Etherabass is emerging as a rising light in the Texas electronic dance music cosmos, as she melds ethereal landscapes with thunderous basslines to carve her unique signature sound. With a proficient hand at weaving dark undertones into high-energy mixes, she enchants audiences with a spellbinding fusion of musical atmospheres. Her passion for original production adds an extra layer of authenticity to her sets as she infuses each performance with individuality and innovation.
We got to speak with Etherabass about how she navigates the darker side of DJing and delves into the depths of heavy bass. She also shares her thoughts on her performance style and how she incorporates her original production into her sets.
EDM Texas: Your music is often praised for its ability to create ethereal sounds that transport listeners to otherworldly realms! What is your approach to crafting these sounds and how do you achieve such a captivating effect in your tracks?
Etherabass: As a kid, I loved listening to EDM and the beautiful soundscapes in the music. It was my favorite thing in the entire world to stay up late with my headphones blasting online radio dance sets while watching the night sky. Some of my favorite artists are very underground, some are one-hit producers in electronic music. My inspiration spans all over within different subgenres of electronic music, starting with some 2000s Tiësto, Gigi D'Agostino, Headhunterz, then Flux Pavillion, Emalkay, to more current dubstep such as Subtronics, Liquid Stranger, Virtual Riot, and many others. I started teaching myself in my early teens how to use a DAW then later picked it back up as an artist. Everything I love across the assortment of artists and DJs has given a broad musical influence to the tracks I make.
EDM Texas: Can you walk us through the process of working with frequencies and how you use them to evoke such immersive experiences for your audience?
Etherabass: I love incorporating soaring to spacey-sounding synths and recordings taken from nature into my music. My songs often take a life of their own during creation. Whether it's an emotion or concept, I let myself get fully immersed in the creative process. When I'm working on a track, I'll let it flow and see where it takes me. If I'm getting lost in the music, I always look forward to giving that same experience to the listeners. It's like an escape from everyday reality into an entirely different one. I strive to create an experience where listeners feel transported into the miniature worlds existing within each song. This aspiration plays a significant role in inspiring my journey as a producer.
EDM Texas: Are there any specific tracks or mixes where you feel your ability to create these ethereal atmospheres shines through the most?
Etherabass: “Waves Of The Soul” is one of the tracks that I went into creating with a big atmosphere. I wanted to portray emotion and a story in sound. Having haunting vocals and deep wubs in one track gives a "traveling to a lost civilization deep under the sea" vibe. Right now, I'm currently working on an album that will be focused primarily on experimental dubstep with lots of transcendental, ethereal vibes. I've taken parts of my sets in that direction but usually, I like to switch it up depending on the night. I'm always evolving my sound!
Listen to “Waves Of The Soul” below:
EDM Texas: Your music is known for its heavy, hard-hitting bass! Can you discuss the impact you aim to achieve with these bass-heavy tracks on the dancefloor and in the listener experience?
Etherabass: As a fan of many bass-heavy artists and a producer of two years, I've begun to work specifically on deeper low-end bass in my tracks to push the limits. On the technical end, it's challenging to see how low I can drop the heaviest, deepest bass frequencies uniquely, and then bring it out to watch the reactions live. I admit there's nothing like the joy of unleashing a terrifying drop that engulfs any everyday noises in its path without mercy. I've been working with Sonofinity in DFW to showcase their sound system's capabilities with my bass music. The listening and dancefloor experience that's provided has been incredible. Plus they've overall good people and a huge support to the bass music scene. We’re close to seeing a revival of genuine community birthed from the bass music scene. I'm very grateful to be a part of that!
EDM Texas: When you’re performing, what specific instances do you feel the bass takes center stage and drives the energy forward and what makes these moments stand out to you?
Etherabass: When not just event goers but even other DJs get their bass face on, when there's headbanging, dancing, and even people closing their eyes to feel the music... that's what does it for me. Seeing people let go and get feral with the drops while I'm behind the decks is the best feeling. I played a small festival last year and freestyled a hardstyle set so heavy it rattled the sign off the stage. The weather was also pretty crazy mid-Texas summer with lightning and all. It only added to the intensity and made for an awesome set. It's moments like all of the above when there's THAT energy, it's raw but pure simultaneously. It's a beautiful thing!
EDM Texas: Your DJ sets often lean towards darker sounds creating an intense and captivating mood! What draws you to these darker elements and how do you believe they contribute to the overall atmosphere of your sets?
Etherabass: One of my most unforgettable experiences was attending an underground rave in Florida. It was an unlisted event created by the community and lasted until the next day. Dancing the night away helped me forget everything that was going on in my life. The music played was dark, atmospheric, trippy, and otherworldly. It was so immersive that it inspired me to get into producing and DJing. Unfortunately, the location no longer exists in the same way, but I want to bring the PLUR vibes of that night to Texas. I would be thrilled if I could recreate even half of that epic experience in the rave scene here. I am a huge fan of dubstep, hardstyle, industrial music, and metal. I want to incorporate the intensity and darker, supernatural, or fantasy concepts into my sets. It's like telling a story through sound and creating a unique environment. I want to provide a space vastly different from our daily lives, where people can dance or headbang to forget whatever they're going through. My aim is not just to DJ an awesome set but to truly immerse people in the music, which serves as a form of healing the mind, body, and soul.
EDM Texas: How do you approach maintaining this balance in your music selection and how do you see your darker sets connecting with your audience?
Etherabass: Typically it depends on where I'm playing, watching the other DJs before me, and seeing how the night goes. I'll have a playlist for my sets longer than necessary in case a track has been played a lot before I'm up. It's also in case of anything not reading, or last-minute decisions on the vibe. There have been occasions when I’ve been prepared for a high-energy performance, only to observe that the audience appears fatigued. I adjust by incorporating trippy dubstep or hard dance tracks to maintain a balanced vibe. I would rather be over-prepared before performing than not. It can make the difference between doing an insane set or train wrecking hard. As for the darker sets, I love doing those and watching people thrash. Out of the sets I've played that usually get the floor more lively - it's the heaviest ones. Well... except when it's been about four to five hours in and every DJ is going as hard as the next. At that point you know everybody's vibing until their necks and feet can go some more! Those times are just as awesome though because you genuinely see people connecting with their kind of music, their tribe... making friends, and building community. That's as important as getting them to move on the dancefloor.
As she continues to evolve her sound and push the boundaries of electronic music, Etherabass stands poised for a future filled with promise and potential. Follow Etherabass’s social outlets and music discography below:
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