Audiotistic Music Festival features an unusual roster of performers

Promise of pulsating beats and undeniably danceable tracks will reach this year’s “New Sound Festival,” the Audiotistic Music Festival, on Saturday at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino.

The annual one-day festival, which began in 1996, features a melange of different subgenres within the dance and electronica musical genre.

Eclectic headliners include rap performers The Cool Kids and Kanye West protege Kid Cudi, as well as legendary Dutch producer and world-renowned DJ Marco V. Other notable names include Bassnectar, Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek, N.A.S.A. and the rising UK Dubstep duo NERO.

Many of the festival’s artists and DJs do not adhere to one specific genre, instead experimenting with various musical styles and blending them into a single energetic sound. Such is the goal of headliner Marco Verkuylen (known as Marco V), a pioneering electronic DJ, who has been turning tables since he was 14.

“Everything, while I DJ, when I’m on tour, a nice vocal or a big build-up can inspire me to create (new) music,” Marco said. “Anything from a simple melody to a basic rhythm pattern can be the start to a brand new song.”

Although he has performed at smaller Los Angeles venues before, Marco V agreed to play at the Audiotistic Festival to reach a bigger audience.

“It’s a great festival. I mostly play in clubs in L.A., but I’m trying to change my music, and I want to reach large audience,” Marco said.

Marco V explained that he does not “pigeonhole” himself into one particular style of music.

“It’s hard to say what style it is. It’s a blend of all sounds … not your typical house and techno music,” Marco said.

Fellow Audiotistic performer and Coachella veterans N.A.S.A (North America South America) fuse different dance and techno styles. The group consists of two collaborating artists, DJ Zegon and Squeak E. Clean, also known as Sam Spiegel, the brother of director Spike Jonze.

In addition to new music, N.A.S.A. plans to include surprise guest performers, and, like their Coachella performance, feature aliens on stage during the performance. Spiegel said that inspiration is drawn from all types of musical genres.

“Funk, soul, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, techno, bossa nova … we have a varied eclectic taste, and you can feel that in the music,” Spiegel said.

On the other end of the musical spectrum are the musicians of NERO, a rising Dubstep group from the UK. Their Dubstep style is a genre of techno characterized by heavy use of drums, and also mixes French electro-house music.

“(NERO likes to) double drop tunes, (where we) get two or three tunes to drop at the same time… that way you can mix between different elements of each tune,” wrote Dan Stephens, a member of NERO, in an e-mail.

Stephens wrote that the group enjoys performing in the United States, and wants to perform a well-rounded set that illustrates what the group is working on and what they’re experimenting with on their new album.

“I love DJing and rocking the crowd,” Spiegel said. “Feeling the energy of the crowd is experiencing their direct appreciation (of the music).”