Courtesy of CRSSD Festival // Keiki Lani-Knudsen
Disclosure brings the cheer, Gesaffelstein delivers the intensity at another glorious weekend at Waterfront Park
A number of the world’s best DJs and live electronic musicians fired up a packed crowd this past weekend at Waterfront Park for the Fall 2024 edition of CRSSD – San Diego’s premiere biannual EDM music festival.
While the event was packed with its signature sunny vibes and upbeat grooves down by the city’s picturesque harbor, it also received a heavy dose of darkness thanks to a number of increasingly intense and foreboding performers, including breakcore DJ I Hate Models and the Dark Prince of Techno, Gesaffelstein. But for the most part, it was another inviting, relaxing, but also tiring weekend full of dancing amongst friends and family in the techno and house community. CRSSD is more than a music festival; it is a celebration of inclusivity and diversity, and once again, not a single person was out of place at this unique event.
The weekend got off to a pleasantly dreamy start thanks to the wondrous midtempo sounds of Pretty Girl, who warmed up the Ocean View stage with her hypnotic melodies and sultry vocals. As always, Waterfront Park served as the perfect backdrop for the weekend-long dance party, injecting plenty of euphoria into the proceedings on the beauty of its setting alone. As Pretty Girl made way for Confidence Man, a swelling crowd filled up the Ocean View floor – eager to catch the Australian synthpop unit work their spellbinding magic.
Confidence Man have long been hailed as wildly entertaining musicians and performers in the dance music sphere, and their early Saturday afternoon set did not disappoint as they opened with “Now U Do,” – the group’s anthemic collaboration with outsider house producer DJ Seinfeld. Singers Janet Planet (Grace Stephenson) and Sugar Bones (Aidan Moore) are rapturous entertainers, performing dazzling choreography on stage – handsprings, figure skating-like cheerleader moves, etc. – while singing their hearts out over hyperkinetic dance and funk.
In anticipation of the release of their upcoming album 3 AM (LA LA LA), they performed new singles “I CAN’T LOSE YOU” and “CONTROL,” entering the crowd a couple times with Janet riding on Sugar Bones’ shoulders. They closed with the searing anthem “Holiday,” with translucent synths erupting as Janet led the crowd through one last crowd-wide dance party. Confidence Man would be a tough act to follow anywhere, but at this point, the crowd was hungry for more greatness to come.
The rest of the afternoon and evening proved to be a more relaxed affair – conducive to bouncing from one stage to the next without much ambition other than to have a good time. On the Palms stage, Chicago tech house up-and-comer Azzecca kept the energy flowing with her funky mix that toed the line between outwardly euphoric and darkly manic. British DJ-producer Rex The Dog delivered one of the more unique sets of the weekend, performing live with a modular synth on the City Steps and keeping the energy at a midtempo groove. Later on the Palms stage, British dubstep legend Skream resurrected some of his old school flavors into a mix that structurally leaned very futuristic and house-heavy. Skream is as reliable as they come, although he only somewhat whetted the appetite for a throwback, all-out dubstep Skream x Benga tour that almost manifested earlier this year. One day, perhaps.
One of the biggest discoveries of the day came in the form of rising techno queen VTSS, whose high-octane rhythms and maximal style thrilled the City Steps stage as day faded into night. As slick as some of her sounds were, there was still a heavy smattering of DIY touches here and there, as though she was conjuring a small club atmosphere in this vast festival space. She may just be the next big thing in the techno sphere.
Of course, most of the festival was already clued into the vast hype that is Tinlicker, a Dutch duo who craft a deeply mesmerizing style of progressive house and who seem to be peaking in all the best ways these days. A glittery, shimmering visual show accompanied a soul cleansing, mind-expanding palette of music that washed over the crowd in ethereal ways. It was a beautiful melding of sound and visuals that had the entire Ocean View crowd in the palm of their hand. If there’s one act on this lineup who could return to headline one day, it’s these gusys.
But then again, they’d have to top something like what Disclosure put out after them, which was simply a masterful closing DJ set. The Lawrence brothers have simply been one of the most fantastic EDM acts of the last decade and change, and their status as icons in the scene will never fade away. That’s how good they are. And their headlining set on Saturday night only underscored this, as they bounced from one hit to the next that you could only marvel at the spectacle. The opening of “When A Fire Starts To Burn” sent the crowd into a panic, leading to two more hours of unabashed brilliance and a never-ending hit parade that also included “F For You,” “White Noise,” “Douha (Mali Mali),” and the closing one-two punch of “Latch” and “Tondo.” There’s simply no better act out there to anchor a festival like CRSSD. They’re just the ultimate crowdpleasers.
Day 2 of CRSSD was more of the same in the best ways possible, though the late start to our day resulted in slightly less acts seen, at least until the sunset hours. On the Palms, Erol Alkan threw down a typically reliable set of mid ’00s house that would’ve filled a warehouse. Soulwax delivered a breathtaking live set at Ocean View that featured a full band and three drummers playing slightly different fills – so as to give off an utterly hypnotic display of big beat, dance punk, and electro house.
But the most exciting spectacle of fall ’24 CRSSD was undoubtedly Four Tet. Performing to a massive crowd clustered around the Palms, the veteran English DJ-producer galvanized the festival with an awe-inspiring blend of progressive house, glitchy IDM, and bombastic dubstep that sent the crowd unfurling into a dancing, head-banging frenzy. He dropped in a breathtaking edit of Deadmau5’s legendary melodic house banger “Strobe,” zig-zagged into curdling tech house, and dropped one Skrillex-esque anthem after another to the amazement of everyone in attendance. A longtime, under-appreciated staple of the IDM scene, Four Tet is gathering his flowers very late in the game, and it’s a joy to see him playing to such huge crowds after decades of bubbling in underground circles. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see him soon closing out massive festivals stages like the Sahara Tent at Coachella or Perry’s at Lollapalooza.
A natural pivot into something a bit more relaxing and familiar, actor and DJ Idris Elba brought the funky flavors of underground house and disco to the fold. There were as many people there dancing as there were folks taking photos to share his famous Hollywood mug on their Instagram feeds. As much as he gets by on his fame, he is a genuinely talented DJ who kept the momentum of the night rolling on in fresh ways. Meanwhile, British house and breakbeat act BICEP wow’d the crowd with a mixture of ethereal sounds and eye-popping visuals. BICEP is an artist that straddles the line between melodically gentle and darkly intense, and the way they thread that needle is bewildering and enchanting. Their CHROMA DJ set is always a powerful A/V tool, and they’re always a great act to anchor a late night festival slot.
A lot can be said about the state of electronic dance music, but one point that’s been interesting to follow has been the rise of heavy, dark, and viscerally intense subgenres like hard techno, gabber, breakcore, drum and bass, and everything in between. We live in a society that appears to be teetering on the verge of collapse, so perhaps the draw towards unrelenting sonic chaos and dread shouldn’t be all that surprising. Nonetheless, it was staggering to take in French DJ I Hate Models, and the unexpectedly massive crowd that had gathered for him at City Steps. The sheer level of chaotic pummeling, whirring momentum-shifting detours, and jack-hammering percussion on display was like nothing I’d ever experienced. With an overflowing crowd of several thousand getting their faces mashed and melted until there’s nothing left, you’d think you were circling the ninth circuit of hell. Instead, it was pure joy to take in the madness. With the way things are going, you can only assume music is going to get even more demented, and honestly, I’m here for it.
Which brings us to the final act of the night, Gesaffelstein. Long hailed as techno’s “Dark Prince,” the Parisian brought his full live set up to the Ocean View and delivered the ominous hype and spectacle. But one thing that astonishes me about Gesaffelstein is his near widespread popularity. It’s not that he isn’t great at what he does. It’s that he does it in such a dark, unrelenting, pulverizing way, that you’d think a wide swatch of the EDM community would be turned off by him. Instead, there’s nothing but sheer love and appreciation. You need someone that heavy to carry the torch on a mainstream level, and he’s done it brilliantly.
Sunday night’s headlining set was full of his bangers old and new. Smoke machines and monolithic columns of flickering white light. The artist donning an imposing chrome metal body suit, with glowing red eyes transfixed in the darkness of the abyss on stage. It’s like you’re at a rave in hell and Satan’s the DJ. The crowd loved every second of it.
A little (a lot of) darkness was an appropriate cap to what was otherwise a weekend of bright, positive vibes. Ultimately, CRSSD was the perfect end to September and a much-needed mental, physical, and spiritual reset as we enter the concert abyss of fall season. Until next Spring, we’ll be mentally here.
