Bassnectar Releases New Album, 'Vava voom'

By CAROLINA BACKER

The first time I saw Bassnectar perform, he was the opening band for Pretty Lights. Maybe Pretty Lights should have rethought having Bassnectar open, because in all honesty he stole the show.
His performance was one of the best I’ve seen. The way he invokes the crowd with his head banging, arm waving, dancing and light show is definitely worth seeing. And of course his music is incredible.
Bassnectar’s music is an amazing electronic mixture of techno, trance, hip hop and dubstep.
He has collaborated with and remixed a host of artists and producers, including Lupe Fiasco, Ellie Goulding, Sound Tribe Sector 9 and Datsik, among others.  Bassnectar’s most recent releases are “Wildstyle,” “Divergent Spectrum,” and “Vava Voom.”
“Vava voom” was released on April 10 to an eager Basshead fan base. It is also the name of the title track, which features rhymes from a favorite of Bassnectar’s, Lupe Fiasco.
“I wanted to make kind of a hip-hop, dubstep experiment with him and he was down,” he said when interviewed by the Rolling Stone.
The second song “Empathy,” is an interesting follow-up to “Vava voom” because it is caught somewhere between a relaxing kind of chill-out song but with a hint of aggressiveness.
It is without a doubt my favorite song of the album. The female voice, which echoes throughout the song, adds such mesmerizing power.
That, mixed with the low bass, produces an overall hypnotic sensation. This song really sets the tone for the rest of the album as something not entirely consumed with dubstep, and instead obsessed with quality.
The fourth track, “Ping Pong,” is one of the most inventive songs of the album. It begins with the sound of a table tennis match, which is followed by rap, infused with heavy bass and synthesizer in the background.
“Laughter Crescendo” is an interesting song as well, and is a reflection to the early Bassnectar days.  It is a made up of layers of laughter, alternating between joyous and slightly disturbing atmospheres.
The song “Butterfly” is my second favorite song of the album.
It contains slow, booming bass, technically dubstep, but maybe more atmosphere generating than anything. Throughout this song, vocals weave and soar while the bass is low and throbbing.
That being said, I strongly encourage everyone to give “VaVa Voom” a listen.
Bassnectar’s concerts have sold out, sometimes up to 10,000 tickets, so quickly that second shows have had to be scheduled. His music is without a doubt unique and head bangingingly enjoyable.