[A LOOK BACK] The Epicness That Was LIGHTING IN A BOTTLE

WOW…words can only go so far in describing the multitude of awesomeness that consumed Silverlake, CA last weekend from May 27th-30th. After going on 12 years of attending raves/massives, I finally found myself at the first outdoor festival experienced in my lifetime, The Do Lab’s annual LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE.

To say that those in attendance were beautiful, eclectic, and eccentric characters of immense love for music and culture is an understatement. The vibes, energy, and overall attitude of the flowing sea of personalities was overwhelming. Everyone was gathered under a singular unified goal; to lift their minds beyond the physical plane in a setting of cutting edge electronic music, art, and the magnificence of complete immersion in nature.

My girlfriend and I arrived Saturday morning to the camp grounds with thousands of tents pitched in view, and a roaring excitement brewing in our stomachs. After carrying heaps of luggage, riding on an open crowded barn-like shuttle, and scurrying around dirt roads to find our friends, we finally reached our destination and set-up shop for the weekend. All I could think of is “It’s time to get drunk and dance my fuckin ass off!” Shortly after acclimating to our new home for the next few days, we departed on a mission to take in all the festival had to offer.

With a valley below our camp site, and a hill leading to spiritual finds above, we made a decision to take the lower route and envelope ourselves in musical delight. Their were three stages all unique to their setting. The WOOGIE stage housed all types of House music and 4-to-the-floor goodness. The BAMBOO stage was an eclectic mix of bass attracting the most acrobatic earthy types who all seemed talented with hooping or some other form of moving expression. The LIGHTNING stage was the main stage shown above, with LED walls projecting everything from morphing shivas to colliding planets. All-in-all….the setup was fuckin amazing.

There was so much aural and visual stimulation to take in that highlighting all of it in it’s entirety would be a masterful task. LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE is definitely something that needs to be experienced. Since my first love is music I wanted to share with you the artists that stood out to me the most that you may or may not be familiar with. Trust me…it’s well worth your time to check them out.

KRADDY

Former member and one of the original founders of the GLITCH MOB, Kraddy is an utter beast when performing live. From his Rock and Roll bravado to rap star swaggar, at times I thought the earth was shattering under my feet at the will of his hands. His tunes are all over the bass music spectrum; Glitch, Dubstep, Midtempo….all cosmic, all larger than life. He even had a live drummer whose precision was so locked on track with Kraddy’s drops it seemed like they were a singular person. Kraddy’s Soundcloud is filled with nasty tunes and I suggest you take a listen. Kraddy O’ Daddy is a killer!

Kraddy – No Comply (FREE DOWNLOAD) by KRADDY

EL PAPACHANGO

Electro, Ragga, Breaks, Dancehall…this Buenos Aires native has a versatile palette for beats and delivers a relentless dance party to all in attendance. I had never actually heard of EL PAPACHANGO prior to the LIB, and even still there’s very little info about him flowing around the internet. All I’ve got to say is he is filled to the brim with Latin flavor and absolutely crushed the Bamboo stage on Sunday. If you know anything about him or have links to his music, please leave a comment below!

HEYOKA

HEYOKA born Andrei Olenev is a bass music wizard. I’ve been listening to his music for some time now but never had a chance to see him perform until LIB. Out of all the artists I saw during the festival, he had the most forward mind-blowing dubstep, midtempo, and glitch hop tunes I’ve heard to date. I mean look at the guy… What a badman! You can check out a minimix he put out last December which should show you why I was so obsessed with his set.

Heyoka mandelboogiewoogie Minimix by Heyoka

Now that I am back in the office, back to reality (and somewhat depressed to be here), I can confidently say that LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE changed my life. It really opened my eyes to creative minds outside the scope of artists circulating normal club nights. It showed me an entirely different group of people who were so in tune with nature, spirituality, and bone crushing bass that I’ve been left with an ear-to-ear smile since my departure. If you have never been to an outdoor festival, or if you are a veteran but have never hit LIB, I suggest you make the trip next year…you’ll be thanking me later that you did.

BY: HEADSHAKE