After the Bassnectar community experienced a magical night together during the live stream world premiere of his 20-track live album, the community was vibrating with excitement over being together in real time with nothing but positivity, healing, anticipation over the future, and, most importantly, zero trolls in the feed. The entire evening felt like being in a remix within a remix within a remix, which extends to the album itself. Lorin Ashton played these tracks at countless events and constantly reworked them into new VIP versions and customized edits. This is what made Bassnectar’s live sets extremely dynamic, with unlimited combinations for how to mash everything together in unique ways. 

The live stream was proof that the Bassnectar community is alive, well, and, over a month later, the Relive is still brimming with praise and gratitude in the comments section.

The next day, I came across a Reddit try-hard attempting to discredit the whole event by claiming it was fake and boosted by bots. Honestly, that felt absolutely ridiculous. I was there. I experienced it firsthand. These anon accusations of “bot inflation” and “shady tactics” aren’t just off-base—they’re completely detached from reality.

Here’s the truth: the live stream peaked at 30,424 peak concurrent viewers and an average of 23,687 during the premiere. These are live viewers, not total views— which accumulate over time as more people watch the VOD (video-on-demand). For evidence, we reached out to the Bassnectar team because what real journalists do is gather evidence rather than hurl speculation. Here’s a screenshot from the Bassnectar channel’s YouTube Studio showing the actual metrics:

Now, I am not here for an indictment of one anonymous internet troll with nothing better to do than use Grok AI to author a manifesto of misinformation. I am here to review the Relive Forever album using my own words, which I have to say feels more like a live experience upon every listen. The “album” is a reconstruction of the three-night NYE run in Miami into an official mixtape. If music is supposed to transport us to other places, this 20-track “continuous DJ mix” took me right back to those three nights as fans packed out an undisclosed warehouse engulfed in lasers, confetti, and undulating bass.

The mix opens up with a heartfelt address to the crowd and Lorin Ashton laughing while saying, “Oh my god, I love you guys,” followed by showgoers in the room whistling, giggling, and shouting. This moment mixes into a custom mashup of two crowd favorites: the Bassnectar remix of Rollz’s “Plugged In” and the acapella of “Speakerbox” with the vocals of Lara Taylor and Masia One perfectly synced to the rhythms— almost as if the two vocals were originally created together all along. Indeed, one of Bassnectar’s biggest artistic strengths is his ability to match tempos, rhythms, and beats so seamlessly.

One of the strongest elements on the live album is how Bassnectar captures the sound of the crowd itself, which is layered into the entire mix. The novelty of listening to the crowd’s euphoric laughter and the wild voices of all of the people in the room reacting to the music is profound and refreshing. Ashton speaks to the crowd during the breakdowns, and there are subtle layers of room, noise, and reverberation, which take you right back to the warehouse for those who were there IRL. Fan Tom McQuade recapped his experience that night:

This was the beauty of the live-streamed world premiere event, which took place exclusively over Bassnectar’s YouTube channel. This is also the true beauty of the internet since it marked the first massive gathering Bassnectar had together since ringing in 2025. No trolls present and no amount of trolls afterwards can undermine the fact that upwards of 30,000 fans were there with positivity and connection.

Yet, how does one write a critical review for an album that feels more like a live listening experience? The answer is you let the fans chime in— all 30,424 of them. That’s not just a flex; it’s a testament to how tight-knit this community still is. We showed up, we raged, and we’re still buzzing. Daniel Minerva nailed it in the chat: #weNEVERleft.

The album itself? Relive Forever is Bassnectar at his best—heavy, haunting, and straight-up transcendent. Tracks like “The Matrix ft. Dustin Sharpe (Relive Mix)” hit you right in the chest with those signature wubs, while “Never Will Be ft. Azeem (Relive Mix)” had the crowd feeling like we were floating in some cosmic rave dimension. The live chat truly felt like being back at a sold-out stadium event circa 2018, only in the online space. For all it’s perils and pitfalls, the internet can also be a beautiful place for bringing people together across borders and oceans. Ethan encapsulated this best:

That’s the vibe—this album is eternal, a love letter to the Bassnectar family that’s been riding with Lorin since the Sacramento 2012 days (shoutout to PARTY LUV for that throwback memory). From Basscenter to Dejavoom, the nostalgia was flooding the chat all night long…

Cut to when we got the bright idea to start dropping fan interview questions into the chat. When CE asked live viewers the chat, “How does the fusion of live crowd energy and studio precision in Relive Forever compare to previous Bassnectar releases?,” Shanti Das spoke for all of us:

But it’s not just nostalgia—Bassnectar is pushing boundaries here. The live chat was a whole mood, with Bassnectar himself dropping knowledge gems like,

That raw creativity? That’s why we ride so hard for this man. Real talk: when’s the last time you felt an artist connect with the fans like that? When we asked the crowd, “how is Relive Forever resonating with you emotionally?,” Lorin Ashton even responded himself:

Admittedly, CE‘s line of questioning to the bassheads quickly faded as the chat began moving 100 miles a minute. Right around the halfway mark in the night, when “You Know You Love It (Relive Mix)” came in, I felt myself falling deeper into the spell of the live moment along with the 30,000+ others in the chat.

It’s almost as if Bassnectar knew we were slipping into the dreamworld too. At one point on the microphone, Lorin invited everyone in the crowd to slow down together and breathe. This made its way into the album cut, too, which was a stellar creative choice: “Take a big breath… let’s just share this moment,” said Lorin Ashton on the Relive Mix of “Mezmorizing The Ultra.” Shortly after this meditative moment, CE announced to the chat that we were abandoning the questions for the night. Shanti Das’s response to us goes to show how supportive the live chat was all night long.

Shout out to Shanti Das, wherever you are! The moment was too important to worry about what would come next— that is, this album review. We were now fully present in moment, feeling lost in the crowd and headbanging in front of the computer monitor. Can you relate?

From the melodic moments of bliss to the plentiful helpings of ragga-jungle flavors to the political messaging in “New World Order,” the album feels as important as living the three insane nights in Miami. Almost like a mini time capsule of NYE 2025, even. While several of the songs on the live album are completely brand new and unreleased, many of the tracks are essentially custom mashups where multiple Bassnectar songs are synced up together in new ways. One obvious stand out on the mixtape is a combination of the instrumental from “Underground” with a pitched-up version of the a cappella from “Heavyweight Sound.” The classic rave stabs in the music mixed with the hyped-up vocals sound incredibly fresh and almost like they were made for each other!

On another track, Lorin took the a cappella from the song “Underground” and cut it up over the instrumental of “Disrupt The System” for a completely unique banger. Fan Alex Avelis says it best here, “BASSNEC WIT DA CUTS.” You can hear the sheer excitement in Ashton’s voice before he drops the track, while playfully warning the audience, “this next one’s a fucking weapon.” Anyone is the room that night certainly remembers that one!

So, what’s the verdict? Relive Forever is a masterpiece that captures the essence of Bassnectar’s live energy—gritty, emotional, and absolutely massive. It’s the kind of album that makes you wanna rage with your crew at 3 AM while also reflecting on the journey we’ve all been on together.

If you’re doubting the hype, fan John Newmann summed it up best in the chat: “Out of order in the court!!” Chaos, love, and bass—that’s what this album delivers. This release wasn’t just an album drop; it’s a cultural moment for our community, and CE was proud to break down the moment with insights from the live stream chat to show the collective energy we’re all feeling. With that, we leave you with what one fan had to say that perfectly encapsulated the world premiere and the larger cultural moment:

The Bassnectar team was obviously teeming from the night’s energy too, recently announcing they will be opening up The Other Side this summer. CE reached out for comment and Lorin Ashton said,

“The Other Side was the perfect sanctuary for our community a few years ago, but now that all the nonsense of cancel culture is over, we are feeling the energy coming from miles around and want to welcome everyone to join our summer Relive episodes…. next month is a heater from Camp Bisco

”

This Sunday, June 29 at 9 PM EST, is the final Relive episode, which will be exclusive to Unlocked. See you there for Episode 26: Electric Forest 2018!

Bassnectar – Relive Forever LP

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By: Ryan Morse
Title: Bassnectar’s first-ever live album, ‘Relive Forever,’ marks cultural moment for our community [Album Review]
Sourced From: consciouselectronic.com/2025/06/27/bassnectars-first-ever-live-album-relive-forever-marks-cultural-moment-for-our-community-album-review/
Published Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2025 16:47:28 +0000

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