Presented by Abstract Earth Project.

A guaranteed dance party with beats bent to the side, smothered in filth and then slammed back on top with a smile, the Beats Per Moment showcase highlights several American artists who are taking hip hop production to new heights and grinding the dance floor to new lows.

As hip hop copulates with IDM and experimental limbs of sound are fused to a backbone of solidly bumping beats, the result is an exciting new creature that has no regard for the rules and employs a stimulating variety of styles, tempos and moods. This polyrhythmic approach allows for immense sonic flexibility that is manifested best on the dance floor as low down, dirty crunk.

Headliner VibeSquaD makes big, bouncing music that is full of flavor and laden with sassy smacks of bass that grab your spine and make you dance. His screwed-down sound and electrifying live performances have made the Colorado producer a favorite at festivals around the nation.

Alex B pushes things even further into the exploratory side of instrumental hip hop with beautiful masterpiece beats that are imaginatively layered to the point of being surreal, saturated with a soulful, jazzy sensibility. Slapping things up a notch is Low Limit of Lazer Sword; with an attitude of levity, his music puts the freak in fresh and is almost feral with snarling basslines, spanking drums and synth-drenched dance tracks.

Finally, multi-instrumentalist Machinedrum sonically shuffles in with sordid experimental pop, thumping with straight-up street melodies that are gritty and meaty with beats.

– Shilo Nikelle Urban