Those of us who were at Solasta know firsthand the blessing that was that festival. Saturday was a special day for many reasons, but the feature that stood out to me was the premier and showcase of several new and established collaborations. In the beautiful setting of Western North Carolina, we witnessed the debut of both Navigatorz and Integrate, plus a set from KLO and Ultrasloth. Collabs and B2Bs tend to either be a hit or a miss, so how did these sets play out?

Lets start with the tried and true: K.L.O., represented at the festival by Osmetic (Mike Wallis) and Lone Drum, performed arguably the best set of the weekend. This group provides a perfect example of what every collab should strive for. They have a unique sound and cohesion on stage. Lone Drum’s skills on the turntables complements Mike Wallis’ experience behind the controller. The boys never missed a beat and provided the most memorable K.L.O. set yet.

Next up is Ultrasloth. This set featured Duffery and BioLumigen immediately followed K.L.O., and they did not disappoint. Unlike K.L.O., they didn’t have a complete library to rinse out, but their choice of DnB mixed with their original work created a truly special and gratifying set. Undoubtedly one of the funnest hours of the weekend. Ultrasloth is a collab to look out for, and I expect to see them popping up on more lineups in the coming years.

For the two debut performances, Navigatorz takes the gold medal. Their late night performance was subtle and techy. They have a chiller, liquid DnB vibe compared to Ultrasloth, and showed off a unique and memorable sound. Definitely a set for the books. I’m very excited to see where Vinja and Sort of Vague go with this project.

Integrate was the other debut, and they performed early in the evening. To be completely honest, as much as I love Black Carl and VCTRE, this collab needs a little more integration. Yes, they played absolute bangers, but the mixing between tracks was an example of a B2B gone wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the set, but it could’ve used a little more flow. Nonetheless, it was extremely cool to see these two best-friends do what they love together and, hey, it was only their debut performance in after all – plus Black Carl played a set just a couple hours before. A few mistakes is forgivable.

Are you excited for these new collabs? Would you want to see them them on a lineup in the future? Let us know in the comments!