Gig Preview: Bass Vs Barricades Brings The Wub This Week
The gig series hosted by DJ-producer Karan Kanchan-associated company Neckwreck will feature Gurbax, Sound Avtar and the live debut of producers Nkshtra x Zura and Hamshyre
Mumbai producer Karan Kanchan at a Neckwreck gig in Mumbai earlier this year. Photo: Lost Films
Whether the metalheads and rock fans like it or not, headbanging is perfectly befitting an electronic gig too – especially when you’re talking about bass music and dubstep. Just ask trap/hip-hop producer-DJ Karan Kanchan, who first let his hair fly for djent and metal and soon found the 140 to 150 BPM trap and bass music was also conducive to headbanging.
He admits that the moshpits at his gigs are still “cute and little” compared to the ones at metal shows, but the electronic scene is also on its way. Kanchan – who also DJs for rapper Naezy – has been associated with gig organizers Quadscore’s Gokul Nair and Pratik Jangir for an event series called Neckwreck, which celebrates a year in action with their new show Bass vs Barricades on December 20th in Mumbai.
Kanchan says about a year of Neckwreck gigs, which have featured emerging producers such as BrijPlease, TRODD, Dropped Out and more, “It all started with pure love for the bass music and headbanging culture, which we craved for, but couldn’t find it around us. So we decided to curate it on our own.”
Bass vs Barricades aims to be a traveling gig series that hosts one event in each city, one that carries forward the following created by other Neckwreck properties such as Level and Now Loading. Befittingly, they’ve had barricades at all their gigs, so that attendees have something to rage against during the drops and breakdowns. Kanchan says proudly, “It has been a record that at every Neckwreck event, the barricades are broken by the bassheads. Bringing barricades inside the club was a major part of our vision. When we first discussed it, we all laughed. But then there was a silence of confirmation that we are actually doing it!”
The first edition of the gig features sets by Kanchan and Neckwreck co-founder Gokul Nair’s project GØBO, seasoned bass producers such as Sound Avtar and party-starter Gurbax, plus the debut of new producers Hamshyre and Nkshtra x Zura. Sound Avtar aka Piyush Bhatnagar is prepping new material, plus songs off his just-released EP Sling Shot, while Kunaal Gurbaxani says he’s got his own tunes, “a couple brand new remixes that I put out this year, unreleased records/WIPs and a ton of my custom edits.” He adds, “I put in a lot of prep-work for each set to make sure I’m able to squeeze in as much variety as I possibly can.”
Kanchan, for his part, says regardless of one’s stance on electronic music, he urges everyone to come down to a Neckwreck gig. He adds with a laugh, “Our aim is to also bring metal bands for Neckwreck in the future. I think so if bass music fans and metalheads came together, the whole community will be something totally different!”
Bass vs Barricades takes place on December 20th at Above the Habitat, Mumbai. Entry: Rs 499. Event details here. Get tickets here.
