Bassnectar

When Ashton was 16 years old, he played in a death metal band named Pale Existence, which contributed to his heavy style of music.[5] In 1995, he attended his first rave and was immediately drawn to this new type of music, attending as many shows as possible, promoting shows, and eventually learning to DJ after studying electronic music production.[6]

He continued his study of electronic music production at the University of California, Santa Cruz, producing tracks using Opcode Systems Studio Vision Pro.[7][8]

Ashton began playing house parties in the Bay Area and quickly gained notoriety at Burning Man, playing up to 7 sets a night.[5] Around this time, several mixtapes were created by Ashton using the moniker "Lorin", including Gardens, Dreamtempo Mixtape, and Freakbeats For The Beatfreaks.

In 2002, Ashton performed as "Bassnectar" for the first time, with an appearance at the Health and Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa, California.[9] Release of his second album Motions of Mutation gained him support in smaller electronic circles, and with the follow-up effort Diverse Systems of Throb, his popularity continued to grow. Continued releases in the following years (the albums Mesmerizing the Ultra, Underground Communication, Cozza Frenzy, along with the Timestretch EP) added to Bassnectar's widespread popularity and influence in the ever-growing electronic scene in the United States.

In 2011, Divergent Spectrum became the first album to chart on Billboard, spending 35 weeks on the chart and peaking at 2nd position,[10] marking a turning point for the Bassnectar project.

At the height of his touring era, Bassnectar played over 150 shows a year[5] in venues across the United States, playing with acts like Sound Tribe Sector 9, Disco Biscuits, String Cheese Incident, Michael Franti, Heavyweight Dub Champion and KRS-One, and FreQ Nasty.

In 2015, Bassnectar stopped touring his own show and shifted focus towards playing the festival circuit almost exclusively, making multiple appearances at Bonnaroo, Camp Bisco, Electric Daisy Carnival, Electric Forest Festival, Lollapalooza, and Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival over the years. However, even before this time of exclusivity of playing only festival shows, Bassnectar began curating his own events.

In 2010, the first curated event, named "BassCenter", was held at the 1stBANK Center in Broomfield, Colorado.[11] As popularity and demand grew, various curated events were added over time, including "Basslights" (a collaborative event between Bassnectar and Pretty Lights), Halloween and Day of the Dead themed events (sometimes referred to as "Freakstyle"), New Year's Eve celebrations ("NYE360"), and others, such as "Freestyle Sessions", "Spring Gathering", and "Deja Voom". His latest curated event was to be held in March 2020 at the Barcelo Maya Resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico, but was forced to cancel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 3, 2020, Ashton announced that he was "stepping back" from music, amid allegations of sex trafficking, child pornography, and sexual abuse of minors.[12] He denied the most recent allegations as being "untrue", albeit admitting that "some of my past actions have caused pain, and I am deeply sorry."[13]

In January 2023, after years of silence from Ashton and perpetual discussion from his fans and rumors regarding a possible return, a new mix, titled Music for Optimists, was discovered on the Bassnectar Mixcloud profile.[14] Fans also received an email inviting them to a new website, "UnlocktheOtherSide.com", which would act as a “centralized hub” for the fan community going forward.[15]

In July 2023, a two-night concert was announced as a members-only show to be held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 6-7.[16] One month after the Las Vegas announcement, another two-night concert was announced and scheduled for October 27-28 at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina; however, immediate and intense backlash stemming from the abuse allegations and the ongoing civil suit resulted in the cancellation of this show.[17]

Known for his mesmerizing live shows, concerts are characterized by high volume sound systems, immersive lighting and visual fx, and an "amorphous" blend of genres, including dubstep, drum and bass, hip hop, heavy metal, and other electronic and non-electronic genres.[18]

Through the use of Ableton Live's Session View, the "Ultimate Nerd Server"[19] and custom controllers,[20][21] and with significant help from ill.Gates, Ashton helped to transform the thought process on capabilities during live performances.

Ashton's personal views have been constantly intertwined with his Bassnectar persona, with public statements,[22] interviews,[23][24] samples in released music,[25] and even portions of his live performances[26] focused on the state of politics and human rights in the United States with a strong liberal slant. Words and sound-bytes from the likes of Martin Luther King Jr.,[18] Noam Chomsky, Fred Hampton, and Mumia Abu Jamal have been frequently recalled in various mediums used by Ashton, and in the earlier days of the project, long diatribes on stage airing grievances were not uncommon.

The Bassnectar organization is also recognized for its activist and philanthropic efforts, bringing awareness to political, social and environmental issues and directly supporting organizations such as Conscious Alliance,[27] HeadCount,[28] Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund,[29] To Write Love on Her Arms,[30] and BetterHelp.[31][32] Other programs, such as "Dollar Per Bass Head", which collected $1 for every ticket sold, donated funds to charitable causes voted on by the community.[33]