3. Purity Ring
Edmonton-based brother-sister duo Corin Roddick and Megan James perform as Purity Ring, a stage name which somehow eerily matches the understated darkness of their music. The balance struck by their songs between chill trap, trip-hop, witch house and synth pop is flavored with verses subversive enough to resonate with anyone who stands in defiance of the status quo.
That, and this is just about the only set at which you’ll be able to listen to 808 drum rolls at Coachella without forking over your street cred altogether. That’s gotta stand for something, right?
2) Hudson Mohawke
No hipsterfest is complete without a set by an artist whose music sounds so strange that most of his fans aren’t even really sure if they like it or not. Hudson Mohawke’s unorthodox production methods and video-gamey arrangements capture the very essence of avant garde; they’re such an acquired taste that you pretty much have to be out of your right mind to like them.
Listening to Hudson Mohawke is kind of like being one of those guys who eats obnoxiously spicy food for the sole purpose of bragging about it – but then again, so is being a hipster.
If you manage to stay through his entire set, you’re definitely in.
1) George Fitzgerald
At the heart of it all, however, being a true music elitist is more about the music itself and less about the status that listening to it grants you. George Fitzgerald may not be the most obscure name on the lineup, but when it comes to what he actually puts out, you’d be hard pressed to find an artist that creates remotely comparable soundscapes.
What he released up until a couple of years ago fit neatly enough into the categories of house and techno, but in recent years it’s blossomed into a sound that uses the same analogue synthesizers – but in a way that makes you feel what nothing else on the market does.
Fitzgerald’s melancholy, otherworldly progressions will make your hair stand on end – and maybe, for a short time, even forget that you’re trying to act cooler than everyone else.