New Years Eve is always a big deal, but this year the Sub.Mission crew kicked it up a notch at their brand new venue The Black Box. It has only been open for a little over a month now, but the place is already bringing in some major talent for the people to enjoy. For their new years bash they brought out Truth and The Widdler, and tickets went flying. Pre-sales were sold out and a few lucky patrons were able to get the limited remaining tickets at the door. A line formed around the block at 13th and Grant about a half hour before doors opened, the Denver bass family was ready to get the champagne poppin.
This was my first time at The Black Box and I must say they did it right. It's a cleverly designed place with two good size rooms and a fenced in outdoor smoking area to mosey around in the back. A capacity crowd is just about 500 people, so be sure to hop on tickets when you see your favorite bands coming through town. The Sub.Mission Electronic Tuesdays formerly held at Cervantes Other Side are now being held at The Black Box too. If you were like me and still haven't come through, don't slack any longer, get down here and check out this venue it's a great spot and the people in charge are all awesome!
The Lounge is the first room you enter through the front door. First thing you will notice is a pair of huge towers of elite speakers, nearly as good as any other clubs main stage. A bar sits just beside the stage and above the bar is an elevated front of house box. There are a few sit down restaurant style booths in the back of the room to rest after prolonged dub-stepping. Also sections of the room can be used for merchandise displays, and for this show there were unique paintings available to purchase. Massive black light art can be seen providing a backdrop for the stage in the Lounge. In between the Lounge and the outdoor area is a small gaming section with a few arcade classics, as well as a pool table in the corner.
Once you get to the outdoor area you are inundated with visual esthetics. Covering nearly every wall outside is some form of art, either giant murals, custom plywood cutouts painted, and other cool art projects, everywhere you look you see something pleasing to the eye. The outdoor area is surrounded by trees so during the summer months they will provide a natural canopy.
Back inside as you walk back through the Lounge head back towards the front door and go through the big doors to the right you are now in The Black Box room! First thing you will notice is this huge mural painted on the back wall behind the booth. It is displaying all the guys from the film Reservoir Dogs. Also you will notice a set of four towers of speakers and wow do they ever pound out bass. Not only that but the mids and highs sounded very fine tuned as well. Very positive vibrations, and not just from the sounds but also the crowd, as everyone was pleasant and happy to make space for everyone else to dance. To the left when walking in the room is a slightly elevated deck that helps those in the back corner of the room see over those in the front. A second bar can be found in the back right of the room, again with an elevated front of house booth right above the bar. The room is completely blacked out, thus the name The Black Box.
Starting out the night in The Black Box was Subliminal one of the fine producers reppin Sub.Mission. He layed down some ill beats building up to more and more dubstep from a mellow intro. The room already had a hundred or more people boppin around as the line out front started to enter the building. Subliminal was a perfect opener to get the juices flowing and start the celebration.
Back out in the lounge six different Sub.Mission producers matched up in all combinations in order to create a very diverse display of back to back sets. It's was almost like a battle of the back to backs, and all night they did a good job keeping it live in the Lounge. The guys representing in the Lounge were: Caustik, Dillard, CurlyOnE, Sektah, AOWL, and Ind33p. One of the most obnoxious drops I can remember was early in the night where Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" was mixed into the set. Definitely an unexpected song to hear, but it was humorous and the people mockingly screamed the lyrics out. The guys in the Lounge did a good job keeping the people on their toes in transition between the Black Box room and outside. I found myself stopping and observing a lot of the guys spinning in The Lounge, because they were dropping bangers.
The Black Box room really began to tighten up as The Widdler took the stage. He brought the hype meter up a lot getting into some harder bass music. The Widdler was good at transitioning between Riddim, Dubstep, Glitch-Hop and even some Reggae-dub. It was impossible not to at least bob your head while The Widdler blended beats. This was my first time seeing the Widdler live, and now I'm hooked! He is a very nice guy too, he addresses his fans with love and I was able to give him props as he left the stage, he was very appreciative. Just before midnight struck The Widdler stepped aside and helped for a smooth transition into Truth.
The night went fast because it was so much fun, and before I even realized it Truth was on stage and starting to count down the last seconds of 2016. Truth consists of an MC (Tristan Roake) and a DJ/Producer (Andre Fernandez) and they come from all the way out in New Zealand. Tristan started out by giving shouts the the Black Box and Sub.Mission. Then Andre hopped on the mic and said, "Yo, Happy New Year everybody. Who is ready to party? It's 2017! 2016 is over so let's do this!" Truth put it down with mad flavor for this set, going into a bunch of different sub-genres of electronic music including: Glitch, Dubstep, and even a sick Jungle section. Every time a recognizable track was mixed in the people got very vocal with their approval, especially the dudes in the front row, they went ham all night.
For the final 30 minutes of the performance Truth brought The Widdler back out and they went back to back for the final half hour of the night. The place was super fired up for this, and at nearly every drop you could hear someone yell out, "OHHHH!" The two worked very well together in a back to back format. Whoever was about to be tagged in would always have such a perfect song for the switch, it seemed effortless, but surely that's just because these are very talented producers.
Man, what a great night! Thanks to everyone involved in making this show so special. Much love to Sub.Mission and all they do for the electronic music scene, without you guys this wouldn't be the Bass Capital. Make sure to like and follow The Black Box on facebook by following the link for future show announcements and contests. This is a new year and a new era is starting, you don't want to miss what is coming next.
This is a nice chill beat from the duo PANTyRAiD. The band is made up of two guys who are each big names on their own; MartyParty and Ooah. MartyParty represents Miami with his purple beats of hip-hop flavor. Ooah is a solo producer as well as a member of the hugely popular group The Glitch Mob. PANTyRAiD is their kick ass side project where they blend styles and come up with new ways to kick it. Definitely some fire music from these two.
Today's song of the day comes straight from mind of electronic and glitch-hop mastermind David Tipper, or Tipper for short.
"Covered in Lobsters" comes off of Tipper's 2011 EP "Bubble Control." Tipper has been known to dabble in all sorts of strange sounds to get his desired outcome, this song in particular is more of his glitch-hop, dance style. Enjoy!
Jim Grim has completed the slow release of his latest album Ifomi on his soundcloud page. He has let us into his life with detailed descriptions of the meaning behind each track. Ifomi consists of 16 tracks with a special remix of the song "Luna" from Skepsis just released today. Ifomi includes a plethora of amazing music from a number of different electronic sub-genres. The classic Jim Grim style is typically futuristic glitch hop, but on this new album he gets into moombahton, drum and bass, dubstep, and trap as well. You can help support Jim Grim by purchasing Ifomi on beatport or itunes.
Here's a perfect piece of glitch-hop music from one of my favorite electronic composers, Jim Grim. He, like many of the most creative producers today, comes from the SectionZ Records crew. "The Perfect Dance" is a little peek into the next album from Jim Grim, called Ifomi. His intentions are to disseminate this record a special way. Each song will be individually put out via social media outlets. Then once all 15 tracks are released Jim Grim has promised to make the whole album available for free. I am fired up to hear what Jim Grim has been working on.
He describes his motivation for the album and the meaning behind the title in the quote below.
"This album is dedicated to Ingelin Flåen Olsen, Aka IFO. The girl I love. The meaning of this album was originally not ment to be shared as it was kind of "private" or internal to understand, but whatever, I've decided I want to share it with all of you. Why? Well, I'm quite fond of sharing experience in general, and I can't really find a reason to not share it to those who are interested in reading about it. For all you others, just skip reading. Alright anyway, the album was supposed to cover a series of events that happened within in a period of my life last year. Each title is a small description, kind of in chronological order, of a situation or a flow of thought that I had during this experience. I'll tell you more as I release each track." -- Jim Grim
One of the coolest glitch hop tracks I've heard in a minute. It's Bossfight with a brand new song "Glitch Gremlin" a rad twist of both chiptune sounds, and a hip hop flow. They are a trio from Sweden - Erik Sjöstrand, Robin Jensen, and Sebastian Persson all together they form Bossfight. Tons of nostalgia is built into their music, and I love it. I always unwind with some classic video games, and this sick bass puts me in a chill mood. You know what I'm sayin, just kickin it! Peep out more from Bossfight on their official Soundcloud, and on Youtube.
A relatively new artist hitting the map lately comes from Milwaukee, WI who goes by Haywyre. With his impressive piano skills and jazz background Haywyre has produced some very unique creations in the studio. It seems as though hes got something for everyones ears as he produces everything from glitch-hop, electro-soul, and even classical. The song featured today definitely is on the future-bass side and you can see a live version of the song below in the video provided.
Insanely impressive to say the least. No "press play" button here; nothing but pure talent. Haywyre has just begun his very first headlining North American tour. There are only 9 shows on the schedule for the tour, so you'll want to be sure to catch him if you're near one of the shows. If not, keep your eye on festival line-ups and you'll be sure to see Haywyre on at least a few. Below you'll find his tour schedule along with the Soundcloud link of his newest single which you can download on Beatport.
Crowdsurf Concerts came through huge again with the 2nd annual Parade of Lasers. This year the show was sold out before the doors even opened. Once again Parade of Lasers was held at City Hall in downtown Denver, Colorado.
The line-up was changed at the last minute, but it turned out to be just as hype with Kayzo filling in for Tincup. Going into this show I was not all that familiar with many of the artists, but after hearing their live sets I became a fan of each of them.
PawS got it popping with a nice trap flavor, dropping that grimey bass and snare music. PawS represents Denver, a.k.a. the glitch-hop Mecca, rather well. PawS has played at Beta, The Church, and Vinyl showing off his skills all over town. Next up was Decadon, and he went all out mixing into trap, dubstep, breakbeat, and more. His set was a lot of fun and he represents the more versatile side of Denver. Decadon would debut new music at Parade of Lasers, with a single he calls "Bury The Ratchet."
Kayzo was next and he slayed with a hybrid set. He blended tracks from a number of different sub-genres of electronic music keeping everyone on their toes. LooKas was a new name to me, but he was rather impressive. I noticed when researching LooKas that he is often pictured with a cloud of smoke coming out of his
mouth. A perfect fit for the mile high city, and city in the clouds. It was also during the LooKas' set that the lasers started to really get warmed up. Going from simple single color patterns into more elaborate combinations.
For the second annual Parade of Lasers it was crucial to keep an impeccable high standard for lasers. So no one other than Laser Hands would do, and that's who they got. Formerly touring with Flux Pavilion, and behind the scenes at hundreds of huge shows, he is one of the most impressive laser technicians out there. There is no one else who can so eloquently make the lasers dance to the music, while at the same time keeping it interesting with a steady stream of new cues and sequences. There was no pre-programming done for Parade of Lasers, everything was done live with careful timing and a superior knowledge of the craft. Kudos to Laser Hands for another breathtaking live laser show. You can see Laser Hands' next performance on New Years Eve at the Colorado Convention Center for Decadence.
Sound Remedy would close out the night with a monster set. He started off with a more mellow glitch-hop feel, but after a while he got naughty mixing into a lot of different styles including some Zomboy, and more rowdy music. Sound Remedy did a good job with keeping his set unpredictable, each drop was a mystery and often very different from the previous. That's the type of set I really enjoy, having a full hour of trap or glitch-hop can get rather foreseeable and redundant.
Next year don't slack on this special Crowdsurf Concert, get tickets early before they sell out! The Parade of Lasers is a one of a kind visual experience, and a place for top notch producers to show off their skills. City Hall is a killer venue where a couple thousand friends can get together for the annual face melting. Big thanks to everyone who made this show so beautiful, especially Au Hai Hau the mastermind behind the extravagant themed events at Crowdsurf Concerts. Up next for the company is the very popular Trapfest in March, check out the website for early bird tickets. I hope to see you all next year at the 3rd annual Parade of Lasers.
From the release of their second album, Love Death
Immortality, and the album’s ascent to #13 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart to
delivering top-billing performances at a slew of major festivals, 2014 has been
a phenomenal year for the boys of The Glitch Mob. Riding a shockwave of
momentum from their stellar summer and firing on all cylinders, their 2014 Fall
tour brings The Glitch Mob to Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom on October 17th,
with support from special guests The M Machine (live) and Chrome Sparks.
The iconic trio that form The Glitch Mob- producers Ooah,
edIT & Boreta- possess a collective ability to seamlessly incorporate
elements of genres from electro to industrial rock and everything in between
into a new breed of musical beast with a character all it’s own. Gritty yet
graceful, universal yet introspective, the music of The Glitch Mob is
impossible to pigeonhole under one label, and this quality is among the many
reasons their music resonates so strongly with devoted fans and new listeners
alike. Accompanying TGM on stage will be their cutting-edge and mind-blowing
new stage production, The Blade, which provides a visual representation of the
high-octane audio barrage The Glitch Mob dishes out at performance after
performance across the globe.
The M Machine, another electronica trio, have been rapidly
gaining recognition and adoration since the group first got together in 2011,
and their unique live shows are the driving force behind their success. Their
signature custom stage production, designed and built by the group members
themselves, features a massive LED “M” that displays live visuals while crowds
sway and bounce to the group’s refreshingly original Indie-Dance tunes,
creating a more unified experience for the audience.
Chrome Sparks, real name Jeremy Malvin, brings an element of
unknown to complement the widespread popularity of The Glitch Mob. His
synth-driven bass music has gained him a steady following on the Internet over
the past two years, with highly addictive tracks such as Marijuana” going
viral. Earlier in 2014 he released his first solo album Goddess, and the
album’s fluid, bubbling and ethereal sounds are a testament to the young
producer’s talent and promising future.
For lovers of artistic ingenuity and throttling bass music like
myself, October 17th can’t come quickly enough. And better backdrop to a night
stacked with raw musical talent and creative performance than the gorgeous
Aragon Ballroom of Chicago with it’s iconic starry painted ceiling and
wraparound balcony. At $26.00 GA tickets, this will be THE show of the
Fall/Winter season here in Chicago, get yours today, click here for ticketing!
No money? No problem! For a chance to win a pair of FREE
tickets to The Glitch Mob at The Aragon, head over to ourFacebookprofile and
check out our post about the show. Share the post and tag your concert crew to
be entered in our giveaway!
Today's song of the day is "Wow" a sneaky nu-funk style track by an excellent German producer Moritz Friedrich, or you may know him as Siriusmo. His music is very diverse and he dabbles into a number of different electronic sub-genres. Siriusmo has been producing all types of electronic music for a many years, with credits dating as far back as 2000. He has created a vast library of music all of which is extraordinarily inventive, "Wow" is from an early EP released on Grand Petrol Recordings back in 2005. This is the official music video for "Wow" and just like Siriusmo himself its very unique and artistic. Get more awesome Siriusmo music through his official soundcloud page here.
Sunday was a huge night for glitch-hop and trap lovers at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom. The show was essentially a triple headlined event with Freddy Todd leading into Buku and then Robotic Pirate Monkey capped it off. All three were ready to throw down and they showed Denver a great time.
Freddy Todd was up first and he layed down a smooth funky set to get everyone on the dance floor. Freddy Todd has a unique booth setup, he leans his keyboard/drum machine way back to where it faces the crowd. This way you can see everything he is adding and adjusting within his live set.
Buku would take the stage next, and he switched it up a bit, going into more trap style drops. Buku came through with a intense set, almost everyone in the room was dancing or at the very least head bobbing along to his beats. I was rather impressed with how Buku put his set together, he kept it fresh the whole time. Often watching an hour long trap set can become boring and redundant, with similar sounds used in many of the individual songs. A good live performer, like Buku, is able to constantly switch something up in the mix and keep the crowd guessing as to what comes next. His skill-set for creating an interesting live remix is what sets Buku apart from the amateur DJs. Buku thoroughly rocked out Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom and he set the stage for Robotic Pirate Monkey.
Robotic Pirate Monkey is made up of two incredibly creative guys: Matt Berryhill and Andrew Hathaway. Before their performance, Robotic
Pirate Monkey runs their own merchandise booth and they take some time to
meet and chat with their fans. They are hilarious to watch on stage, never are they satisfied with a normal track, everything must be tweaked constantly. To open their set Robotic Pirate Monkey started with a glitch hop remix of "Peaches" by The Presidents of the United States of America. So many adjustments are being made that sometimes Matt and Andrew become tangled up from reaching over each other. The music sounded great so it's pretty clear they know exactly what they are doing. You have to see Robotic Pirate Monkey for yourself when they come to town.
The end of the night came quickly because it was so much fun. I can't wait until the next Robotic Pirate Monkey show gets scheduled. Superb music and excellent vibes are synonymous with Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom. Everything from bluegrass to rap can be seen at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom an intimate setting amongst friends. Check out their calendar: HERE.
Last Thursday a bunch of talented young glitch-hop bands put on a hell of a show at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom. The line-up was stacked with local talent and some groups from out of town. The Colorado bands include: Tnertle, Mikey Thunder, with Project Aspect headlining the show. As for imported talent Psymbionic is from Austin, Texas; while Love and Light are out of Reno, Nevada. Everyone performing meshed well backstage, it was a lot of fun to talk to everyone and make new friends.
Along with the superb glitch-hop music were a number of visually appealing art displays. Live art was created right on stage and also in the normal vending areas on both sides of the dance floor. Cervantes' is starting to have a reputation for involving incredible artists in the concert experience. Some of the artists will tell you that they feed off of having an inspirational setting to create in.
Psymbionic hit the stage with an impressive head of long blonde dreadlocks. This was one of the stops for the Spring Tour with Psymbionic and Love and Light. Mikey Thunder and Psymbionic would switch on and off for a sort of tag team set which was cool. The duel set went for about an hour before Love and Light's set. Love and Light are very energetic on stage and the two guys Matt and Ryan really feed off the energy of the crowd. They killed it and made a point to sign anything their fans wanted signed right after their set.
The headliner for the night was the one and only Project Aspect. He is from Denver, Colorado and represents the area well with an incredible talent for creating glitch hop and other genres. For this performance Project Aspect not only showcased some of his amazing music, but he created guitar riffs live making new unique samples on stage and incorporating them into his set. Jay has more energy on stage than anyone, he is constantly gyrating to the music and creating an atmosphere for everyone to go all out and dance. You have to go check out Project Aspect whenever you get a chance to, he is one of the most entertaining producers to watch live.
What a great night in Denver on a random Thursday. You really can't beat Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom and all the great music they bring to town each and every week. Big ups to everyone who made last Thursday a night to remember.
Jim Grim is back on SectionZ Records with an all new album The Fabric that is full of bangers. The first song that really captivated me from his new album The Fabric was "This Way". Now I am pretty much completely infatuated with the entire album. You can download The Fabric for free simply by liking Jim Grim's facebook page. Definitely go get it and spread the word of amazing new electronic music like Jim Grim and SectionZ Records
Valentin Brunn aka Virtual Riot is a young producer from Germany with an amazing ear for electronic music. Virtual Riot is one of my favorite dubstep artists right now. "Evil Gameboy" dabbles into some of the Nintendo sounds I'm always a sucker for and a lot more. Virtual Riot is one of a few incredible artists representing Section Z Records. Go check out more Virtual Riot music, it's electrifying and highly addictive. You can access his soundcloud page here.
"To Mars" is the latest from the duo Royal Blood. The song is a catchy new glitch hop track with ill flows. The two young DJs and EDM producers are known by the stage names Shade K and Nogiard. They are from Spain although these rhymes are in English. They send shout outs to some of their favorite lyricists on "To Mars" and you can hear some of their influences in their rapping styles. Go download "To Mars" for free.
Ratatat is an amazing band made up of two brilliant musicians, Mike Stroud and Evan Mast. The two have put an exquisite library of music together over the past decade, and they continue to produce today. Right now they are spending time in the studio creating more exceptional new music. "Drugs" is a great track from LP4 the most recent Ratatat release from back in 2010. Ratatat is an incredible band so make sure to keep an eye out for their next LP, although right now there is no official date set for a new release.
Secret Panda Society is a production duo consisting of Rob Stern and Joe Benny. Their latest EP titled Kaleidoscope is an amazing four songs from a few different sub-genres of EDM. The new EP dabbles in glitch-hop, trap, drum n bass, and some drum-step too. So many sub-genres of EDM are done well by Secret Panda Society. The new EP Kaleidoscope is excellent, and I suggest you go peep it out right now.
The Glitch Mob are no strangers when it comes to experimentation in the electronic scene. With the release of their debut LP Drink the Sea in 2010, they established themselves as a group which creates music containing a combination of both organic and synthetic instrumentation while also expressing a tone that is very emotional and uplifting. After this release, the glitch electronica scene was expanded greatly and many standing and upcoming artists attempted to use The Glitch Mob sound as inspiration for their new music. Soon afterwords, The Glitch Mob gained massive respect for their style, playing festivals and many tours whenever they were not producing.
Fast forward a few years and we witness the release their second LP Love Death Immortality. The Glitch Mob commented that during the production of this album, they were constantly communicating with fans via social networks, and they believe that this album represents the emotional intimacy that they have built over time with their followers. Love Death Immortality is an album that is very different from Drink the Sea in terms of production and style; however, it still maintains the emotional tone prevalent in all their previous works. This album is definitely more fast-paced and has a very dominant dance vibe to it. This style is represented most in songs Skullclub and Carry The Sun, which clearly have electro-house overtones and general EDM build-ups and drops. These tunes are not very consistent with The Glitch Mob sound and seem to be little too generic within the giant-but-not-diverse progressive house scene. However, songs like Can't Kill Us and Skytoucher, the most versatile and original tracks, combine styles from many different genres of electronic music while also showing us production skill that we have never heard before.
Unlike in Drink the Sea, The Glitch Mob decided to collaborate with many artists on Love Death Immortality. Along with the amplification of emotion, these collaborations are flawless and smooth, showing us that The Glitch Mob can be very diverse in sound and production. By far the most original and touching collaboration takes place on the final track of the album, Beauty Of The Unhidden Heart. Sister Crayon's vocals seem to float effortlessly over The Glitch Mob's downtempo dubstep beat while the fuzzy synths roam in the foreground, expressing to us a unique uplifting emotion that we have never felt before in electronic music thus far.
Love Death Immortality is a journey into the energetic world of emotional dance music, and the last track is the tether that brings us smoothly back to reality. This album will without a doubt be an inspiration for many artists both in and out of the glitch scene.
Super versatile electronic artist Paper Diamond delves back into his Levitate days with this new chill tune Black Rose. Flawlessly structured with 808 percussion and sparkling tones, this song is a perfect example of how electronic music can have a hip-hop vibe but also be very upbeat and experimental. Like many songs in Levitate, Black Rose is very emotional and expressive. It also combines many elements of glitchiness in electronic music very evident today.
Paper Diamond just started his Cold Crush Tour and we can expect to see a release of much more music in the near future!
One of the best new emerging sub genres of EDM is one called Glitch-Hop. This track by Hoverboots is a beautiful example of how amazing Glitch-Hop can be. "Mechanical Bullshit" uses incredible crisp bass tones and the funky melody is enchanting. Hoverboots is a Nashville based producer, and he is still building a name for himself. "Mechanical Bullshit" is free to download by following the link on the song which sends you to Hoverboots' bandcamp page.
This was my first time at The Black Box and I must say they did it right. It's a cleverly designed place with two good size rooms and a fenced in outdoor smoking area to mosey around in the back. A capacity crowd is just about 500 people, so be sure to hop on tickets when you see your favorite bands coming through town. The Sub.Mission Electronic Tuesdays formerly held at Cervantes Other Side are now being held at The Black Box too. If you were like me and still haven't come through, don't slack any longer, get down here and check out this venue it's a great spot and the people in charge are all awesome!
