Show Review: Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit

Pretty Lights

The (sort of) inaugural Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit was a weekend that proved to be every bit as memorable and exciting as I'd hoped it would be, which means that it met quite lofty expectations that I'd set. Three evenings filled with more electronic music than I usually see all year made for an exhausting weekend, but the diversity of the other acts peppering the lineup made the marathon of music a much more doable feat. Mountain Oasis proved itself to be an excellent representative of the current state of music, many of the acts were forward thinking electronic-based artists--whether that be bro-leaning dubstep icons, English house duos or psychedelically infused indie bands--but there were handfuls of iconic throwbacks that allowed festival goers the option of soaking in age-old nostalgia or entrenching themselves in skull-rattling bass.

Friday
The weekend started off an hour into the first night for me. I arrived shortly after 8:00 and just in time to trek through the costumed crowds that were hiking up towards the US Cellular Center and plop in front of the stage for Purity Ring. The Canadian duo has been on my list of must sees since Shrines was released in 2012. Though the act leans towards electronic-pop, the instrumental foundation is heavily ensconced in the world of bass-heavy hip-hop. Pounding low-ends were marked by shimmering vocal melodies and a percussively oriented light show. As Corin Roddick would accentuate his beats with bright synth lines, corresponding orbs of light would illuminate as they were struck with his drum sticks, making for an incredibly well put together stage presence. Megan James' haunting vocals lingered throughout the ExploreAsheville.com Arena and a sense of disappointment filled the air once fans realized that their set was over. However, that disappointment quickly dissipated once Deltron 3030 took the stage. While I've admittedly not delved too deep into Del The Funky Homosapien's discography, this Deltron set immediately drew me into the highly revered rapper. Deltron is a hip-hop supergroup comprised of Del, producer Dan The Automater, and prolific DJ Kid Koala, but that's not the main draw of this high-energy hip-hop show. While it was fantastic to see Del and the crew pull out favorites like Gorillaz' "Clint Eastwood," the real highlight of this performance was the massive orchestration that backed this sci-fi hip-hop narrative. Swelling strings and soaring horns blended with bass and electric guitars to make for a unique and compelling live hip-hop set-up. It's always a crapshoot when you're stepping into a live hip-hop set-up, it could easily be a blasé affair with a strong lack of personality, but Deltron 3030 turned all expectations upside down and provided one of the most exciting sets of the weekend.

Mountain Oasis Artist Preview: Robert DeLong

Robert DeLong will perform at The Orange Peel
on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Mountain Oasis

When I first found out that I'd be out at Mountain Oasis I began to scour the lineup for acts that I had to see throughout the weekend. Sure there's your standard standouts like Animal Collective, Neutral Milk Hotel, Bassnectar, Disclosure...you get the picture. But, there's a LOT of artists on this lineup that can easily fly under the radar, much like Robert DeLong was doing for me until I did some investigating. The minute I heard the opening seconds of "Global Concepts," I became absolutely addicted to DeLong's brilliance. When Cashmere Cat was announced last week I saw that the two conflicted on the schedule and I kind of died a little on the inside. However, upon checking again it looks like the schedule has been moved around once more and Robert DeLong goes on unopposed for me once again. Thus, I can accordingly plan to rage out to DeLong's entrancing combination of dubstep, house and electronica for as long as I desire on Friday night.

DeLong cut his teeth on indie rock in Seattle, beginning his career with music as a percussionist and slowly gravitating towards the indie world. He found himself entrenched in artists like Death Cab For Cutie, Modest Mouse, Radiohead and Sigur Ros and his current output feels like a wonderful amalgamation of these influences. DeLong is a one-man electronic band whose live shows provide an absolutely awe-inspiring experience. DeLong lays down his slick electronic foundation with a variety of MIDI controllers ranging from a Wii-mote to a joystick to control every aspect of his finely tuned beats. DeLong also fleshes out these rich tracks with a full drum set and some absolutely infectious vocal melodies that you'll find yourself humming or dancing along to long after the music has stopped.

While a lot of electronic acts that you see live can easily be a toss-up in terms of quality, it seems as it DeLong truly prides himself in his live performance. He's not relying on crazy light set-ups or cookie-cutter bass drops, he's providing a visceral and engaging live show that commands every bit of your attention. That's not to say that the visual aspects won't live up to the music that surrounds it, but I'll be finding it hard to focus on anything other than DeLong's steadfast rhythms and exhausting bursts of energy.

Earlier this year DeLong released his debut full length Just Movement on Glassnote Records to high acclaim from critics and fans alike. Just Movement gives DeLong fantastic footing, it's a fantastic debut that is placed perfectly between the EDM and Indie worlds. As EDM begins to creep into all aspects of music, DeLong perfectly combines bass-heavy club-ready instrumentation with indie-leaning vocal patterns to create a truly unique sound of his own. This is without a doubt one of my must see sets for Mountain Oasis because DeLong is absolutely in a league of his own. He's crafted a mind-boggling stage set-up to coincide with his genre-bending sound that will make for a sweaty, dance filled evening once he takes the stage at The Orange Peel at 9:00 on Friday.

Mountain Oasis Announces Full Schedule

Mountain Oasis takes place in Asheville, N.C
from Oct. 25-27

October has only just begun, but my head is already spinning over how much awesome shit is happening throughout the next few weeks. Ever since the inception of Moogfest I've wanted to get out to Asheville to check out more music. With the exception of one mind-bending Sufjan Stevens show, I'm basically ignorant of the fantastic venues that are in the gorgeous mountain town. But come Oct. 25, I'll be immersing myself in one of the most promising festivals I've seen in years. Mountain Oasis is the newewst festival in the AC Entertainment family, the same folks that organize Bonnaroo, Forecastle and in previous years Moogfest. This year the company chose to drop the Moogfest moniker in favor of a new festival--although Moogfest will continue in April--that boasts one of the most unique schedules I've seen all year.

When news was released that Neutral Milk Hotel would be playing a full band performance in Asheville for Mountain Oasis I was literally speechless. A festival that calls itself an "electronic music summit" booked one of the most revered and reclusive indie rock acts in the past two decades and followed it up by announcing powerhouse acts like Nine Inch Nails, Bassnectar and Animal Collective. Mountain Oasis has one of the most well-rounded lineups on the festival circuit, they've managed to pull in an insane amount of high-profile electronic music while giving enough folk, industrial, experimental and indie rock to keep everyone entertained.

Yesterday the festival announced their full schedule, which naturally has quite a few conflicts that will surely make the weekend a unique experience for every attendee. There's so many combinations of acts to see that it's highly unlikely that any two people will share the same experience, which is one of my favorite parts of this festival. The amount of people that are pissed off that Neutral Milk Hotel will be performing at the same time as Bassnectar on Friday night are probably minimal, but two entirely different crowds will surely be undergoing life-altering experiences at their respective shows. The U.S Cellular Center is home to the ExploreAsheville.Com Arena and Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, meaning that while Jeff Mangum is shouting and crooning "comforting things in your ear," Bassnectar will be satisfying all of your sub-bass needs in the same building. Stop and wrap your mind around that. People can go see the anti-folk musings of Daniel Johnston and follow it up with the hip-hop mastery of Deltron 3030 without even leaving the building. After catching the end of Bassnectar fans will have another difficult decision to make between the heady vibes of Baths or the brilliantly spastic sounds of the young producer XXYYXX.