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Download Bassnectar’s Heavy ‘Freestyle Mixtape’

Bassnectar

Trap, wobble, drop: If Bassnectar’s new “Freestyle Mixtape” were a cereal, they’d have to call it “Rave Crispies.”

Posted today as a teaser for his forthcoming Freestyle EP, due out October 16, the 42-minute mix is heavy on the West Coast bass-music producer’s own output, including collaborations with Angel Haze, DC Breaks, Zion I, and Mimi Page; it also features Bassnectar’s own edits of songs by Hudson Mohawke, Zed Bias featuring Juiceman and Simba, and Ed Solo. (In fact, virtually the only artists whose work gets an airing in its original form are London dubsteppers Son of Kick and Dusk & Blackdown — big up ya chests if you can produce a track that Bassnectar deems perfect as-is, no further tweaking needed!) Since this is Bassnectar, though, the mix is consistently, refreshingly varied, even if his fingerprints are all over almost every single track. More than many DJs, he uses tempo as a tool for moving between styles — using trap’s spindly syncopations as a springboard from rap into dubstep, or flipping from hip-hop tempo into double-time drum and bass.

Somewhere in there, we’re also treated to a lengthy edit of Tenor Saw’s “Ring the Alarm” and the intro to the Jimmy Castor Bunch’s funk classic, “Troglodyte (Cave Man)” — a tune that, for whatever reason, has been all over the place lately, most notably in Julio Bashmore’s “Troglodytes.” The final third of the mix is particularly impressive, melting into a pool of what sounds like ambient metal before rising, Phoenix-like, into an extended climax of half-time dubstep and synth-and-vocoder maximalism.

Cop the mix below, and check out Bassnectar’s website for his fall North American tour dates.

Track List:
1. “Dancer In The Dark Intro” – Audiovoid Remix
?2. Bassnectar – “Freestyle” feat. Angel Haze?
3. Jantsen – “When The Beats Drop” (Bassnectar Remix)
?4. 6 Blocc – “Ammunition Sample Pack” (Bassnectar Recut)
?5. Bangladesh – “100” [Acapella]
?6. Dead Prez – “Hip Hop” [Acapella]
?7. Bassnectar – “Rap with a T” [Instrumental]
?8. Hudson Mohawke – “Thunder Bay” (Bassnectar Edit)?
9. Zed Bias ft Juiceman & Simba – “Jigga Up” (Bassnectar Remix)?
10. Ming & FS – “Madhattan Bound” (Bassnectar Remix)?
11. Zion i – “Human” (Bassnectar Remixxx)
?12. Bassnectar – “Infinite?”
13. Bassnectar & DC Breaks – “Breathless” feat. Mimi Page
?14. Son of Kick – “From Here?”
15. Bassnectar & Double You – “I Am a Laser” (2012 Remaster)?
16. Dusk & Blackdown – “Kuri Pataka”?
17. Ed Solo – “Egyptian Horns” (Bassnectar Remix)
?18. Bassnectar – “Butterfly” feat. Mimi Page (Bassnectar Remix)
?19. Bassnectar – “Hologram”