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Revisting The Electric Forest (Essay and Gallery)

Thursday :: 06.28.12 :: Highlights

Borgore | Ranch Area

As we approached the Ranch Area mid-evening Thursday, Asaf Borger (or Borgore) greeted us with filthy dubstep and not-so-subtle visuals. The Israeli producer/DJ has a large following in Europe (especially in the UK), but his heavy sound and rare approach to dubstep (including live singing of his lyrics) had the American crowd raising hell tonight. He showcased his diverse style as he pounded out original tracks such as ‘Ice Cream’ and ‘Nympho’, then switching it up with remixes of Kaskade, Flux Pavillion and Passion Pit’s ‘Sleepyhead’. He ended out the set with Skrillex’s ‘Cinema’, putting his own spin on the tune by swapping ‘cinema’ for ‘cinnabon’. Haters might think Borgore ruined dubstep, but don’t knock it till you experience his energy live.

EOTO | Sherwood Court

Thursday night raged on as EOTO (originally an acronym for ‘End of Time Observatory’, now just EOTO, meaning ‘good sound’ in Japanese) joined their gorgeous lotus flower stage after a stellar performance by Conspirator at the Sherwood Court. Made up of Michael Travis (DJ/guitar) and Jason Hann (drums/freestyle rapping) of the String Cheese Incident, the duo has been pioneers of electronic music by performing improvisational synthetic and organic music, refusing to use prerecorded loops. Their sound constantly shifts, incorporating music styles from all points of the spectrum, including sludge metal and punk riffs. Their performance included Hann freestyle rapping to Lucacris’ ‘Get Low’, and an uplifting rendition of ‘Electric Avenue’ (nicknamed ‘Electric Forest Avenue’). Their magical performance left fans stunned and was truly a highlight of the weekend.

Beats Antique | Sherwood Court

The romance of several types of world and electronic music fed festival goers an inspiring and spiritual experience during Beats Antique’s set Thursday night. Producers David Satori and Tommy Cappel coupled with seductive dancer Zoe Jakes fuse the cultures that inspire their music, using several live instruments (including the violin, clarinet, and kalimba) and dance techniques to send their audience on a sensory journey across the globe. Captivating the crowd with beauty and belly dance, Zoe really captured my eye as she performed to a new song in a masked leotard using vibrant blue feathered wings. A few song highlights included a remix of Bassnectar’s ‘Voodoo’ and their own ‘Egyptic’. A tribal-like ritual ended the evening as the band and dancers performed in animal masks – at the peak of the song the dancers ripped off their masks only to reveal that they were the female rap group Hottub, as they bounced words off one another and around the stage.

All images by B.Hockensmith Photography