Dylan Stark’s Live Take Of “Northern” Is Entrancing Dance Music

Watch the Portland producer perform a subtly ecstatic tune from his new LP.

March 18, 2015

This live video of Dylan Stark performing "Northern" reminds me of Deadboy's edit of Drake's "Fireworks," both in its building nocturnal rave vibes and in its subtle grasp of sonic ecstasy. It's dance music that is melancholic and reflective, while still producing the same feelings of awe and wonder that fans of the genre are always in pursuit of.

"'Northern' is one of the larger, soaring songs off of Heartland," Stark said in an email to FADER. "I spent a lot of time watching these extended nature documentary helicopter flights over jungle or tundra while I was making it; where other album songs feel like you are right in the thick of the jungle, I always imagined Northern as the soundtrack to a gliding bird's eye view of the jungle instead.The LP and the live set are a culmination of years of work now and I'm really nervous and excited to finally get to debut some of it. We ran outside last year just as people started setting off 4th of July fireworks to film this live take of Northern. The live versions of the album often end up sounding very different because I've brought in so many more samples and given myself the ability to fluidly bring in and out any elements of any song. This live version of Northern switches more of the focus to drum work making the song a lot more percussive and driving then the album version."

The track is from the Portland producer's forthcoming LP, Heartland, which is out April 6 via Civil Music—and if you're down in Austin this week, he'll be performing live at SXSW, Thursday March 19th, 9pm as part of the SureFire Showcase w/ L-Vis 1990, Braille, DJ Earl at the Barcelona.

Dylan Stark’s Live Take Of “Northern” Is Entrancing Dance Music