Introducing DEKAI: Rising talent is honing his meditative bass stamp with ‘Call Of The Ancients’

Here at Conscious Electronic, we love all things bass — breakbeat, downtempo, left-field, experimental, dubstep in all its forms, you name it. As the underground bass movement has begun its full ascendancy in the US, we’ve been keeping a finger on the pulse of up-and-coming bass artists the country over. As such, CE‘s Rising Bass Spotlight seeks to turn a focus onto those rising producers who’re developing their craft, garnering their audiences, and turning eyes, ears, heads, and bodies with their commitment to all things low end.

---

For Salt Lake City rising bass act DEKAI, who runs around town as Derek Page, he says he never really fit the mold of the “rave” sound. With musical tastes that include a love of all things heavy, including grimy bass, DnB, and filthy dubstep, his music gleans more towards an eastern-influenced, consciously-attuned sound that relies on instruments like the didgeridoo and tribal African drums, yogic “ohm” chanting, and sampling organic sounds and nature backdrops.

The sound I produce kind of creates itself. I often tend to find myself in a meditative state while producing, and I am able to hear certain elements or sounds in advance of them being part of the song.” – DEKAI

“Call of the Ancients” represents the epitome of this mystifying sonic canvas. “I always strive for a sound that the listener can feel, meditate to, and step out of reality into a kind of inner journey while listening,” says DEKAI of his direction, which likens itself to the sound wheelhouses of Phutureprimitive and Charlesthefirst.

The track was originally written as an entry for Lucidity Festival’s original song contest, in which DEKAI ended up taking second place for the last two years. Heavily inspired by ancient and indigenous cultures, Page says he’s felt a deep connection to those peoples since he was a child. When he wasn’t busy playing the drums at age eight, he recalls listening to music from Deep Forest. During his teenage years, so much of his time was spent researching ancient Mayan, Egyptian, and Native American cultures, which naturally grew into a fascination with meditation, sacred geometry, and psychedelic experimentation.

“The story of Call of the Ancients is essentially a tribute to my inspirations, and a ‘call’ to the listener from the ancients who were truly in tune with the earth and it’s energies,” Page says of the song, which was also meant to evoke feelings of lucidity.

With major inspirations like Tool and Bassnectar, whom he is drawn to for their “dark,” “heavy,” yet still “beautiful sound,” DEKAI has become a staple local artist on the underground electronic/bass community in Salt Lake City. Now, he says the next big goal is “to get back to playing out of state shows and starting to spread my sound into other regions.” With a spiritually-oriented sound stamp that perfectly aligns with Conscious Electronic‘s vision, we’ve certainly got a close eye on his next production moves, which is said to include experimenting with live drum and guitar instrumentation.

Stream “Call Of The Ancients” below and keep DEKAI on your underground bass radar.