The 6 Best Basshead-Friendly Sets of EVER AFTER MUSIC FEST 2018

Ever After is an electronic music festival located in Kitchener, Ontario, which shook the roots of all local foliage from June 8th to 10th. Currently in its fourth year, the event has been become a staple of the Canadian festival scene. This year’s line-up boasted an impressive, bass-heavy roster including EDM heavyweights Illenium, Excision, Flux Pavilion, Claude von Stroke, and Pendulum. In our humble opinion, here are the six best sets from Ever After 2018.

01. Excision
– Basshead or not, it’s easy to see why Excision draws legions of fans to his performances. On the final night of the festival, to the backdrop of the setting sun, Excision plunged us almost immediately into a hemisphere of tectonic bass. For the next hour and a half, fans shuffled, headbanged, and danced under a barrage of brutal lazers. Excision’s set was without a doubt the heaviest of the weekend, and the perfect conclusion to EverAfter 2018.

02. Borgore
– Borgore is a controversial figure in electronic music. Buzzfeed even went as far as to call him the “Most Hated Man in EDM”. Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that he knows how to throw one hell of a party. Borgore took the stage on Saturday, following an energetic set by Kill the Noise, and immediately had fans on their toes. Mixing his own brutal “gorestep” sound with popular hip-hop tracks and classic EDM bangers, Borgore provided no reprieve for the crowd.

03. Illenium
– At times, it was easy to tell that Illenium was playing fan-service to the Ever After crowd. He would continually mix soulful melodies into gnarly bass drops. This was not a bad thing per say, but had the tendency to make his set seem disjointed. Regardless, Illenium’s set was sonically lush and emotionally riveting, making it a definite highlight of the weekend. His light show was also a feast for the eyes, featuring all manner of visuals from epic landscapes to trippy kaleidoscopes. There were more than a few teary eyes in the crowd.

Get a feel for the festival’s vibe with this dope video.

04. AC Slater
– Playing on the secondary stage, “Upside Down House”, AC Slater offered an alternative sound to the bass-heavy mainstage. His bass house set was sexy, groovy, and a lot of fun to dance to. Unfortunately, there was a medical emergency halfway through his set. Ever the gentleman, he paused the music in order to make sure the individual was alright and safely escorted away by medics before starting up again. His sincerity and concern as a performer, coupled with the absolutely insane vibes he delivered made AC Slater’s set an unforgettable experience.

05. Liquid Stranger
– Liquid Stranger provided a tight, fluid set. Technically brilliant and flawlessly mixed, he brought the crowd higher and higher with each track. There was no confusion as to who Liquid Stranger’s set was meant for: this was a bass set through and through, and the crowd loved it. More than one mosh pit erupted, providing beautiful, violent catharsis for all.

06. Flux Pavilion b2b Doctor P
– Flux Pavilion and Doctor P are a match made in heaven. The two proved their undeniable chemistry as they dropped banger after banger, transitioning flawless throughout. They were a perfect closing act for the first night of the festival, setting a high bar to follow for the next two days. They finished up the first night with a bang (and more than a few filthy bass drops).