So we’re less than one week away from Boston’s annual TOGETHER Festival. It’s tough to believe it’s coming up so quick, but in case you’re not up to speed with the happenings, look no further. TOGETHER has grown in scale significantly this year, boasting almost double the number of events compared to last year! Between the core members and an endless supply of volunteers, the Together team has worked tirelessly to make the takeover of Central Square one that should make waves within the community.
The lineup of events this year is pretty significant, and will appease everyone from serious niche genre listeners to the most casual of hip hop fans. Crystal Castles, Juicy J, UZ, Biz Markee, Four Tet, and Flying Lotus top the list this year. Following that, Together is also bringing out the likes of Duke Dumont, Tiga, Zomby, LOUDPVCK, Distal, Andres, Wilkinson, Detroit Swindle, Toy Selektah, a live set from Mathew Jonson, and dozens of others. Voices of Black and Teebs, both Together 2012 alumni, make return appearances this year. And the flagship event is most certainly the Dancing on the Charles reunion, hosted by Soul Clap, featuring No Regular Play, Slow Hands, Tanner Ross, Kon, and Wolf and Lamb. Basically there’s a LOT going on next week…and this is just the the night time events.
During the day, as in previous years, there will be discussion panels, audio production and DJ workshops, and art gallery exhibitions. The audio workshops will include production tutorials on Ableton, Cubase, Logic, and mastering in Izotope, which will be hosted by Soul Clap, London Sterns, and others. DJ’s looking to sharpen their swords in Serato and Traktor will be in luck as well. The panels will range discussion-worthy topics that include online promotion, the continuing “EDM” wave, artist represenation in the digital age, the state of the music scene in Boston, copyrights, and more.
Together headquarters, where the panels will be held and people will be hanging out during the day, is where the old Salvation Army thrift store used to be, adjacent to All Asia, on 321 Mass Ave in Cambridge. The audio workshops will be held at the MMMMAVEN headquarters (with their newly expanded second floor digs) on 620 Mass Ave. Check the BBD calendar for more details on the night events, and the Together site for the daytime events.
The UZ show, which is co-hosted by Embrace, has a ticket giveaway. To enter, all you have to do is “like” the BBD, Together, and Embrace pages on Facebook, and leave your name and email in the comments section below. If you share this post on Facebook, I’ll enter you three times, just be sure to let me know you shared it when you leave your comment! The drawing for this will be Monday May 13th at 9am. Good luck.
And if you’re in the mood for an audio sampling of all the people playing the festival, check out the showcase mixes Swelta and I put together. Swelta’s is a bit more on the energetic side of the spectrum, where mine is very relaxed and melodic. Two completely different worlds, which illustrate the true breadth and depth of this festival.
Swelta Tracklist:
The Presets – “Promises” (Lifelike Remix)
Agoria – “Stereolove”
Robert Dietz – “Oleander”
Zombie Nation – “Level”
Nautiluss – “Mixed Numbers”
Art Department feat. Seth Troxler – “Vampire Nightclub”
Chez Damier & Stacey Pullen – Untitled
Gold Panda – “Back Home”
!!! – “Must Be the Moon”
Martyn – “Natural Selection” (Flying Lotus Cleanse Mix)
Matt Shadetek – “Snapdragons”
Toy Selectah – “El Sabanero Raver”
︻╦╤─ ƱZ ─╤╦︻ x Clicks & Whistles – “Bull Dozer”
Objekt – “The Goose That Got Away”
Crystal Castles – “Wrath of God”
Duke Dumont – “The Giver”
Slam – “System V System”
Soul Clap – “Action Satisfaction” (Lee Jones Remix)
Mathew Jonson – “Marionette”
Voices of Black – “Tried to Love”
Sinkane – “Runnin’”
Pictureplane – “Real Is A Feeling”
Wiley – “Reload” (Wilkinson Remix)
Nickdawg tracklist:
Flying Lotus: Dream to Me
Voices of Black: Take Back Soho (Tanner Ross Remix)
Soul Clap & Art Department: We Call Love
Detroit Swindle: Standards of Dialogue
Detroit Swindle: Guess What
Sinkane: Warm Spell (Barker & Baumecker Remix)
Mathew Jonson: Lost Forever in a Happy Crowd
Duke Dumont: Need U 100%
Chez Damier: I Never Knew Love (MK Club Mix)
Andres: New For U
Chez Damier: Untitled (You Ain’t Dancin’)
Tiga: Pleasure From the Bass
Wilkinson: Take You Higher (Foamo Remix)
Agoria: Les Beaux Jours
Mathew Jonson: Typerope
Four Tet: For These Times
Chief Boima: Decolator
Soul Clap & Art Department: Glen & Boo
Objekt: The Goose That Got Away
Author & Ed Thomas: Turn
Zomby: Float
Alex Metric: Rave Weapon (UZ Remix)
Yung Satan: Poured Up
Matt Shadetek: The Machines
LOUDPVCK: NV$TY
UZ: Trap Shit 12
UZ: Trap Shit 13
Lil Texas: Strippers
LE1F: Soda
Doctor Jeep: Together
Gold Panda: Trust (Outro)
I’m very grateful to be involved as the lead photographer again this year, and am looking forward to documenting and sharing the best moments I can capture!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 12:01AM 
