The K returned to Waterfront Park last weekend for our 8th episode of CRSSD, and while the sounds of the festival have changed, one thing sure hasn’t: they’ve still got it. 

Since the festival’s 2015 debut, the talent buyers at FNGRS CRSSD have put on a masterclass year in and year out, spring and fall both. The mainstays and legends like Dixon or Richie Hawtin are always a pleasure, but what makes this festival special is its unwavering ability to showcase the rising stars and the rising sounds that will rule tomorrow.

Following CRSSD 5 years ago, we called the coming heyday of “Palatable Techno” just as Tech House turned stale. Look no further than Saturday’s closer, Tale Of Us. Their brand of 120-126 BPM “Melodic Techno” propelled them to massive global success and the same main stage closing slot as Tech House Messiah, FISHER. Now once again, we may just have an heir that’s ready to take the throne from a played-out predecessor.

And it’s happening at City Steps. It’s hard. It’s fast. It’s fun. Where tempos of 132 BPM and higher used to be reserved for “scawwy” Techno sets or “cheese” Trance, standout acts of the weekend X CLUB. and DJ Heartstring owned the trend that’s begun to make its way across the pond. This flavor of stomping, euphoric Techno once felt a bit gimmicky in an American setting when crowds weren’t quite ready, but no longer. The kids wanna go fast.

There’s nothing quite like getting caught in a torrential downpour at a music festival (one of our favorite features of CRSSD). And this is especially true when the stage happens to be cranking out tunes at 150 BPM. Everything becomes elevated. The energy verges on manic and the crowd quickly thins down to the real ones only.

DJ Heartstring queues up “Take My Hand” and it is pure, crackling electricity. Electronic Music. 

Compare that to the canned performance that headlined mainstage a few hours later and, well…yawn. Against the backdrop of City Steps and without a football field-sized 8K TV, it was all too clear that Melodic Techno has become a cliche. The musical innovation is gone. This is just Big Room House with even bigger robots. 

But shit, 24 hours later there I am watching Lane 8 for the 20th time and happy. I couldn’t care less if he’s innovating, and we all need stepping stones. Could a festival like CRSSD have come this far without “Levels”? Doubt it.

We welcome the day that X CLUB.-velocity tracks pound through main stage. And we’ll complain about that, too. But for now, the forecast is hard, fast, & fun. Best invest in some stomping shoes. 💋💋