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No matter what medium he’s using, the Bassnectar experience is always a treat for the senses. Whether he’s fusing the familiar with the strange or the classic with the cutting edge, his music coupled with his enigmatic stage presence makes every set an adventure free of rules and limitations.

Born and raised in the outskirts of San Francisco, Ultimate Music Experience talent Lorin Ashton, better known as Bassnectar, was drawn to visual arts rather than musical arts, often making movies on his father’s camera. After attending raves at the age of 18, Lorin began researching electronic music. Though he recorded songs off the radio to create makeshift mixtapes, being a DJ was the furthest thing from his mind, “I never cared about being a DJ, but I cared deeply about creating community events or inciting gatherings that were subversive to mainstream culture. I wanted to reach out and kind of give back to the world because I felt inspired to a point that was almost out of control. I also identified as a musician, so there was no doubt in my mind I would make music for the rest of my life.”

Honing his style, the UME talent began playing house parties in the Bay Area as DJ Lorin. Quickly picking up momentum in his home state, Lorin was asked to perform at Burning Man multiple times, often playing up to seven sets in a night. Using a varied workspace, Lorin’s open-sourced musical format is unlike any other artist in the industry, drawing inspiration from every genre imaginable, “My influences are not necessarily how I sound, they include everything from NWA to Simon & Garfunkel to The Cure to The Field Of Dreams Soundtrack to Sibilant & Metal Spark to Cannibal Corpse, Exhumed & Emperor to My Dying Bride to FreQ Nasty, Tipper, Ed Rush & Optical, to Frank Zappa to The Who to Boards Of Canada to REM to Salt N Peppa to Run DMC to Led Zeppelin to Grave to Disembowelment to Beethoven and Mozart to Oizo, Mr. Rogers, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Mr. Mayagi, to loma prieta earthquakes to Native American flute music and the soft humming of my mother. I guess Bassnectar is an amalgamation of every sound I’ve ever heard, mixed with ultra wicked basslines.”

He released his first album Freakbeat for the Beatfreaks in 2001 and in the following year, Lorin performed as Bassnectar for the first time. Through the years, Bassnectar worked and toured relentlessly releasing an extensive list of singles, EPs, and albums every year since his first while continuing to be a staple at music festivals like Camp Bisco, Coachella, and Lollapalooza. Even when he’s not playing at a festival, his solo shows pull some huge numbers. In 2012 alone, Bassnectar sold over 250,000 tickets. His fans, “Bass Heads,” are one of the most devout communities in the world, traveling long distances to experience the notorious live performances whenever they can.

Outside of making stellar music, Bassnectar’s active involvement with the community is another reason we love this bass veteran, “I want to give back and catalyze my fan base to have a greater impact. A part of that is the Dollar Per Bass Head campaign. I will donate a dollar from every ticket sold for the rest of my life to go towards charities that my fans vote on each year.”

Currently, you can find Bassnectar hard at work in the studio, “I’m working on an album of songs and collaborating like a lunatic. And I’m looking forward to having some adventures in unexpected places, exploring new things, and trying new ideas.” Taking a break to come vacation and party with us at Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark, we’re excited to have Bassnectar close out the second day of Ultimate Music Experience.

Join the celebration and pre-party taking place March 12-15th. Tickets are now available, buy your tickets online today.

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Ultimate Music Experience is almost here and soon we will be taking over Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark on March 13-15th. If you like fun in the sun with a great soundtrack to boot, the buy your tickets online today and join the celebration!

For this sound clash, we’re pairing two of our duos who have carved their own style in dance music. Though one duo is known for their glitchy, open format, and the other for their bassmentality, we are in for a real treat when Pegboard Nerds and Zeds Dead perform at Ultimate Music Experience this year.

Pegboard Nerds

Hailing from Denmark and Norway, Pegboard Nerds have been producing and remixing for established artists for well over twenty years but it wouldn’t be until 2011 that the two would create Pegboard Nerds, “We have been making music together for several years, but started Pegboard Nerds last year in an effort to focus on our own productions and our own style.”

Their first release “Gunpoint” was just the beginning of a string of successful releases that were soon to follow. Fans couldn’t get enough of tracks like “Self Destruct,” “Disconnected,” and “Fire In The Hole,” the latter of which held the number one spot on the Beatport’s Glitch Hop chart for nearly three consecutive months.

Known for creating a unique blend of electro, dubstep, moombahcore, and glitch hop, the two have never confined themselves to one genre. Pegboard Nerds’ latest single “Bassline Kickin,” shows off the boys’ knack for producing electro bangers with funky synths, hard-hitting drops, and a gritty bass. Join us on March 13-15th when the duo brings that kicking bass line to Ultimate Music Experience. Grab your tickets today!

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Zeds Dead

“Zed’s dead baby. Zed’s dead.” Actually, Zed is alive and well thanks to the two men behind Canadian outfit Zeds Dead. Forming the summer of 2009, the boys first showcased their tracks at their debut performance at The Social and about a year later, they were booked weekly for a gig called “Bassmentality.”

The duo gained international recognition long before their first official release by offering free downloads of their productions. Their first freebie was “Journey of a Lifetime” in June 2009 and by the following year, the two released “Rumble in the Jungle” on Mad Decent. The track went on to reach #1 on Beatport’s breakbeat chart and cemented their position among the bass music’s elite.

Known for their raw, bass-influenced tunes, the Zeds Dead style is heavily hip hop influenced, borrowing the synths from electro and giving it some distortion for a gritty overall sound. We can’t wait to get ratchet with Zeds Dead as they take the stage at this year’s Ultimate Music Experience. Grab your tickets today to be a part of the celebration!

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We’re starting to get very excited for Ultimate Music Experience, taking over Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark on South Padre Island, TX this March 13-15th. Join the celebration during your Spring Break vacation and buy your tickets today!

For our next sound clash, we’re pairing two of our artists who have an ever-evolving style. Though one is known for his open format, and the other for his clarity, we’re looking forward to Bassnectar and Zedd performing at Ultimate Music Experience this year!

Bassnectar

Having been actively DJing and producing since the early 90s, Bassnectar is far from a new jack in the music industry. With some of the most devout fans on the globe, Bassnectar continues to wow audiences with his amorphous and ever-changing music tastes.

In some of his early productions like “Pennywise Tribute,” “Killing in the Name of,” and “Boomerang,” it was quite obvious that his original influences included metal and rock bands such as Metallica, Megadeth, and Nirvana. Juxtaposing samples of heavy metal with overwhelming basslines, Bassnectar was also influenced by Orbital, experimenting with varied chord progressions. Using various music programs to make his genre-bending sound, his open-sourced musical format is unlike any other artist in the industry. Bassnectar describes it perfectly, “My influences are not necessarily how I sound, they include everything from NWA to Simon & Garfunkel to The Cure to The Field Of Dreams Soundtrack to Sibilant & Metal Spark to Cannibal Corpse, Exhumed & Emperor to My Dying Bride to FreQ Nasty, Tipper, Ed Rush & Optical, to Frank Zappa to The Who to Boards Of Canada to REM to Salt N Peppa to Run DMC to Led Zeppelin to Grave to Disembowelment to Beethoven and Mozart to Oizo, Mr. Rogers, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Mr. Mayagi, to loma prieta earthquakes to Native American flute music and the soft humming of my mother. I guess Bassnectar is an amalgamation of every sound I’ve ever heard, mixed with ultra wicked basslines.”

Closing out 2013 with the massive release of his Take You Down EP, Bassnectar is currently hard at work in the studio. Expect to hear new music from the leader of the Bass Heads as we power through 2014. Bringing his special blend of music to Schlitterbahn Waterpark for Ultimate Music Experience, get ready for Bassnectar to take you down this March 13-15th. Tickets are stil available, so buy your tickets online today.

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Zedd

Born in Russia to two musicians, Zedd was already playing the piano and drums when he was only four years old. Later relocating to Germany, the young talent began his career in the music industry in 2002 when he played drums for German band Dioramic. But after hearing † by French duo Justice, Zedd began exploring the world of producing electronic music.

Though he has only been producing since 2009, Zedd’s list of career accomplishments are rather impressive. After winning two different Beatport remix contests, Zedd released his first original track “The Anthem,” in 2010 and broke into the Beatport’s Top 20 electro chart. Following “The Anthem” was his remix of Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” which also climbed its way to #2 on that same chart. In 2011, Zedd’s reach soared to new heights after releasing “Shave It” on OWSLA. The release peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot Dance chart.

Though his early work became known for its electro house influences, his releases as of late have a wide range from progressive house, dubstep, pop, and even classical music. His album Clarity showcased Zedd’s evolving style, incorporating more soft pianos, experimental samples like a ticking clock, and the use of orchestral strings.

Known for his larger-than-life sets, we can’t wait to get some clarity with Zedd when he takes the stage at Ultimate Music Experience on South Padre Island, Texas. Tickets are still available, grab yours online today!

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