28.07.2021
This week’s guest feature is by Detroit newcomer Bass Lotus! She has been attending events in the city for 10+ years, and has finally decided to pick up the craft of DJing.
In this short time, she has already picked up gigs at Tangent Gallery, Menjo’s, Simon’s After Dark, and more to come.
Her energy is always so bright and she is a pleasure to run into while out and about, so it is exciting to see her take the plunge into this side of the music scene.
In her interview, we talk about things like the origin of her artist name Bass Lotus, her support team, where she sees herself in a year, the rise of female DJs in the scene as of late, massage therapy, body positivity, and more.
I hope you enjoy her mix and features this week.
Each mix will exclusively premiere on Deep Space Radio at noon on Wednesday – and then be available on the detroit.dance SoundCloud as per usual at 3:13pm EST.
Be sure to check out her mix, on SoundCloud now.
detroit.dance: You’ve been going to events for years, so you’ve been out and about in the Detroit scene a lot before now. Talk about how the music industry in Detroit has helped shape you and what inspired you to pick up DJing recently.
Bass Lotus: I first got into the rave scene when I was 17 years old, and I started off going to React shows at the Royal Oak Music Theater a lot. I started more in the dub scene, and eventually found The Works and the techno and house scene in Detroit. I moved my way into the house scene, and I truly, truly, truly enjoy house music. I still feel like I have a lot of dub roots, so that’s what has inspired the kind of music that I like to play when it comes to me DJing. I really like stuff that’s more of a heavier tech house with a really thick bassline, or straight up bass house that’s a little more hype.
I started my journey into DJing recently, because I realized I had so many friends that were doing it around me that it seemed foolish to not even attempt the craft. I was scared of trying it for a very long time because I’ve never been a very tech savvy person. So that always threw me off. I’ve always loved dance, always loved flow, always had rhythm…but was always scared of taking that next step into the DJ world. Now that I have, I have a bunch of friends who can back me up and have helped me along the way so I’m very grateful for that. It surprisingly came along a lot easier than I thought it would have, once I figured out what buttons do what. Now I need to learn more about mastering the craft. It’s been a really fun ride.
Honestly, now that I’ve started, I feel foolish for not starting sooner. I’m like, “Man I could have been way better now if I started way back then when I had thought about it”, but I’m here now, doing the thing.
detroit.dance: What is the origin of your artist name Bass Lotus?
Bass Lotus: I really like the lotus flower. It is a beautiful flower that comes out of muddy situations… and I feel like I’ve been through a lot but I still like to see the beauty and the light in everything. So that’s where the “Lotus” came from. Then obviously I love the stuff with a thicker bass line. Back when I was an emo kid listening to heavier metal, the bass is something that’s always grabbed me so bass I think will always follow me no matter what kind of music genre I find myself in.
detroit.dance: Do you think you will eventually end up producing as well?
Bass Lotus: I think so. I have friends that want to show me so I definitely have an open mind to learn. I know it’s gonna be a big journey, but I’m definitely curious. I’m excited to see what comes out of it, but I’m trying not to have too many expectations either.
detroit.dance: What is a skill or technique you think you’ve picked up pretty quickly?
Bass Lotus: The rhythm part, being able to jump in and make sure that the beats match. Obviously I’m not perfect on it, but I don’t like to use the sync button a lot so I can have a better ear for it. A few of my friends have mentioned that my ear picked up quicker than a lot of others do, so definitely very grateful for that.
detroit.dance: Since you’re just starting, where do you picture Bass Lotus in a year?
Bass Lotus: I picture myself having played at most of the venues around the city. I’ve networked enough through the years, not even trying to… just making friends strolling through the music scene because I love the music. I’ve already had a few people offer to have me play at their events so I’m excited to see where it does go, but I don’t want to have too many expectations on myself either. I do think I’ll at least start producing by this time next year, maybe have one track done. Let’s see what happens.
detroit.dance: Having a good support team around you is essential, so what do you have to say about the people that you surround yourself with?
Bass Lotus: I am so absolutely grateful for the people around me. They’ve helped me so much, through my journey, and honestly inspired me a lot through the music that they play and how much I was immediately engaged in the kind of music that they play. It’s been amazing getting to know them. My boyfriend also, his crew is more of a techno group, but it has been cool watching them as well. They all inspire me.
detroit.dance: What is a word of advice about DJing that someone has given you that has stuck with you?
Bass Lotus: One of my buddies told me to stop fussing around with the effects so much before I bring in my next track. I’ll find myself being like, “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, it’s coming to the end of the track”, because I’ve been dicking around with the effects too much and I haven’t prepared myself for bringing in a new track. That’s something that I need to get a little bit more of a handle on is overlapping my tracks a little bit more, not just playing with the effects so much.
detroit.dance: Detroit has seen a huge surge in female DJs recently and events run by women. What is your take on that and female empowerment in the music industry?
Bass Lotus: I think it’s absolutely amazing. I think we as women do need to come together, and I’m all for the divine feminine. I feel like it’s taking over in all kinds of other ways, so why not the DJ world as well?
detroit.dance: What do you do for work, outside of music?
Bass Lotus: I’m a massage therapist, so right now I’m doing travel massages, massages out of my home, Reiki, and crystal healing.
detroit.dance: Are you open for new appointments? How did you figure out this was your calling?
Bass Lotus: Yes, I’m open for new appointments. I don’t really know how I figured out it was my calling. I really like making people feel comfortable and safe, and taking away people’s pain, so I wanted to do that somehow. I found other ways to do that too through smiling around people at a club and going out dancing… there’s all kinds of ways that I felt my calling. I don’t know if this is my one specific one, but it is something I am passionate about.
detroit.dance: What are some other interests that you have?
Bass Lotus: Dancing, painting, making jewelry… anything where I can be creative or around the people I love.
detroit.dance: You are always posting photos and memes about life and love, so what are your thoughts on life and love?
Bass Lotus: I think that love is one of the most essential parts of life. And I think it is our duty as humans to to spread love to the people around us, and to also give a lot of that love to ourselves. We can’t fill from an empty cup. In doing this, we are surrounded by loving energy and everyone maintains that attitude. Love is one of the things that powers the world and powers the music scene. Our love for the music, our love for dance, our love for the people around us… love is essential.
detroit.dance: You have a couple tattoos so which one is your favorite and are you planning on more?
Bass Lotus: I have “Love Yourself” tattooed on my arm. That’s definitely one of my favorites. Self love is something that I’ve always struggled with so having that reminder to love myself helps me love all the people around me in return.
detroit.dance: You have done modeling in the past, how do you stay body positive?
Bass Lotus: I like working out. I grew up doing powerlifting, so I like to work out and lift weights and I also like to dance as my cardio…hooping, orbiting, poi, any type of flow art. Loving myself is one of the biggest things that I need to remind myself to do all the time. I do a lot of mirror work. That’s when you look at yourself in the eyes in the mirror and remind yourself, “I love you, I accept you, I forgive you for anything that you’ve done, I got you, boo.” A huge part of body positivity is not even the working out part or the physical part, it’s also how you feel about yourself internally so maintaining that is a huge part of it.
detroit.dance: You dance a lot, so in your opinion what are the best shoes to dance in?
Bass Lotus: Honestly, I just put insoles in my Doc Martens because they’re big enough to fit them and that’s what I do to keep my feet comfy.
detroit.dance: If there was not a word for “dancing” yet, what word would you use in place of it?
Bass Lotus: Movement Meditation.
Keep up with Bass Lotus on her socials: