Featured image by Jordan Sabillo
Summer has slipped into a blur of spending days in an office and coming home to an apartment that’s trapped the heat inside. It’s been a summer of bracing for senior year, and aside from the imminent doom of entering the job market, I’ve been reflecting on the sweetness of my college years. HARD Summer took place during the first weekend of August, boasting a lineup of artists who I’ve streamed obsessively through my time in school.
Throngs of people flooded Hollywood Park in stifling Saturday afternoon heat. My sister and I pushed through the crowd to catch Tokischa’s set. The Dominican rapper has an infectious energy, with a reggaeton-inspired, electronic sound that’s guaranteed to make you dance. Her set was bold, provocative, and set the tone for the marathon of sets that lay ahead.
I was most excited to see Brutalismus 3000 this weekend, and they did not disappoint. The techno duo rarely performs in Los Angeles – notably skipping the city on their informal tour of listening parties for their newest record, Harmony. The duo’s live sets carry an air of surrealism – visuals of children laughing and flowers blooming behind meditative text and spoken absurdist lyrics. Brutalismus 3000 forwards that electronic music is a vehicle for catharsis, proven through crowds that dance with no inhibitions. Their set featured hits like “I Bring My Gun To The Function” and “Satan Was A Baby Boomer.” Vocalist Victoria Vassiliki Daldas led the crowd through an emotional cleanse, encouraging to release through screams and jumping to the bass. Each drop was punctuation with pyrotechnics that you can feel on your face, even standing far from the stage. After an exhilarating hour, B3K said their goodbyes and left the crowd eager to catch their headlining b2b set with Boys Noize the next day.
We had to rush to the main stage to end the night with Saturday’s headliner, Kali Uchis. Although the sun had long set, Uchis dazzled the stage with an infectious warmth – her set design featured sunset color schemes, blow-up hearts, and flapper choreography. The performance spotlighted the breadth of her catalog, moving between dreamy R&B and electropop sounds. She announced to the crowd, “If you’re here with someone you love tonight, hold them closer. Dance with them.” Thousands followed her lead, and the crowd paired off into sweethearts, siblings, and friends. Together, the crowd sang along to her most iconic songs – from “telepatía,” “Moonlight”, and her iconic verse on “See you Again.” The set proved Uchis’ stronghold on R&B since her debut studio album in 2018, as lyrics and dance came easily.
My sister insisted that we show up early on Sunday to catch 10cust’s set. The DAW at UCLA co-founder has had his hand in shaping much of the music I listen to today: credited for producing for MGNA Crrrta and Suzy Sheer, among others. His set, spanning 65 minutes, proved his influence. His remixes and production style shape today’s electroclash sound, making 10cust a fitting opener for the Purple Stage, curated by the Berlin-based electronic music collective LIVE FROM EARTH.
Underscores is at one of the most exciting parts of her career. Set to open for Charli xcx’s Music, Fashion, Film Tour and just announced to perform at San Diego’s NITEHARTS, Underscores continues to catch the attention of fans and publications alike. Watching her take the Purple Stage felt like just a preview for what’s in store for her, and she was prepared to shine. She opened her set with earlier songs like “Girls Like Us” and “Poplife,” which brought me back to when I saw her DJ at Subculture just over a year ago. Since then, she’s blossomed into a full-blown pop star, complete with choreography during “Do It” and lightsticks for fans to wave along to. She performed her latest album, U, with care, shedding tears as she serenaded the crowd to “Lovefield.” As she showed us through the journey of her record, Underscores proves that she’s more than ready to be vulnerable onstage – no matter how large the crowd.
Every time I’ve seen Frost Children, it’s been in front of a larger crowd. Whether they’re DJing in bar backrooms or performing in lots packed with thousands, they bring an infectious energy every time. Sibling duo Angel and Lulu’s closeness is palpable, mixing in sync and working as a unit. Angel brought her signature gold flag that she waves at the start of every live performance – a symbol that never fails to get the crowd amped for the imminent beat drop. The duo performed their latest mixtape, Tweaker Poem, for the first time in Los Angeles. The dubstep EP was produced during sleepless Tokyo nights, escaping a stalker back in New York. Tracks like “Afterlife,” highlight the closeness of the Prost siblings. Sampling “Falling,” which the duo credits as the best song they’ve ever made, “Afterlife” uses tongue-in-cheek lyrics to drive the point that we all end in the same place. As the crowd jumped to the chorus (“See you in the afterlife”), Frost Children asks us to remember that even the most fleeting moments can leave a lasting connection. To end the set, Frost Children brought out Kim Petras – they tend to do so when they perform in Los Angeles – to perform “Radio.” As the Prost siblings build their career with unwavering camaraderie, Frost Children reminds us to celebrate the people we share our lives with– until we see them on the other side.
My sister and I rushed to the HARD Stage to see Snow Strippers. I saw them earlier in the year at the Washington DC stop of their North America Tour, buzzing with anxieties about the new city. Eight months later, back at home and with my sister by my side, I only felt excitement as their first song flooded the Los Angeles twilight. As Tati and Graham gave HARD Summer a taste of their discography, the setting sun leaked beams behind the stage. The rolling dusk added a otherworldly layer to the duo’s larger-than-life visuals, captivating the crowd. Although their set was just under an hour, Snow Strippers proved that they shine brightest in front of large audiences. The crowd got lost in the melodies and each other, as strangers danced with strangers and the anxieties of the outside world disappeared with the setting sun.
The momentum drifted us back into Shygirl’s Club Shy set on the Purple Stage. The SWEAT Tour alumni continued to get people moving, leaving her club-ready, unabashedly sexy discography on full display. The throbbing bass caused ravers at the Purple Stage to move to the beat, and for the next hour, Shygirl turned the asphalt lot into a packed-out nightclub.
Fans had been anticipating 2hollis’ set all weekend, settling at the Purple Stage early on to ensure a good view. In every performance, 2hollis paints a soundscape that’s larger than himself. Behind the ripping bass, 2hollis’ music is an exploration of boyhood: his latest album, Star, is an exploration of fame and a dedication to losing his childhood home in the Eaton fires. He sings songs about unrequited crushes and brings out his friends on tour: at HARD Summer, Rommulas performed his latest single, “Paleta,” and Nate Sib came out to perform “Afraid” with 2hollis. The latter carries an air of optimism, encouraging the audience to lean on each other. The trio – fittingly called Boylife – grows into their careers together. 2hollis rounded out the set performing “Hurt” for the first time in Los Angeles, leaving people excitedly anticipating his next era. For an artist whose career has grown so rapidly, there’s something especially sweet about seeing 2hollis bring his day ones along for the ride.
Knock2 and Zedd’s b2b set was easily the headliner for the weekend. Their set at NITEHARTS last year proved that the duo is a showstopper. Zedd has led the pop sound of the 2010s, playing hits like “Break Free,” “The Middle,” and “Stay The Night,” paired with technicolor visuals and a melodic bass that got the entire crowd moving in a nostalgic euphoria. Knock2 brought his modern, basshouse sound to the set, mixing “Dashstar” and welcoming longtime collaborator ISOXO for “FUCK THE SPEAKERZ UP.” It felt like the night was leading up to the moment when Zedd’s “Clarity” rang through the festival grounds. Thousands of voices rose into one massive singalong, and no matter how many times the unofficial rave anthem comes through the speakers, hearing the old favorite live remains feeling brand new. The hour-long set melted into a blur of familiar hooks and futuristic production, seemingly over as soon as it began.
At a time where there’s so much strife in the world, raving feels especially frivolous. But, I truly believe that, even in our grief-stricken climate, electronic music prevails because it’s spoken in a language everyone can understand. As listeners anticipate and ride out a beat drop, you witness community: strangers looking out for each other, dancing together. Especially at a time where people constantly cite the woes of being bound to a screen, electronic music feels, ironically, human. It’s refreshing to fall into the noise and become one with a crowd that only knows peace, love, unity, and respect.
