Lovers, huggers, and ragers joined together for the 11th annual Valentine’s Day celebration, Crush Arizona. Relentless Beats and Insomniac Events coupled up to pull off this stacked evening for Arizona lovers. Everyone showed up ready to feel the love and share an evening full of PLUR, shuffling, flowing, and of course headbanging! Held at the Rawhide Event Center, the warehouse was home for the evening while a silent disco boogied along just outside. This is where a slew of local artists had the opportunity to showcase their beats on one of two channels. Relentless Beats always features a local artist stage at their festivals where they get the chance to make a name for themselves and gain a following, while attendees have the opportunity to discover someone new.
My evening got started with TYNAN who was a brand new name to me but quickly caught my attention. He stole my little emo heart away when he played “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies” and you can bet everyone was singing along! He delivered some heavy and dirty Dubstep that people were absolutely eating up! He stuck with the vibe he started with and treated us to some Fall Out Boy. TYNAN put together this awesome remix of “Thnks fr th Mmrs” that featured a great dub backbeat which built up to a crazy glitchy drop! You could tell how excited he was to share the news that he’s just two short weeks away from his first EP release. After gushing for a quick minute he dropped a little something off it. I was surprised to be met with a soft start-up that led into a gentle bass intro. I definitely made a note to keep an eye out for this EP because he delivered a dynamic set that left me wanting so much more.
Next on stage was Habstrakt who started by pouring out his love for us, which was so fitting for Crush Arizona. His set was full of bouncy and HEAVY Bass that was so much fun to dance to. The crowd hopped right along as his powerful energy kept everyone moving! About halfway through his set, he took some time to reminisce on everything he had to sacrifice to get his career off the ground. Habstrakt left his entire life behind in France, including love, to pursue success in L.A. There was a note of sadness in his voice but he followed it up by sharing how happy he is to be able to play his music around the globe with his fantastic fans. Valentine’s Day can be bittersweet for all of us.
Following this emotion-filled hour, 4B came onto the decks. He dropped a tasty little treat with his remix of Fisher’s “You Little Beauty” that brought a delicious balance of House bounce and heavy Bass. He threw in a real surprise with an inverse bass drop towards the end of his hour that caught me completely off guard. I’m not sure if 4B coordinated with TYNAN when he was putting together his set but he kept with the emo vibe and dropped us some more Panic! At the Disco with his version of “High Hopes”. I wasn’t mad about it at all! I had to take a step back and give a little thank you to Relentless Beats and Insomniac Events for pairing up and pulling off this crazy event.
As a huge Trance lover myself, I was beyond ready for this next hour of music that Audien was about to deliver to us! My personal highlight from this set was asking my Bass loving friend what he thought. His huge smile said all I needed to know but he finally responded asking “is this actual Trance?!” That was the perfect Valentine’s day gift for me! It wasn’t a surprise that there was a good amount of Seven Lions featured through his set and the Psytrance was vibey as hell! This was my first time seeing Audien and I’m sure it won’t be my last.
Last but absolutely not least, the Shark Squad leader, JAUZ came on stage to close out the whole event. His set was exploding with energy and he had total command of the crowd. He sampled an EDM classic “Warp” from The Bloody Beetroots and built up to a nasty drop! I felt that one through the floor and out the top of my head! As the ultimate surprise for the Phoenix crowd, our hometown boy Ghastly popped up to go b2b with JAUZ for a few songs. If he isn’t out on his own tour you can almost always count on a quick cameo from Ghastly. If you’re even remotely checked into the Bass music world then you’ve heard the song “Griztronics” mixed into everything. This was the case at Crush Arizona as it was featured several times throughout the evening. Let me tell you, JAUZ’s version really be hitting different and it was the BEST version of the night! His hour was so fucking grimy and he gave you no chance to catch your breath. As we wound down, JAUZ gave us a nice little “I love this thing I do” speech and it was the perfect last bit of crowd love to wrap up a glowing night of music and dancing! Crush Arizona was an absolute dream filled with dancing, Bass, Trance, and a crowd of lovers celebrating Valentine’s Day together. Relentless Beats and Insomniac Events proved that coupling up can be extra sweet!
*Featured Image Via V Photography AZ*
