Mason Bates / Masonic

Masonic & MarsBassMan (David Arend) performing at their sold-out Mezzanine show in San Francisco (Photo: Guru Khalsa)

DJ and electronica artist MASONIC has mixed his unique blend of jazzy hip-hop, trip-hop, French house, and funk at venues from San Francisco to Berlin to Rome. Just this month, the San Francisco hotspot Mezzanine presented his extraordinary project called Mercury Soul: An Electro-Acoustic Evening - an evening combining groovy electronica, contemporary classical music, and immersive lighting and visuals. Created in collaboration with stage designer Anne Patterson and Maestro Benjamin Shwartz of the San Francisco Symphony, this sold-out event brought 1,400 people and was the subject of an enormous amount of press.

Around San Francisco he has been heard at a variety of spaces, ranging from large clubs such (Temple and Mezzanine) to lounges (Sugar, Skylark, Fuse, Magnet), to art spaces (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Berkeley Art Museum). During art and fashion shows his sets have been heard at 111 Minna, and often joining him on upright bass is David Arend (aka MarsBassMan), adding a jazzy twist to appearances at venues such as Varnish during their 'First Fridays' monthly. They also have a monthly residency at John Colins (third Thursdays).

Mercury Soul: In between sets of electronica performed by Masonic & MarsBassMan, classical musicians performed modern music to 1,000 people at the San Francisco hotspot Mezzanine. More info about Mercury Soul here. (Photo by Guru Khalsa.)

During a residency in Berlin, he appeared at well-known venues such as the Roter Salon, smaller lounges such as Zu Mir, or at large clubs in the former east side such as Kinzo. While living in Rome, Masonic DJed in Monte Testaccio, the thriving nightlife scene built inside the mountain of an ancient pottery dump, at venues such as Metaverso and Scarabocchio. With David Arend on upright bass, Masonic performs sets of his original music as the electronica/jazz duo MASONIC AND MARSBASSMAN. Combining string bass with turntables, piano, and electronic drum pad, they recently headlined at Portland's Doug Fir during the NWEAMO Festival, and they have also appeared at the SFMOMA and at Plado Media's huge parties in Golden Gate Park. Playing together since their studies at The Juilliard School, the two have performed at the San Jose Festival - a comfortable venue for Arend, who has worked with figures as diverse as Ornette Coleman and Bobby McFerrin. The Magnet Lounge also hosted them during the North Beach Jazz Festival.

Masonic performing live electronica at SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art)

In a recent article in Symphony Magazine, Kyle Gann discusses Masonic's blending of classical music and electronica in works such as Digital Loom, commissioned for Juilliard's 100th Anniversary. Another recent work, Liquid Interface, for orchestra & electronica, was given its New York premiere this month at Carnegie Hall, where Masonic performed live electronica onstage with Maestro Leonard Slatkin and The National Symphony. Masonic's original music, built from scratch from the ground up, most recently appeared in The Locrian Mode, a beautifully surreal film by Eric Lodal, features the combination of string quartet and electronica, a pairing that matches the film's intimate look at four characters who interact in a night club. The film stars Dominique Swaine and opened the Beverly Hills Film Festival.

Masonic DJING at Berlin's lounge Zu Mir Oder Zu Dir

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January 16, 2007 : John Colins (SOMA, 10pm-1am) : Varnish (SOMA, 6-8pm) : Varnish (SOMA, 6-8pm) : Terra (for GenArt party) : Varnish (SOMA, 6-8pm) : Varnish (SOMA, 6-8pm) : Varnish's 5 Year Anniversary party (SOMA, 8-11pm) : John Colins (SOMA, 10pm-1am) : Varnish (SOMA, 6-8pm) : John Colins (SOMA, 10pm-1am) : Varnish (SOMA, 6-8pm) : John Colins (SOMA, 10pm-1am) : BAM Cafe (Brooklyn Academy of Music, NY), post-concert party : Mercury Soul at Mezzanine (SOMA, 9pm-2am) : Varnish (SOMA, 6-8pm) : Mezzanine (7:30-9pm), for GenArt : John Colins (SOMA, 9pm-midnight) : Varnish (SOMA, 6-8pm) : With MarsBassMan, a set of live electronica opening the Festival of New American Music in Sacramento, CA : Varnish (SOMA, 6-8pm) : 111 Minna (for the San Francisco Lovefest) : Varnish (SOMA, 6-8pm) : Sugar (Hayes Valley, 9pm-midnight) : Rusty Air in Carolina, for orchestra & electronica, is performed by the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop, with Mason Bates performing live electronica on drumpad/laptop : Varnish (SOMA, 6-8pm) with MarsBassMan : Maestro Robert Moody conducts Rusty Air in Carolina, for orchestra & electronica, at Eastern Music Festival with Mason Bates performing live electronica on drumpad/laptop

June 3, 2007 : Antares premieres a major new chamber work by Mason Bates at the Greenwich Music Festival, CT : Varnish (SOMA, 6-8pm) with MarsBassMan : Mint (Mezzanine's new lounge, 7-9pm) : DJ set and live electronica with MarsBassMan : Sip (9-11:30pm, with MarsBassMan) : Varnish (SOMA, 6-8pm) : a spooky set on Friday the 13th, with MarsBassMan : Masonic&MarsBassMan perform live electronica interludes during an evening of new music under the baton of conductors Stuart Sims & Dustin Soiseth (State Theater, Modesto CA) : Mint (Mezzanine's new lounge, 7-9pm) : DJ set and live electronica with MarsBassMan : Sip (9-11:30pm, with MarsBassMan) : Varnish (SOMA, San Francisco,6-9pm) : Sugar (Hayes Valley, San Francisco) : Varnish (SOMA, San Francisco,6-9pm) : Bruce Neuman opening at Berkeley Art Museum, 5:30-8pm

December 15, 2006 : Varnish, for the Bronze Opening (SOMA, San Francisco,6-9pm)

December 7-8, 2006 : Under the baton of David Milnes, UC Berkeley's University Symphony gives two performances of Rusty Air in Carolina, for orchestra & electronica at Hertz Hall Info

December 1, 2006 : IDEO (Palo Alto)

October 31, 2006 : Sugar (Hayes Valley, San Francisco)

October 27, 2006 : Varnish (SOMA, San Francisco)

September 24, 2006 : Doug Fir (Portland, OR) : headlining the NWEAMO Festival, with MarsBassMan

July 22, 2006 : Temple Club (sponsored by GenArt)

June 29, 2006 : Magnet Lounge

April 12, 2006 : 111 Minna's "Qool" Party, 6pm

April 3, 2006 : 111 Minna, for a reception honoring The Andy Warhol Foundation's Creative Capital, at 6pm

March 24, 2006 : Oakland Symphony performs Omnivorous Furniture, for sinfonietta & electronica, at the Paramount Theater in Oakland

February 23, 2006 : Magnet Lounge, in San Francisco's North Beach

January 2, 2006 : Magnet Lounge, in San Francisco's North Beach

November 26, 2005 : Magnet Lounge, in San Francisco's North Beach

October 27, 2005 : Magnet Lounge, in San Francisco's North Beach

October 27, 2005 : SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art), performing live electronica with MarsBassMan

September 30, 2005 : Magnet Lounge, in San Francisco's North Beach

August 25, 2005 : Magnet Lounge, in San Francisco's North Beach

August 12, 2005, 7pm : San Jose Jazz Festival, with MarsBassMan

July 31, 2005 : Magnet Lounge, with MarsBassMan, for the North Beach Jazz Festival (3-6pm)

July 16, 2005 : Fuse

May 20, 2005 : Zu Mir Oder Zu Dir (Berlin), with MarsBassMan

May 11, 2005 : Roter Salon (Berlin), with MarsBassMan and members of The Berlin Philharmonic

March 20, 2005 : Zu Mir Oder Zu Dir (Berlin)

March 12, 2005 : Kinzo (Berlin).

March 6, 2005 : Zu Mir Oder Zu Dir (Berlin)

February 20, 2005 : Zu Mir Oder Zu Dir (Berlin)

Masonic spins trip-hop at Rome's Scarabocchio

Mason Bates / Masonic

Mason Bates / Masonic : electronica and classical composer in San Francisco, Mason Bates is a member of Young Concert Artists, Inc. Official site of Mason Bates / Masonic (DJ and electronica / techno artist). ©2003 by Mason Bates / Masonic.