We love independent festivals. Almost as much we love glitch hop and experimental bass. So when Fire Lights Festival announced the lineup for their fifth anniversary, we knew we had to get a piece of it.
Taking place one hour southwest of Buffalo, this small but mighty fest takes place on a beautiful piece of land in Western New York. While we’ve covered the festival for years, this is the first time we’ll have a team on-site to document how the weekend goes down.
Aside from the various immersions, such as fire dancers, workshops, and more, the lineup features some of the finest talent in underground bass. Below, we take a closer look at some of the acts we are most excited to see this year.
BackLeft
Quietly refining his sound and honing his craft over the years, BackLeft is an artist who exploded back onto the scene in 2024 with his Gene Driver EP and several major plays that included a sold-out Black Box headline and his second support slot alongside Fire Lights headliner, Resonant Language. In March, the soon-to-be Brooklyn resident released a highly anticipated mix featuring 27 collaborations dedicated “t𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 [him] 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬.” Expect a high-energy, emotive, and unparalleled set from BackLeft come Fire Lights.
Fika
One of the artists featured on BackLeft’s said “Connection” mix is a bold, rising force in the world of underground bass who goes by the name of Fika. Beloved by followers of niche, leftfield bangers and exotic downtempo, Fika opened himself up to the world with a ceremonious debut at Infrasound this past May. As his cult following grows, so do his bookings, with upcoming plays alongside stretching Fika’s sound far and wide. Catch Fika holding down the closing slot for the arrival. label takeover.
Gantzer Does Pink Floyd Ft. Members of Aqueous
One of the few live acts performing at Fire Light’s Fifth Anniversary is also one of the most unique. Gantzer Does Pink Floyd is a tribute band composed of Mike Gantzer and John McPhaden of Aqueous, drummer Matt Kellen (formerly of Mungion), keyboardist/vocalist Max Davis (Tortoise Forest), guitarist/vocalist Bill Bratek (Maufrey), and saxophonist Craig Abraham, who combine on stage for one hell of an ensemble. This past NYE, in Buffalo, the group performed for the first time, laying down fan favorites like “Pig,” “Comfortably Numb,” and a complete performance of The Dark Side of The Moon.
hokey boi
California’s finest, from the dumpster down the road, hokey boi is the second of three artists laying it down for the arrival. label takeover. The past year, the San Diego sonic rummager accomplished several milestones including support slots for Ooga and BackLeft in addition to a 2025 Unreleased Mix that just hit 10K plays. This September, hokey boi makes the pilgrimage to bass music’s promised land – Denver – to continue swinging his way through the ranks of glitch hop’s underground.
Humandala
The latest colony productions’ disciple and Fire Lights alumnus is Harrisburg’s Humandala. In examination of Humandala’s discography, its his 2024 LP, Happy Computer, Bad Operator, that shines as a beacon of neuro bass proficiency and trademark production that has put his sound in a category of its own. Another name that fans will be looking towards to fill the void in a post-Tipper tomorrow, anticipate Humandala to start dominating sound systems far and wide
Limbus Luna
Coming out of Montgomery County, Maryland, Limbus Luna is a rising producer who’s beginning to make waves in the world of underground bass. Equipped with an entrancing blend of ethereal bass music and a developing thumb for highly emotive downtempo, the East Coast wonder has performed alongside acts like Artifakts and K+Lab with upcoming appearances at Big Dub, The Black Box, Big Fam, and ofcourse the Fifth Anniversary of Fire Lights Festival.
Mindex
Bass contortionist and low-end explorer Mindex is an act fans have been flocking towards to find solace in a post-Tipper tomorrow, and there are several reasons why. While repeat appearances at TNF events have placed him in front of thousands of eager listeners, his discography denotes one of the most disciplined and experimental sound designers currently operating in the underground. Expect Mindex to be at the top of many more festival lineups as the seasons carry on.
Resonant Language
Last but certainly not least we’ve got our most anticipated artist for the fifth anniversary of Fire Lights Music & Arts Festival – Resonant Language. With one of the most well-established foundations in modern glitch hop, the New York-based artist has placed himself among the top tier of left-field bass musicians. While he hasn’t released anything since Input Slope in 2023, his live sets have begun leaning into highly experimental waters with tons of IDM influences. While his trademark sound is still well intact, we have admired seeing him take brave strides with the adventerous nature of the IDs played in recent sets.
Catch Resonant Language, Mindex, and the rest of these titans of the underground at the fifth anniversary of Fire Lights Music & Arts Festival this August 21-24th.
Follow Fire Lights Festival:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
We love independent festivals. Almost as much we love glitch hop and experimental bass. So when Fire Lights Festival announced the lineup for their fifth anniversary, we knew we had to get a piece of it.
Taking place one hour southwest of Buffalo, this small but mighty fest takes place on a beautiful piece of land in Western New York. While we’ve covered the festival for years, this is the first time we’ll have a team on-site to document how the weekend goes down.
Aside from the various immersions, such as fire dancers, workshops, and more, the lineup features some of the finest talent in underground bass. Below, we take a closer look at some of the acts we are most excited to see this year.
BackLeft
Quietly refining his sound and honing his craft over the years, BackLeft is an artist who exploded back onto the scene in 2024 with his Gene Driver EP and several major plays that included a sold-out Black Box headline and his second support slot alongside Fire Lights headliner, Resonant Language. In March, the soon-to-be Brooklyn resident released a highly anticipated mix featuring 27 collaborations dedicated “t𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 [him] 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬.” Expect a high-energy, emotive, and unparalleled set from BackLeft come Fire Lights.
Fika
One of the artists featured on BackLeft’s said “Connection” mix is a bold, rising force in the world of underground bass who goes by the name of Fika. Beloved by followers of niche, leftfield bangers and exotic downtempo, Fika opened himself up to the world with a ceremonious debut at Infrasound this past May. As his cult following grows, so do his bookings, with upcoming plays alongside stretching Fika’s sound far and wide. Catch Fika holding down the closing slot for the arrival. label takeover.
Gantzer Does Pink Floyd Ft. Members of Aqueous
One of the few live acts performing at Fire Light’s Fifth Anniversary is also one of the most unique. Gantzer Does Pink Floyd is a tribute band composed of Mike Gantzer and John McPhaden of Aqueous, drummer Matt Kellen (formerly of Mungion), keyboardist/vocalist Max Davis (Tortoise Forest), guitarist/vocalist Bill Bratek (Maufrey), and saxophonist Craig Abraham, who combine on stage for one hell of an ensemble. This past NYE, in Buffalo, the group performed for the first time, laying down fan favorites like “Pig,” “Comfortably Numb,” and a complete performance of The Dark Side of The Moon.
hokey boi
California’s finest, from the dumpster down the road, hokey boi is the second of three artists laying it down for the arrival. label takeover. The past year, the San Diego sonic rummager accomplished several milestones including support slots for Ooga and BackLeft in addition to a 2025 Unreleased Mix that just hit 10K plays. This September, hokey boi makes the pilgrimage to bass music’s promised land – Denver – to continue swinging his way through the ranks of glitch hop’s underground.
Humandala
The latest colony productions’ disciple and Fire Lights alumnus is Harrisburg’s Humandala. In examination of Humandala’s discography, its his 2024 LP, Happy Computer, Bad Operator, that shines as a beacon of neuro bass proficiency and trademark production that has put his sound in a category of its own. Another name that fans will be looking towards to fill the void in a post-Tipper tomorrow, anticipate Humandala to start dominating sound systems far and wide
Limbus Luna
Coming out of Montgomery County, Maryland, Limbus Luna is a rising producer who’s beginning to make waves in the world of underground bass. Equipped with an entrancing blend of ethereal bass music and a developing thumb for highly emotive downtempo, the East Coast wonder has performed alongside acts like Artifakts and K+Lab with upcoming appearances at Big Dub, The Black Box, Big Fam, and ofcourse the Fifth Anniversary of Fire Lights Festival.
Mindex
Bass contortionist and low-end explorer Mindex is an act fans have been flocking towards to find solace in a post-Tipper tomorrow, and there are several reasons why. While repeat appearances at TNF events have placed him in front of thousands of eager listeners, his discography denotes one of the most disciplined and experimental sound designers currently operating in the underground. Expect Mindex to be at the top of many more festival lineups as the seasons carry on.
Resonant Language
Last but certainly not least we’ve got our most anticipated artist for the fifth anniversary of Fire Lights Music & Arts Festival – Resonant Language. With one of the most well-established foundations in modern glitch hop, the New York-based artist has placed himself among the top tier of left-field bass musicians. While he hasn’t released anything since Input Slope in 2023, his live sets have begun leaning into highly experimental waters with tons of IDM influences. While his trademark sound is still well intact, we have admired seeing him take brave strides with the adventerous nature of the IDs played in recent sets.
Catch Resonant Language, Mindex, and the rest of these titans of the underground at the fifth anniversary of Fire Lights Music & Arts Festival this August 21-24th.
Follow Fire Lights Festival:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
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