It led us to Original Fat Cat's where, on a cool Monday night, deep, slow-wobbling vibrations oozed like molasses over an otherwise motionless city block. By midnight, the dark interior of the bar had filled with a crowd who swayed their bodies and moved their arms in undulating waves to the bass music.
It was the inaugural night of Too Future, a party that over the next several months would bring some of the world's most coveted and respected underground dubstep DJs to the devout bassheads of South Florida. It aimed to offer an answer to the rampant club scene of overblown, oversaturated, commercialized EDM. It aimed to be "anti-pop."
"Our vision is a unified tri-county bass music scene that will help the push to educate people about music that is not served to them on a commercial platter," says Gaurav Khanna, one of the original Too Future founders, who also DJs and helms booking and internet marketing duties.
See also: TOO//FUTURE Move Their Underground Sound to a "Proper Warehouse"
A year after setting out to make a real, lasting change in the local scene, the Too Future crew are as motivated as ever to keep the spirit of deep bass music alive and continue building momentum.
"[Too Future] has very much been a month-to-month affair," Khanna says. "As support has grown for the night, and interest in the deeper sound of bass music has regained popularity, we have been more and more encouraged to keep hosting it."
Over its year-long run, Too Future headliners have included award-winning dubstep DJs from across the pond and around the U.S., including Rinse.FM mainstay Youngsta, U.K.s minimal master V.I.V.E.K., Baltimore's deep dubstep pioneer Joe Nice, and a handful of others. This Monday, the one-year anniversary will bring back Youngsta, who headlined that first night, along with New Orlean's Unicorn Fukr, and Miami's Gooddroid.
For Too Future co-founder and promoter Eric Carbonell, the best parts of the party over the last year have been "working together with my closest friends to create a scene that barely existed, just so that we can enjoy the artist and sound that we love; creating friendships with all of the artist who we support and are now supporting us; [and] getting world wide recognition for our small party." Too Future even got a nod in a recent Mixmag article highlighting noteworthy "real dubstep" pursuits in the U.S.
But it hasn't been without its challenges keeping up the monthly.
"Since it is a free party, obviously it has become costly," Khanna admits. That's not to mention "trying to compete with long-established promoters and trends in popular music" while struggling to encourage a younger generation to dig deeper than "standard-fare" EDM.
After experimenting with different formulas and venues, the crew will ring in its first year at its original home, Fat Cat's. "We held a few events at Unity 88, a larger venue, but it seemed to lose a little of the intimacy we enjoy," says Too Future DJ, digital artist, and promoter Jeremy Dawson.
That's not to say they won't continue to evolve, branch out, and try new things. According to Khanna, the future includes not only additional venues around the area, but additional genres, too. While they plan to keep the party going at Fat Cat's, they've already branched out to a second Thursdays event on the upstairs deck at McSorley's on Fort Lauderdale Beach, recently rebranded as Tonic Lounge.
And, Khanna says, "Although we have featured many dubstep acts, we are all fans of other futuristic bass-driven music as well, such as tech house and drum 'n' bass. All of these tempos and styles will be featured at our various events."
As for this Monday's anniversary party, you can expect the usual high production quality and laid-back, intimate vibes we've come to expect from a Too Future party, with some added goodies. A roster of influential and highly regarded local, national, and international DJs, plus food by the Slow Food Truck, makes it a party not to miss for any music fan who has yet to check out the Monday night gem.
"The encouragement we have received from our local scene, other scenes, and the international DJs that have played for us has kept us moving forward," Khanna says of their drive to bring Too Future into its second year. "There are many other South Florida crews that are holding the torch as well, such as BassHead Music, LowR Levls, United D&B, Digital Felon, Signaflo, and of course Loveless Records." And it's that kind of collective dedication that helps build something truly special.
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