About four weeks ago thousands converged upon the Woodward Reservoir in Oakdale California for the Symbiosis Gathering. As myself, and my fellow TSS crew arrived on Friday night, the full moon was perfectly framed between an ominous cloudbank and the pale reflection of the reservoir. A commanding sight indeed – and a sign of a most unforgettable weekend to come.
The security line and impending search were relaxed, to say the least. This comes in stark juxtaposition to the quasi-military state, cavity search that one must endure at the entrance to Coachella. We were greeted by calm, friendly volunteers, whose main concern was that there were no extra people in the car, or weapons grade plutonium, or anything of that nature. After the security line, we wiggled our SUV through the rolling hills to find a fitting spot for the weekend’s TSS nest. We parked, cracked our celebratory beers, and ruminated on the mayhem to come. Festival time was upon us, and spirits were at an astronomical high.
As the contents of our car turned into a formidable campsite, the beers quickly escalated into fireball shots, and we headed out into wonderland. It is a struggle to accurately depict the events that unfolded the next few days – every sense that I knew of, (and I few I didn’t know existed) was completely fulfilled from the moment we left the campsite until the somber repacking of the car.
Musically, every artist brought their complete A –game. With seven unique stages pumping out non stop tunes, it was hard to not find something catering to whatever mood or mindset you happened to be in at the moment.
Standout sets of the weekend for myself included, but were not limited to: An-ten-ae, Pumpkin, Cashmere Cat, and all too obviously, RL GRIME.
An-ten-ea played a mish mash or deep bass lines, combined with gangster hip hop vocals that would have made the tamest of party goers understand what being turnt up truly feels like. He described his tunes as a “deep acid” set, and everyone in the crowd seemed to be perfectly in line with the connotation (giggity) He ended his set with a melodic cover of Daft punk’s smash hit, “get lucky” sang by Daughter. Hands were in the air, and the sexiness of the crowd was palpable.
If you weren’t smiling from ear to ear during Pumpkin’s set, it’s highly likely that we will never be friends. It was the definition of feel good music. His remix of Blind Melon’s smash 90’s hit “no rain” made you ignore the fact that knowing every one of the lyrics is a little embarrassing. Screaming “all I can say is that my life is pretty plain” in absolute contradiction of that sentiment felt all too right.
Cashmere Cat brought the dance in a big way. With a steady flow of sexy R&B combined with futuristic bass, all running through a simple system relying heavily on turntablism skills, it was a breath of fresh air, and a testament to the fact that real electronic acts are much, much more than waiving hands and pressing buttons.
RL Grime did his thing that I’m sure most of you are quite familiar with. Blending popular rap sing-along anthems with outlandish drum kits and inhibition melting bass, RL GRIME provided an effortless canvas for you to lose your shit and not care who was staring. In fact, I hope they were watching, maybe they could learn a thing or two.
This review would be incomplete without mention of a two songs that absolutely crushed every time they pumped through the impressive sound system. Simply put, Royals by Lorde just kicked ass every time it was dropped. The Polish Ambassador’s remix of No Diggity by Blackstreet smoothed out an old classic, and had the crowd vibing real hard.
While nonstop music was the backbone for the entire symbiosis experience, there was something else emanating through the festivalsphere that seemed just as important. It’s hard to not get caught up in the post hippy ideology that ran rampant through the festival grounds. The value of smiling to someone you’ve never seen before seemed more significant than I previously remember. Seeing such an honest manifestation of kindness between likeminded strangers was eye opening to say the least. It served as a glimpse into what the human experience is capable of, when disconnected from the pressures and stresses brought on by our every day lives. It would be naïve to think that life could be so simple all the time, but the experience made a compelling argument towards the notion that things could be better, and people could be a whole lot more compassionate to their fellow human.
A week after the festival, and it’s still hard to wipe the grin off my face. No matter what type of person you may be, or what your musical interests may cater towards, getting to one of these more organic, community centralized festivals should inch towards the top of your bucket list. I find it hard to believe that there is soul who left Oakdale that weekend, without having a few thoughts swirling around their head that could serve as a precursor towards living a bit less selfishly.
So in summation, Symbiosis was some real tight shit, and to say I merely enjoyed myself would be a massive understatement. Big ups to The Confluence for bringing us everywhere we needed to be. Happy trails TSS fam, I’m sure I’ll run into you soon.
We should party.
-Pirolo
All photos credit to Thibault Palomares.
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