Does Ocean View Reign Supreme at CRSSD Festival?

CRSSD Festival Fall was a weekend for the books with a common thread throughout the experience: the Ocean View stage reigning supreme.

CRSSD Festival continues to cement its legacy in San Diego with each passing edition. Enlisting some of the world’s largest house and techno artists as well as live acts, this experience has become a staple in the community, and rightfully so. The lineups have an artfully curated balance of homegrown and international sensations. The number of new music discoveries I leave the event with is consistent between each iteration, and there are simply some artists FNGRS CRSSD will book that you might not be able to catch anywhere else.

Whatever stage you ended up at this year, there was an abundance of great vibes and sounds. The Palms, mainly centered on house music, hosted a heavy-hitting lineup including BLOND:ISH, Boris Brejcha, Four Tet, and Gorgon City. Meanwhile, the City Steps, filled with techno grooves, packed the weekend with some of the scene’s biggest names like 999999999, I Hate Models, Adam Beyer, and HI-LO.

While I spent time at those two stages, where I caught Jerro, Biscits, Chris Avantgarde, and more, I found myself mostly at Ocean View. In the past, I’ve discovered some of my favorite artists at this stage, and this year, I saw some of the best sets of the weekend, making it my place to be at CRSSD Festival.

Courtesy of CRSSD Festival // @imkeiki

CRSSD Festival’s unique bookings at the Ocean View included Belgium’s Soulwax and Lyon’s Gesaffelstein this year.

There were many places to be this weekend around San Diego, but these were the two bookings that solidified my presence at CRSSD Festival. It’s not often you get to see three drummers impeccably shred through a set as they did with the Dewaele brothers, David and Stephen. My memory did not serve me wrong from Coachella 2018, the last time I saw Soulwax, as the indie dance group performed one of the craziest sets at the fall edition of the festival.

Within their allotted hour, Soulwax played my favorite tracks, got into some jams, and left my mind blown. The drummers were in perfect harmony. The Dewaele brothers commanded the stage as they rocked out on their arsenal of instruments. There was truly no other group like Soulwax to perform over the weekend. It felt like a special treat for a San Diego festival and showcased the producers’ ability to book variety.

My favorite set of the weekend, though, was undoubtedly Gesaffelstein. His grungy, industrial-style sound got the entire crowd kicking up dust as we all danced and cheered during each transition. He played everything I wanted to hear, like “Hellifornia,” “OPR,” and “Pursuit.” What I loved most about his set is he stayed in that era of his sound. While I like his collaborations with The Weeknd and his recent poppier releases, when I see Gesaffelstein, I need the darkness. The Dark Prince delivered with his festival-closing set on Sunday.

Courtesy of CRSSD Festival // @miguelmonad

The Ocean View stage also gave me new music discoveries like Kerala Dust and Jersey.

I always leave CRSSD Festival with a couple of new musical gems. For this edition, I was given recommendations from trusty ears, and they were spot on. I arrived during the day on both days to check out Ocean View and was so excited when I heard the sounds of Kerala Dust and Jersey permeate the airwaves. Kerala Dust has this subtle indie electronic sound with an overarching desert twang vibe. That sound paired beautifully with the San Diego weather, palm trees, and space to groove.

The next group I was stoked to discover was Jersey. The duo performed with this neat auxiliary board that controlled the nuances of sounds while simultaneously drumming a midi controller and engaging with the crowd. Their energy on stage was contagious and radiated throughout the performance, which featured uptempo, hyper-poppy tunes. I didn’t know what to expect, but I left feeling fulfilled and excited to have discovered them.

There is no denying CRSSD Festival has its finger on the pulse of the house and techno scene, but the live acts will keep me coming back.

Something special about Ocean View continuously draws me in each time I attend CRSSD Festival. It’s the planes landing at the airport just behind it, the palm trees lining the harbor and the skyline opposite, the sunsets, and the physical space to dance. It’s a large-scale production paired with world-renowned artists and performances. The festival experience will get you your money’s worth, but seeing the scene’s biggest artists perform at Ocean View will leave you with memories to last a lifetime.

So, does Ocean View reign supreme at CRSSD Festival? For me, it does, but however you enjoyed the festival this year, I hope it was wonderful. If you haven’t caught a set at Ocean View in the past, I hope these sentiments encourage you to see one in the future. I promise I’ll go to The Palms and City Steps more if you do!

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