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Clubbing in the Woods

KJ Sawka

Bass Mountain Music Festival goes to glamping resort

As downtown Buffalo bustles in its usual fashion, a stacked lineup of music will be reverberating through The Woods at Bear Creek in Franklinville, just an hour outside of the Queen City. For the fourth time, production company Discover New Beats presents Bass Mountain Music Festival, which will run from Thursday, August 7 through Sunday, August 10. This is the second time the event has been held at an outdoor location. “This venue is a major step up in quality for this event,” says Jason Krantz, aka Loki, owner of Discover New Beats and founder of the Bass Mountain Music Festival. “Being outside for a festival that lasts several days really bonds people in a way a club environment can’t.” Major headliners include Emalkay, Bailey and KJ Sawka. Along with many local favorites some acts are making their way from places like Toronto, Pittsburgh, Nashville and beyond. The top three headliners will all be coming from the United Kingdom, where the bass music scene flourishes.

Emalkay, otherwise known as Martin Knowles, is a dubstep producer and DJ from Birmingham, England and has been in the game for years. His track “When I Look at You” has become a crate favorite for many. With continual releases on Caspa’s label, Dub Police, Emalkay has traveled the world playing heavy bass. UK bass music is a force to be reckoned with. British DJ Bailey, an old head, has become well-known in the drum ‘n’ bass community since his introduction in the late 1980s. Influenced by breakbeats and acid house, Bailey began hosting a pirate radio show and has performed worldwide.

A purveyor of live sounds of jungle and drum ‘n’ bass, KJ Sawka is known for his percussive expertise as drummer of electronic rock band Pendulum. He’ll deliver at hybrid set at Bass Mountain.

Also on the lineup will be dubstep from Conscious Pilot; drum ‘n’ bass from Q-BIK and Hoogs; a range of bass music from Jamestown’s Notixx; live trumpet over beats with Willie Waldman featuring Big Basha; drum ‘n’ bass from Toronto’s Mr. Brown; multi-genre sounds from Robbie Rockso and also Doverspike, both from Pittsburgh.

Buffalo’s Igloo Music will host a special collaborative showcase of techno and house from Paul K, Brandon Chase, JP Freedom, Rufus Gibson, Gene Linet and Twist. There will be additional performances by Saratoga Springs’ Evac Protocol, Rochester’s funktronic electro dub rock group RootsCollider, and Witness from Pittsburgh.

Loki, the festival’s head honcho will, of course, be performing as well, along with Subet and Hokilla from New York City; San Francisco’s Madam Bliss; and DJ Gina Sutton of Nashville.

The lineup continues on with more regional support from: All Day, Anubis, Bace:Face, Beta, Bittle, Bones Jones, Brother Bear, Groove Crusade, Criminal Sound, Da Butcha, Diskomaster, Distinct Motive, Drop D, Dub’l Forte, E-Mission & Enimal Noize, Emjay Biggz aka Drumsound Blvd, Eyes Everywhere, Flex, Folklore, Foot Foot, Full Spectrum, Jeffrepeater, Jennabeatz, Just Dubbs, Looney Tunes, Mixmaster Bates, Neckbrace, Nick Fury, Pinja, Potent J, Risen, Skanntron, Short Circuit, Space Junk, STC, Sunglasses Mike, Swan7, The Dubfather, The Mick, The Verdict, Universe Shark, and Unknown Artist. When you’re not getting down at the main stage, catch a silent disco on Friday or hit the Eyes Everywhere BBQ on Saturday.

A full schedule lineup can be found on the festival’s website, discovernewbeats.com.

This weekend will be a time for camping, and VIP options are available. For more information, call 241-2210 or visit www.discovernewbeats.com/bassmountainmusicfestival2014. “This festival is growing,” says Krantz. “It’s not sponsored, not corporate, and there hasn’t been a dollar spent on advertising. It’s all been word of mouth. We aim to keep it that way because it’s underground music, and we keep the values as such.”

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