Sasquatch Music Spotlight: Major Lazer
Major Lazer, Diplo (left) and Switch (right), will be performing at Sasquatch on Monday May 30 in the Banana Shack.
Major Lazer is a collaborative music project between producers Diplo and Switch which started in 2009 with the album “Guns Don’t Kill People … Lazers Do.” The original idea came when the two created a cartoon character, a one armed Jamaican ex commando who battles various forces of evil named Major Lazer. On stage they are joined by Skerrit Bwoy, who is probably the best hype man that you’ll ever see. Skerrit is famous for daggering and stage diving during the Major Lazer shows he is also the vocals behind the bands biggest hit “Pon De Floor.”
I got a chance to see Major Lazer perform at Portland’s Music Fest NW last summer, and it was probably the most fun that I have had at a show. The Roseland Theater was packed with people by the time Diplo hit the stage to start the show everyone was cheering ‘Major….Lazer”. Skerrit Bowy daggered, got people to wave their shirts in the air, stage dived, and did his famous ladder routine. He also tweeted the day after saying how much he loved the show. The only draw back was that Diplo did the show solo and Switch wasn’t on stage. Hopefully, for Sasquatch that isn’t the case.
Recently in 2010 Major Lazer released an EP titled “Lazers Never Die” which contains two new tracks and some remixes of tracks from their 2009 debut album. Diplo has also released a couple of great compilations titled “Blow Your Head: Diplo Presents Dubstep” and “Riddimentary: Diplo Selects Greensleeves.” “Blow Your Head” is a great collection of the best artists from the underground dubstep movement. “Riddimentary” was just released and it’s the ultimate companion album to Major Lazer. Diplo selects and mixes an awesome collection of classic reggae artists such as: Barrington Levy, Gregory Issacs, and Triston Palma.
Diplo's new reggae compilation "Riddimentary"
