(PC: Felicia Garcia)
“I must have went to house heaven, because nothing’s that divine.”
And that’s exactly how we felt after attending CRSSD Fest and being immersed in dance music for the weekend. Following the epic debut back in March, FNGRS CRSSD and Goldenvoice have put together another incredible two-day music festival that undoubtedly put San Diego on the radar for all the music fanatics in the world. When going to a music event, there are certain make-or-breaks that determine our experiences, and CRSSD has nailed all of them. Beautiful venue set-up, extraordinary theme-driven atmosphere, San Diegan food/drink sponsors, just to name a few awesome perks for all the attendees. Each one of the three stages held its own unique character, and featured artists that best fit the specific stage category.
The Palms stage was prepared in a greenery outfit which featured chill trap and future dance acts like Todd Terje, Blonde, Tchami and back-to-back acts with Goldroom b2b Le Youth, and Cashmere Cat b2b Trippy Turtle. The City Steps stage was a full-on display of deep house galore, as Hayden James, Anna Lunoe, Andhim, Claptone and many other took the stage. And finally, Ocean View Live is the festival’s main stage that featured crowd-pleasing acts like AlunaGeorge, The Flaming Lips, TV On The Radio and Zhu.
To sum up the acts of the weekend, we’ve handpicked our three favorite acts from CRSSD.
1. Cashmere Cat b2b Trippy Turtle
What’s not to love about these two? The dream duo has done it again by putting on an electrifying set following their last back-to-back performance in 2014. When it comes to chill trap, nobody does it better than these two. Trippy Turtle, who is Lido‘s alter ego/alias, combined crafty samples and intricate drums with the Cat’s one-of-a-kind mixing skills, and the result was 60 minutes of non-stop ooh’s and ahh’s.
(PC: Felicia Garcia)
2. Zhu
This one is a no-brainer. The mysterious producer took on the main stage and absolutely crushed it. Drawing one of the biggest crowds of the festival, Zhu was who we all came to see. The crowd and the producer were separated by just a sheet of curtains in between, and all we could see was his silhouette behind the DJ stand and the trippy visuals. Zhu dropped a few of his newly-debuted singles from his upcoming project Genesis Series, such as “Automatic” with AunaGeorge. Singer Gallant, who was Zhu’s fellow labelmate from Mind of a Genius Records, appeared as a special guest and performed “Testarossa Music”. To our surprise, a sneak peek of his collaboration with Skrillex was also put in the set, and let’s just say it was the biggest teases fans can receive.
3. Giorgor Moroder
If you haven’t heard of Giorgio Moroder, or if you’re wondering who that old man in the picture is, then you probably don’t fully understand how dance music came about. That’s right, standing right before our eyes, was the “Father of Disco”. The 75-year-old producer played a set that gives us a glimpse of dance music from past to present. Ranging from his signature oldies like “Bad Girls” by Donna Summers, to present day dance hits like Zedd‘s “I Want You To Know”, Moroder played just about everything the fans could’ve asked for. The moment that sealed the deal for us was when he did the entire intro speech of Daft Punk‘s “Giorgor by Moroder” where the French electronic duo pays homage to the creator of synthesizers, and ultimately closed out the set with the track.
My name is Giovanni Giorgor, but everybody calls me Giorgor. And this is Daft Punk!
(PC: Skyler Greene)
If you want to experience San Diego in two days, we might’ve found the solution. Here’s a hint: it involves palm trees, beer, and good music. CRSSD was one of the best geographically representative festivals we’ve been to in a long time. There was just so much awesomeness packed in just a weekend, and we simply cannot wait for the next one. The good news is, CRSSD Fest is still only in its birth year, and will continue to grow so. Make sure to stay tuned as the next CRSSD might be coming sooner than you think.
