Lorin Ashton, also knwon as Bassnectar was an electronica and dubstep producer based in Santa Cruz, California. He was one of the first few in bringing dubstep from its roots in the UK into North America during the early 2010s along with Datsik, Skrillex and GRiZ.
On 3 July 2020, Ashton made a public announcement on his Twitter account that he would be 'stepping back from (his) career' due to years of allegations reaching a crescendo on Twitter due to the #MeToo movement. These allegations largely involved sexual exploitation, grooming and battery of minors, as well as adult groupies during his worldwide tours, all of which had been publicly spoken about since his career began, but was not acted upon. Although Ashton denied these multitudes of allegations in his post, he kept his word and has stayed out of the bass music scene ever since.
Music Style and Influence[]
Bassnectar was originally influenced by metal and rock bands such as Metallica, Megadeth, and Nirvana, bringing these influences with him into his own musical career. He also stated that early EDM and Ambient artists, such as Orbital and The Orb also played a major influence in his style. He had been creating genre-traversing music since the late 1990s, using a variety of programs such as Vision/OpCode, Reason, and Ableton Live. Bassnectar described his music as amorphous and ever-changing, which is reflected in the diverse sounds and personalities of his numerous albums, EPs, and podcasts. He collaborated with and remixed a host of artists and producers, including Lupe Fiasco, Ellie Goulding, Gogol Bordello, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Datsik, ill.Gates, Mimi Page, and Jantsen.
Discography[]
Studio Albums[]
- 2001 Freakbeats for the Beatfreaks
- 2002 Beatfeak Bohemia
- 2003 Motions of Mutation
- 2004 Diverse Systems of Throb
- 2005 Mesmerizing the Ultra
- 2007 Underground Communication
- 2009 Cozza Frenzy
- 2011 Divergent Spectrum
- 2012 Vava Voom
- 2014 Noise vs. Beauty
- 2015 Into the Sun
- 2016 Unlimited
- 2020 All Colors
Singles / EPs / Remixes[]
- 2002 Float
- 2003 Landslide - Don't Give Up Now (remix)
- 2004 Creation Lullaby
- 2005 Booty Line / California Sunrise
- 2005 Taurine Thruster
- 2005 Everybody
- 2006 Blue State Riddim
- 2007 Yo ft. Kristina Maria
- 2007 Bomb The Blocks
- 2008 Viva Tibet (with Freq Nasty)
- 2008 Net Neutrality Rantapella (with ill.gates)
- 2008 Heads Up EP
- 2008 Zion I & the Grouch - Lift Me Up (remix)
- 2009 Art of Revolution EP
- 2009 Land of the Lupes
- 2010 Timestretch EP
- 2010 Here We Go
- 2010 Bass Head
- 2010 Magical World ft. Nelly Furtado
- 2010 Wildstyle EP
- 2010 Wildstyle Method
- 2010 Deftones - Prince (Remix)
- 2011 Ellie Goulding - Lights (Remix)
- 2011 Upside Down
- 2011 Above and Beyond (with Seth Drake)
- 2012 Vava Voom (with Lupe Fiasco)
- 2012 Ugly (with Amplive)
- 2012 Divergent Spectrum Remix EP
- 2012 Up All Night Vol. 2 - Dark Room
- 2012 Freestyle EP
- 2013 Take You Down EP
- 2013 Put It Down (with Excision, Downlink and Space Laces)
- 2014 Joker - Midnight (remix)
- 2015 Every Time (with Jantsen)
- 2015 The Glitch Mob - Beauty of the Unhidden Heart (remix)
- 2017 Interlock (with ATLiens)
- 2017 Watch Out ft. Ragga Twins (with Dirtyphonics)
- 2017 Noisia - Get Deaded (remix)
- 2017 Reflective (Part 1) EP
- 2017 Reflective (Part 2) EP
- 2018 Rabbit's Revenge (with Tom Morello, Big Boi & Killer Mike)
- 2018 Reflective (Part 3) EP
- 2019 Reflective (Part 4) EP
Mixtapes[]
- 2008 Smashers & Mashers
- 2008 Leftfield Downtempo Hyphop
- 2008 For Whom the Bass Tolls
- 2009 Live Mixset for KISS FM
- 2010 2010 IDJ Mixtape
- 2010 Bassnectar BBC Mixtape
- 2011 Color Storm Remixtape
- 2012 Amorphous Music Mixtape Volume 7
- 2012 European Vacation Mix
- 2012 Freestyle Mixtape
Videos[]
- 2007 Bomb The Blocks
- 2012 Vava Voom
- 2012 Ugly