How to explain the Mountain Bass Experience to someone who’s never heard of it before?
Unique?
Impossible?
Grounding?
Community?
These were some of the answers given by attendees.
I would start with the words ‘music’, ‘adventure’, and ‘not what you expect’. For whatever research you do beforehand surely could never prepare you for the beautiful journey ahead. To be surrounded by a few fun-willed, like-minded music lovers in an exquisite scenic location with little to no cell reception is a priceless experience, and surely a dream for most.
Mountain Bass is not a music festival. It is a music event experience, changing between different mountainous terrains and rural European locations. This year Mountain Bass Experience 2025 was set in the picturesque Pico De Europa of northern Spain.
It attracts the best (or at least my favourite) type of people: lovers of nature and dnb. One attendee described the group as, “the people left at the club when the lights turn on’’. Mountain Bass is for those who are truly there for the music, those who make the community something special.
The idea in itself sounds almost too utopic to realistically picture, what events in 2025 truly prioritise the community over profit? Given the recent boycotts due to KKR’s involvement in Superstruct-owned festivals such as Field Day and Sónar, finding independent, ethical music events feels like finding a needle in a haystack at the moment.
I made the decision to go in wilfully ignorant– what better way to do your research than simply experiencing it for yourself? Having no conceptions or expectations was an important factor in allowing me to dive right in at the deep end and get my hands dirty. Or… more literally, get my feet dirty– as whilst hiking through the Spanish mountains to a soundtrack of drum and bass, there were no muddy beats but we did stumble across some muddy puddles.
Founders of Mountain Bass, Matt & Jo had an idea to integrate nature incredibly craftily into a music experience, and the payoff has been significant. It was a pleasant surprise and the entire experience genuinely felt metaphysically divine; it’s one thing to listen to your favourite liquid set through your headphones on your commute to work, but to witness it played live whilst on the top of a mountain surrounded by friends, cows, and horses is something else. Although I knew to bring my hiking boots and my bass face, the rest was written in the stars and I honestly couldn’t have expected to have all the fun that I did.
So who knew drum and bass paired so well with hiking? Clearly Matt and Jo did. Probably the most prominent aspect of the experience was the nature element. From remote picnics to (literal) uphill battles, the background of the experience was consistently an impossibly beautiful backdrop. One of my favourite things about Mountain Bass is that it felt like a Choose Your Own Adventure tale, the entire experience being completely customisable to your personal desires. People who didn’t want to hike could sleep in, have lunch in the village then join the party for the music in the evening. Or those hardcore thrill-seekers signed up for canyoning activities or went on self-guided runs around the hills. The community aspect played an integral role in ensuring that this experience could happen, I know of no other events where everyone carshares to each different location! No empty cars and no taxis was a refreshing way to see how there are so many aspects of music events that can be reimagined.
So why isn’t Mountain Bass a music festival?
Aside from all the previous comments that undoubtedly cement it in a category of its own, far from festival territory– Mountain Bass is entirely non-corporate. It is a members only experience that is dependent on love and passion for the community– without these it simply would not work. The event is also unique in its need to stay small, you cannot have a Mountain Bass with 1000 attendees. Whilst you could curate a beautiful music experience for 500-1000+ people, it would not be Mountain Bass, as the homely, tight-knit community is essential to the charm of the event.
Whatever it is that gives it that unique, down to earth essence is what we need more of in the events industry. Small, high effort electronic music experiences may seem high risk, but it is grossly evident that we need more of them! After all, rave culture is inherently DIY at heart. The world needs more Mountain Basses, certainly not less. Unfortunately 2025 was announced to be the last official Mountain Bass for the time being, but something tells me that this was not the end. You can’t kill the ecstatic spirit that emanated massively throughout the week.
To pick a musical highlight or favourite set from the week would be like picking a favourite child. Every single drop filled the room (or the outdoors) with pure love for the game. The best set I’ve ever been to will always be the most recent one, because the vibes of the room haven’t yet shaken off, your heart is still beating in tune with the bass and you haven’t yet forgotten the looks of joy and sonic satisfaction on everyone’s face. Something unique to Mountain Bass was the range of talent presented, with big names such as Natty Lou, Etherwood, and Riya playing– there were also DJs playing their first ever public set. Each and every single one of them put their heart into their set and that was evident in the group’s response, all that hiking and not one person was too exerted to skank! This is how the music scene should look, accessible to folk just starting out and giving them the opportunities to shine.
The overarching point here is that WE NEED MORE MOUNTAIN BASSES!
Not only the Mountain Bass brand itself, but more upcoming music event experiences that are prioritising people over profit, that are accessible for new artists, and that do it for the love of the community. Events that are more entirely and holistically fulfilling than just a rave.
But the unfortunate question that has to be asked is how?
How do we find people willing to organise high-risk, low-budget events?
How do we surpass logistical barriers?
How do we keep the experiences small yet make them for everybody?
These questions are not easy ones to answer, and we’ll definitely be exploring them further in features and podcasts. But for now, we’d love to hear your thoughts!
