi-annual San Diego shindig boasts one of the most unique festival atmospheres and music curations on the planet. The Waterfront Park is the perfect setting for the 2-day, 3-staged, 21+ weekend long event. Views of the water, gorgeous sunsets, pirate ships, and a smorgasbord of gourmet food and microbrews all combine to make one of the best music festivals in the country. Here’s my recounting of one of the best weekend I’ve had in a long while.

After entering the festival I bee-lined it straight to the City Steps stage to check out my man Brodinski; the hip-hop and techno don threw down a heavy set, weaving in and out of every transition from banging techno to dirty south hip-hop with ease and flair. Up next was San Francisco’s own Matrixxman who played a booming hard techno set that set my eardrums a blaze and had me headbanging harder than metalheads at a Pantera concert. After scarfing down some delicious tri-tip, I caught Louis the Child’s set at sunset. The young tikes did not disappoint as they perfectly captures the sunset’s balearic mood and then got much darker and heavy once night fell. It’s refreshing to know these two boys from Chicago are killing the game right now in an otherwise saturated future bass scene.

The illustrious DJ Harvey was up next. I did not know much about Harvey coming into Saturday but I left amazed at the man’s knack for finding obscure old school disco tracks that mix perfectly with his more modern house-y selections. The whole set was a unique experience of hearing records that haven’t been played anywhere else in decades. After Harvey’s very culturing set, it was time for the Dirtybird all-stars to get behind the decks. First up was Shiba-San who mixed in tech house, classic house, techno, and the dirtiest of Dirtybird tracks throughout his set. Justin Martin may have been the most disappointing set all weekend. His set lacked any dance-able cohesion and he kept getting on the mic a bit too much. All in all, Saturday was a great day for music.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! I arrived a bit later in the day as I usually do on day 2 situations. I went to one of the after parties the night before and it’s safe to say I wanted to sleep in. The first artist I checked out was Lee Burridge. Lee put on a very groovy and smooth techno affair. Although I only caught the end of his set I really enjoyed it and definitely want to check him out at future events. Next up was Maya Jane Coles. Maya threw down a hard and banging techno set. She had the crowd hanging on every track and just embodied pure badassery. The rest of the evening I spent going back and forth between Kaytranada and Dubfire while making stops at the bar in between both stages. This is one of CRSSD Festival’s huge advantages; there are only 3 stages and they are all so close together that it makes it easy to take in as much music as possible. Kaytranada was certainly a treat. In the past, I wasn’t really a fan of his live sets, however, he changed my mind this time around with an amazing set that was very upbeat and fast paced. Dubfire’s set, though not the live Hybrid setup, was superb in progressive techno flare. His set was extremely packed and had great sound from front to back.

Time and time again, I’ve returned to the San Diego Waterfront for the biannual event. Good food, good drinks, great music, and amazing weather all combine to make one of the most well-organized and fun festivals in the United States. See you in March!

Kaytranada – Whateva U Want

21 Savage – No Target (Produced by Brodinski)

Louis the Child – Fire

Procedure – Matrixxman

Having chased many a sunrise with Dive and Awake as our soundtrack, our surprise when the Sunrise Ambient King Scott Hansen suddenly released Epoch was more than evident. As the title suggest, his fifth album continues the saga of what we’ve come to know from Tycho while adding clear influences from his life. While his previous releases leaned toward electro-pop and shoegaze, Epoch draws on heavier sounds and rougher edges. The drums hit harder, the beats drive longer, the pacing is faster; it all eludes more to a moon-rise sense.

The title track and ‘Receiver’ evoke much of what we’d expect to hear from a sunrise in Blackrock City; there’s no doubt his multiple sunrise sets there have influenced their production. Tracks like ‘Source’ and ‘Rings’ draw heavily on the hard hitting and rapid drumming of liquid D’n’B while still maintaining his well-known loftiness. Still, there’s no deny the classic ambient etherealism is still present; openers ‘Glider’ and ‘Horizon’ pay homage to that.

Tycho – Epoch (right click-> open new)

Symbiosis Gathering

Play. (right click-> open new)

Photos.

After it’s 11th installment, Symbiosis has cemented itself as one of the best music and art gatherings in the US. The hosts have perfected the art that goes into harboring the knowledge, wonder, and magic of what experimental pop-up communities have to offer. And, as always, the music and art are top notch no matter where a wandering heart may find itself. We were somewhat skeptical of how the increased attendance – 15,000 tickets sold – would mar the experience we had last year; loss of intimacy and the trouble that comes with it (crowds, crime, and irresponsibility) weighs heavy on the luster. Upon arrival, we found the pre-fest jitters to be just that: butterflies fluttering for a home to settle. And we were home.

(more…)

Symbiosis Gathering | Lineup | Tickets

Symbiosis Site Maps and Schedules have been released! We’re just a week out and the anticipation is palpable. With freak gear and dance spirit at the ready, all that’s left is to set up a nice tentative schedule to be completely ignored once on-site. But hey, getting your hopes up is all part of the experience.

Despite all the unforeseen adventures you might find yourself in, here are a few undercard artists, workshops, and speakers we highly advise you pencil in. One other piece of advice: stay up past 3am. In true BM fashion, the best acts come on as the sun rises.

Music
Mira
Mira hails from one of Berlin’s best labels, Katermukke. She’s joined by quite a few other label mates too, so keep an ear out for them too (Nico Stojan is top notch).

Mira x Christopher Schwarzwalder – Ayun

Perfect Stranger
Remember Hackers? or Wipeout XL? Perfect Stranger is like that; driving prog-psy.

Liftshift – Tunnelvision (Perfect Stranger Remix)

Nicola Cruz
Nicola Cruz brings an Ecuadorian electronica touch with him wherever he goes. And he goes all over the world. His expansive sound is uniqueness on the levels of Nico.

Matanza – Existencia (Nicola Cruz Remix)

The Range
The Range‘s newest album, Potential was built all on computer. Hard to tell though cause the emotion is rife.

The Range – Five Four

Oh Wonder
While having fun is always a prerogative at these things, sometimes emotional release is exactly what makes it that much more fun. Oh Wonder has that covered.

Oh Wonder – Drive

Workshops, Speakers & Luminaries
Check out any and all of these that might strike a chord or pique your fancy. Remember: our duty is to leave the world in a better place while still enjoying all life has to offer. Symbiosis presents the perfect environment to learn how to do both.

—If you’re going early—

Workshops We’re Piqued By

BECCA TARNAS – TOWARDS AN IMAGINAL ECOLOGY

CRIT CALLEBS – TRADITIONAL MENTORING : THE ART OF EMPOWERING LIVES

DAVID ABRAM – BETWEEN THE HUMAN ANIMAL AND THE ANIMATE EARTH: THE ECOLOGY OF WONDER

DAVID CASEY – NETWORKING THE TRANSFORMATIONAL ECOSYSTEM

LYDIA NEILSEN – INTEGRATED GREYWATER DESIGN

LYDIA VIOLET HARUTOONIAN – MUSIC AS MEDICINE IN OUR TIME

XOCHI RAYE – YOUR INNER GOLDEN COMPASS

Tickets

Over the past few years Orange County’s favorite surf rock studs The Growlers host one of the biggest 3-day parties on the West Coast. Beach Goth has been one of the most eclectic and fresh festivals to date. In a market saturated by a seemingly unending menagerie of new festivals popping up Beach Goth is able to set itself apart by getting together some of the most in demand and up and coming artists from across the globe all in once place. This year is no exception as the bill from top to bottom is simply superb.

For starters we have Justice and Gucci Mane both making huge comebacks this year. Old hip-hop favorites like 2 live crew, TLC, and The Pharcyde will be taking the stage before or after rock legends like Joy Division and The Faint. Just take a look at this line-up and tell us you’re not impressed. I hope you are excited as we are for all this talent to be in once place as Beach Goth is simply about the music and keeps it that way.

Sebastian – H.A.L.

King Krule – Octopus

RL Grime – Aurora

Violent Femmes – Blister in the Sun

If you have been following us for a while you know that we here at Control + Alt + Delight have been HUGE fans of CRSSD Festival from the get go. Twice a year the Downtown San Diego Waterfront plays host to some of the best talent in electronic music. CRSSD Festival also features a craft beer and mixology program along with locally curated food vendors from some of San Diego’s finest restaurants. CRSSD is a 21+ festival.

To top it off, CRSSD offers sunset views over the waterfront and docked sailboats, fountains for staying cool while sunbathing, and the dramatic downtown backdrop of planes taking off and landing at the San Diego Airport. It’s a setting unlike any other in America. Once night falls, CRSSD programs a full After Dark program, which sees world-class DJs perform at multiple venues across the city.

One of our favourite additions to the lead up is their BitTorrent Content Bundle. The newest installment features exclusive music From ZHU, Eagles & Butterflies, and Landis LaPacePlus Free Downloads From Flight Facilities, MK, Big Wild, Ta-Ku, REZZ, AC Slater, Sam Feldt, Dr. Fresch, + Boys Don’t Disco’s Late Night Jackin’ Guacamole Recipe, a KUNGS, and a Matrixxman Desktop Wallpaper.

Download the CRSSD Bundle Here and use it to prep for CRSSD Festival which takes place on October 1 & 2 in San Diego’s Waterfront Park.

For more information and tickets to CRSSD Fest, visit: http://crssdfest.com/

Treasure Island Music Festival • Tickets

Day splits are here! While TIMF boasts the most wonderful feature of staggered set times so attendees never have to miss an act, there’s still much else to do by way of exploring or silent disco-ing. That said, we highly recommend you find a good spot for the following acts. Also, remember to bring a jacket or a thick beer coat – it gets windy past sundown.

Saturday – 10|15
It’s been wonderful seeing HONNE evolve into the silky smooth love struck duo they are today.

HONNE x Izzy Bizu – Someone That Loves You

Having seen Mura Masa once before in an intimate setting, we can definitely recommend you catch hold and flow with his passionate beats surrounded by island rays.

Mura Masa ft. Nao – Firefly

Sunday – 10|16
We’ve given the girls of HINDS (fka. Deers) so much attention – and for good reason. They’re spunky and they put on a damn good show.

HINDS – Bamboo

Perhaps the only artist truly suited for TIMF, Tycho‘s brand of chilled electronic instrumentals mixed with the crisp sea breeze and sunshine is reason enough to attend.

Tycho – Division