Midweek Mantra Mix 045: CharlestheFirst unearths 45 minutes of unreleased music on stunning ‘Out of the Dark’ live stream

Wednesday is humpday, which not only marks the halfway point between the work week and the coveted weekend, but also Conscious Electronic’s Midweek Mantra Mix (M3). We’ve been scouring the web’s most enlightening bass music mixes that align with our vision, to provide “a conscious way to consume dance music.” M3 spotlights both veteran and up-and-coming bass music artists whose music seeks to raise the vibrations of their collective listener base.

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CharlestheFirst is a man who need no introduction on this site. Known to hs close circle as Charles Elias Ingalls, the west coast bass music mastermind has been gracing the pages of Conscious Electronic for years now with his organic tones, soothing bass, and unique lo-fi textures. He’s been included in our Midweek Mantra Mix before with his “Through The Mist” mixtape and was included in our shortlists for Breakout Artists of 2018 and Top Singles of 2019. He’s even been named as one of our 25 Conscious Music Artsits Who Should be on Everyone’s Radar. In the thick of it all, the 22-year-old Lake Tahoe-native has played everywhere from Sonic Bloom, Okeechobee, Meow Wolf, Shambhala, and countless more.

Ingalls grew up inspired by the beautiful Sierra Nevadas he called home and that certainly shines through in his music. In fact, he uses field recording in order to capture organic sounds and sample them in his music. Its music that is so entrenched in natural elements that it can be likened to a vast tundra — icy and bleak at times, at other times warm and crisp.

His growing discography feels a lot like passing through the darkness of nightfall and remerging into dawning of sunrise. From his ingenious debut album, The Ascent, to his more recently released 6-track No Dimmer EP, CharlestheFirst’s sonic stamp is entirely cyclical like the seasons. It’s also wildly imaginative and meditative, like standing out on a cliff and taking in a breathtaking mountain landscape. Often classified as downtempo, breakbeat, experimental bass music, CharlestheFirst’s music is incredibly nuanced ad equally hard to pin down.

Of course, Ingalls’ 2020 plans has become singed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic like the rest. Still, he has made time to play plenty of live stream events, including the wildly popular Room Service Virtual Music Festival. During his primetime slot, the West Coast bass artist played a soothing downtempo set complete with some the weekend’s best live visuals. The set, filmed by Shawn Howe, showcases CharlestheFirst playing from his cozy living room while switching between psychedelic visuals and scenic views of nature. The best part: The mix contains a whopping eight CharlestheFirst IDs, including collaborations with kLL sMTH, Potions, and Tsuruda.

With roots in hip-hop, and heavily influenced by natural tribal instrumentation, Charlesthefirst is certainly making a name for himself as a transcendent beat maker. That much he proves on his latest mixtape, making him the perfect spotlight for this week’s Midweek Mantra Mix.