Today Bassnectar hosted his first ever ‘Ask Me Anything’ on Reddit, answering all types of questions from his die hard legion of fans. Throughout the several hours long question and answer session, Bassnectar revealed some of his future plans, details on collaborations, and all sorts of little interesting tidbits of information. We’ve compiled some of the most interesting answers so you don’t have to sift through the whole thing.
On what happiness means to him:
“That’s a really big question! One of my main goals/passions in life is helping people lead happier/healthier lives. I have had the odd fortune of experiencing so much joy in my life that I truly just want to give back. I’ve felt this way since I was a kid. I certainly have my sad moments, and my challenges, but I am just literally “OVERJOYED” to be alive. I think this existence is so magical and mysterious, and I feel so lucky to be a part of it. If I had one wish it would simply be more time to enjoy life. that’s what makes me happy.”
On a collaboration with Pretty Lights:
“Derek and I have been MAD-SLACKING on finishing a tune together. i’ve got tons of love for him and his sound, we definitely plan to collab in the future”
On a collaboration with ill.Gates:
“Dylan and i live right next to each other, and have over a dozen unfinished projects together, one of which will be finished in time for Ultra this year ;)”
On a collaboration with Diplo:
“he and i have studio time booked next week: February 12 & 13!”
On working with Lupe Fiasco:
“Working with Lupe was an absolute thrill! I was kind of fan-girling at first, but he is enchanting to work with because he is like completely on another planet, and at the same time wide awake on this one”
On his work with Primus:
“i fucking love Primus!
when i finished the remix for “Here Come The Bastards” last week, Les texted me “JEEEEEZE Little Fella! I thought my speakers were going to explode. I’m putting on the pig mask and going on tour with you”
“hahaha so i think he liked it”
His thoughts on the ‘EDM Drug Scene’:
“well for one, I can’t really speak about “EDM Shows” with authority, because that’s not what I do. I see “EDM” as Avicci, Tiesto, Afrojack, Skrillex, etc. there is certainly crossover in Bassnectar Land, but i choose the road less taken. I come from a different place, and have different ideas, and so a lot of times the standard/classic EDM SCENE is irrelevant to what I do. But of course there is a crossover. In general with drugs, I did some experimenting a long time ago, and I know there are potential positive experiences to be had for SOME people. Unfortunately, I have seen so many horrendous tragedies (death, ruined lives, ruined relationships, ruined careers, ruined nervous systems) that I just do not wish to encourage drug use. In fact, I have a lot of problems with legally sanctioned Pharmaceuticals as well (not all of them of course). But pushing meth onto kids, getting them addicted, but calling it Adderall, that’s fucked up. Why criticize Lance Armstrong for using performance-enhancement drugs, but then all the kids in college (who aren’t diagnosed with ADHD) take it to do better in school. I think drugs is just such a loaded topic, it’s hard to respond quickly.”
On his hair and haircuts:
“Up until this month, I hadn’t cut my hair in 15 years…not even a trim. A few weeks ago I let my friend cut off about an inch that was all dreaded and terrifying. It is now gone for ever. I don’t wear my hair long as a style, i wear it as an anti-style… i don’t wanna be That Guy with the hair do, trying to worry about how im gonna comb it or style it…it’s either there or i tie it back if it gets in the way. I did just find a REALLY SICK shampoo though…wow”
About his two-laptop stage set up:
“Two Laptops is never enough! The more the merrier (there are five laptops in my studio right now)… If nothing else I run the second laptop as a mirror-image backup in real time, so if there are any technical emergencies on Laptop A, i can switch to Laptop B without any hassles. I’m adding more laptops to the show in 2013, one for video, and one for other effects/noises ;)”
On what he does when he’s away from music:
“At many points in the past ten years I have been so immersed in Bassnectar that there is little room for anything else. Working nonstop 7 days a week (80 hours plus each and every week without any break) for over ten years, traveling constantly, etc… its hypnotic. But this past month i’ve unplugged for the first time, barrely touched my phone or computer, and I spent most of my time enjoying california, hiking, exploring, catching up with my friends, watching cool movies, exercising a lot, learning and thinking :)”
On his transformation into a DJ:
“i never made a decision to “follow the electronic scene”. When i was 15 i was obsessed with death metal and black metal, and by 18 i was hearing lots of early techno and electronic ambient. I just naturally felt enchanted by it, and as a musician wanted to learn how to incorporate it. I started studying it formally at University of California, SC in 1996. But i never thought I would be a DJ, i didn’t really care about DJs. I wanted to MAKE EVENTS HAPPEN for people. I wanted to recreate the magical experiences I had felt for other people. And i wanted to chase the sounds in my head and make them real. I’ve been chasing some sounds since then, and “i’ll probably be chasing that feeling for the rest of my life”.”
On his festival plans for the summer:
“I can’t really announce all the festivals we are doing yet, but the ones i can are: Ultra (both weekends), Coachella (both weekends), and Spring Awakening. Folks wondering why we aren’t hitting the Midwest in the Spring: that’s so we can KNOCK IT at Spring Awakening 😉 …and same thing with our West Coast friends: Coachella. We passed on Coachella last year so I could go down to South America for Lolla, so this year I wanted to make sure we are there (and a week in Palm Springs to work on my tan o jeez)”
On not playing Electric Forest this year:
“As for Festivals: Artists don’t pick which festivals we play. Instead, the coordinators of each event decide who they want and then make an offer to the artist’s agent. Most large festivals simply do not repeat headliners (Lolla, Coachella, Spring Awakening, Bonnaroo, etc) and Electric Forest is the same. They simply said they would love to have me back in 2014, and this year they are having PL (whom they did not invite back last year). If it was up to me i would play every festival every year, haha! As it happens we have so many festivals planned this year, i am bursting with excitement! I wish I could announce them all right now!!!!! ;)”