Hyper Future Tour @ The Ogden Theater in Denver, Colorado (Review) [4/29/17]

Review & Videos By:
jdrightright

Photography by:
Stetsen Colt Mathias


Saturday was as rowdy as I have ever seen The Ogden Theatre get. Rebudz and Reload Productions brought a tasty line-up to satisfy the appetite of the bass hungry. Showcased on the Hyper Future Tour was Must Die, Eptic, and Gentlemans Club, with very special guests Dr Ozi and local legend Shank Aaron. This was an extra special show for Rebudz and Reload Productions being the first time ever at The Ogden Theatre. Great vibes flowed through out the room all night as well as amazing music.

The stage was configured with a number of LED panels which displayed mind blowing graphics. The front of the booth held the main portion of the LED panels and for the most part that was where the band logos were visible. Behind the booth hanging up high were three more LED panel walls, two tall rectangles and another square in the center. On the rear walls a number of tripped out artworks created an incredible visual experience. One such picture that was morphing with the music was a clip of the show Seinfeld, showing Kramer and Newman screaming, it really got the people smiling. Along with the graphical displays were four full spectrum lasers, two on the front corners of the booth, and another two on stands lifted up behind the booth on the left and right ends of the stage. Together these four lasers zapped the whole room with two separate zones. Having such a beautiful production model is nothing new, as Rebudz and Reload Productions always come through with a colorful array to accompany the music.

Starting off on stage was the homie, and very talented producer Shank Aaron. Lately he has been busy getting things going with his own brand Forest Service, showcasing underground Denver sound and more. Shank Aaron did a great job of setting a chill vibe early on with a bit of reggae to begin his set. He was proudly displaying his new custom shirt, and a lucky few patrons were able cop Shank Aaron merchandise for sale in the lobby of the Ogden Theatre. Slowly he would build up more and more until it was all filthy bass drops. He really started to get things poppin around 9pm as most of the people outside in line began funneling in. Shank Aaron got provocative up there and he primed the people for a night of dirty dubstep.

Up next was a very special guest and crowd favorite Dr Ozi. He made a point to let the people know how much he loves Denver. Very complimentary towards the crowd saying, "You guys are the most beautiful crowd ever! I love coming here." Dr Ozi represents the Canadian bass family, and is a part of the label Never Say Die Records. He literally turned the place into a huge mosh pit immediately, throwing straight fireballs of bass into eardrums. Non-stop ferocious drops for his whole set, and the people went ham. Two of the lasers started beaming out and shifting to the music for Dr Ozi's set. You could tell he genuinely loves Denver and that was a heart warming feeling. Before Dr Ozi left the stage he introduced Gentlemans Club with huge props talking about how they inspired him to become a producer.





For the next hour the people were slapped with trap and bass as Gentlemans Club turned it up to eleven. The full band is a trio of very talented producers: Coffi (Lewis Pittham), Soloman (Saul Mountford), and 50 Carrot (Amani Haskins). For this event there were two of the three in the building 50 Carrot and Coffi. Their energy on stage was awesome, it was fun watching them tag team on the decks, and also hyping up the crowd dancing in front of the booth while punching the air. They did a excellent job keeping you guessing the next drop, with last second switch ups. One part I remember was the build to Flux Pavilion's "Got 2 Know" and then right as it would have normally dropped they blended in a mega hard drop. Gentlemans Club also rocked their dope "Bass Cannon" remix, and that went so hard! It was an unpredictable set with a big variety of styles represented in the mix. For Gentlemans Club all four lasers fired up and the full color spectrum was unleashed. I couldn't help but dance and flail karate hands watching Gentlemans Club slay.





This was such a fun night that before you knew it Eptic was taking the stage and he really knows how to make the bass scream. He plays mostly his own music and remixes during his live sets. However he has collaborations with all the best in the game. If it's not one of his tracks he is representing the Never Say Die crew, the Disciple collective, and Circus Records. He got into some Zomboy, Skism, Dodge and Fuski, Funtcase and more. He also mixed in some Flux Pavilion with the classic "I Can't Stop" but this version brought the roof down it was so mean. Eptic is a talented cartoonist as well and it was cool to see his illustrations used for his graphical background during much of this set. That was something I talked to him about in the past, and he has plans to add a full visual cartoon to his live sets in the future. Eptic was on straight inferno mode, and I wouldn't expect anything less from a champion like him. He finished out his hour by giving a big shout out for the closer and friend of his saying, "Who the fuck is ready for Must Die!?"

Right off the bat Must Die asked, "Who is ready for some new shit?" It was officially time to break your neck, or at least sprain it. I even saw a girl going so hard that she bashed her head into a dude's nose behind her and she may have broken it! Battle scars are to be expected during a Must Die set. His music straight up electrifies your soul, like some sort of cosmic jolt. At one point Must Die was going so hard that he messed up the mix, and all sound cut out. He got on the mic and said, "You guys gotta forgive me for that one. That was my bad, a genuine fuck up." Then he went right back to blowing minds with raunchy bass. It was hilarious, and of course, we all forgave him. Another memorable moment of the set Must Die asked for all of the house lights to be turned off, and asked the crowd to hold up their phones. An eerie bluish light illuminated the room in a whole new way, twas literally lit. He closed out the night with his remix of Flux Pavilion's "Emotional" and it was just that. I had chills from just how moving Must Die's set was, he is so elite.

This was a historic night for the Rebudz and Reload Productions combined squadrons. Finally for the first time taking over The Ogden Theatre, and they did it just right, like Goldilocks. I'm certain they will be invading The Ogden Theatre more often with how successful the night was. The vibes were indescribable, so many smiles, and infinite friendships bonded by the bass. Shout out to my friend and excellent photographer Stetsen Colt Mathias for his crispy images, he has a way of bringing still photos to life like no one else. I can't wait to see what is in store for the future with both Rebudz and Reload Productions. Follow both on all social media platforms so you don't miss out on any future show announcements and contests. They have been on a rocket ship blasting to the sky, and with every show a new faction of Denver bass crew comes through to share in the enjoyment.

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Never Say Die Black Label Tour @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver, Colorado (3/4/17) [Review]

Review by:
jdrightright

Photos by:
Emma Ceaglske


Saturday was a highly anticipated night for the rowdy riddim heads of Denver. Together Reload Productions and Rebudz formed like Voltron to bring the people a massive show. The line-up featured the heavy hitters from Never Say Die Black Label: SKisM, Trampa, TrollPhace, and Ponicz. Along with Denver's own !Tyro and contest winner Bloodhound. The place was hot and sticky for such an intense display of dubstep, it was almost to much to handle.


This was the most extensive stage production I have ever seen before at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom. There were nine lasers all together, two coming from the back of the room to the front, and seven on stage zapping over the crowd. It was a literal river of light flowing in the air just above the people on the main floor. From above on the balcony so many beams were glowing that you could barely see the hundreds of people dancing underneath. Absolutely epic laser show indeed, and you know I love me some lasers.

Starting off the night was DJ mix contest winners Bloodhound. They got it going with a few hundred peeps who made it out right at eight o'clock. Denver has the most dedicated crowds, the guys from Bloodhound were stoked to see such a good turnout so early in the evening. They were hype and got the place in the mood for a night of fire. Bloodhound did a very good job with their live mix keeping it fresh and fitting with the theme of the night, dark bass music.

Next was the homie !Tyro, possibly the most talented producer in Denver and emerging fast in the game. Lately !Tyro has been doing big collabs with his friends and fellow producers like Detrace, Shank Aaron, and for his other project Slabs. For the second half of his set he brought up Detrace for a little impromptu b2b which was proper lit. !Tyro was a perfect way to transition into the Never Say Die Black Label squad, he is probably not far from becoming a part of their crew. His crushing dubstep and creative production will soon lead him to a label like Never Say Die I'm sure of it. The most memorable part of !Tyro's set was where he had the crowd sing along to "Woo Boost" by Rusko. It was hilarious to hear everyone yelling out "Wub, wub, wa, wa, wa, wub wubb." To close out his set !Tyro shared some brand new music which was just straight daggers of bass, so crisp and clear the music stabbed you in the heart.

New to me was Ponicz, one of the amazingly talented guys representing the NSD Black Label. I have never had to privilege to see Ponicz before and what a treat it was. He, like all of the Never Say Die producers, is very clever in how he mixes his live set. Starting off he was sort of melodic and eerie and then all the sudden he pulled out the wubs! Extreme riddim and helicopters through out the course of the set. Well constructed transitions and unpredictable changes, this is another theme of many of the artists SKisM endorses. Anyone can spin some music, but a Never Say Die artist will brilliantly twist it into a whole new feel as only they know how to do. Ponicz fits in well with the NSD Black Label and with talent like his he could headline a tour before long. 

The boss man SKisM took the middle of the rotation, and as always he was essentially flawless. He came out with a track that said the word "mosh" and immediately half of the room turned into a mosh pit. It was incredible to see the energy of the room amplify so quickly. If you don't realize it, you should, SKisM is always the best DJ at the show. He never slips up and always has something you haven't heard yet. Not only that he will create triple and quadruple drops live. You rarely see him with his headphones off for longer than ten seconds, because he is always working to perfect his live mix. It's overwhelming how many drops were packed into his hour on stage! SKisM is a great conductor for the crowd too, he always knows exactly how to bop around and dance to every song he is blending into the set. If you ever feel lost just watch him and he will guide you to where the changes are coming next. He loves to switch out the drop at the last second for a harder one, and he does it so well. To close his set it sounded like SKisM had all four of the CDJs spinning with a massive quad-drop, it was beautiful.

It was now time to go hard, as Trampa took the stage. My god does he know he to get things riled up, after about thirty seconds he had more than half of room moshing again. He yelled out to the crowd, "Hey Denver! Enter that mosh pit right now!" This set was a complete headbangers ball, hair was flying around as were bodies, just utter mayhem through out. Trampa has very fine tuned skills with his live mix, he always kept you guessing what was next. A particular section I remember Trampa built up one song, then right before the drop started a second build up, and when that build was at the peak he switched to a third track for the drop! His style is non-stop drops, just about every thirty seconds it was appropriate to flail extremities. Trampa is a mad man on the decks, a perfect example of the Never Say Die Black Label and just how hard they can go.

Closing out the night was the big man TrollPhace. Right away he addressed the crowd saying, "You know this is the last stop on the tour right? I can't think of a better place to be." TrollPhace slammed on the gas pedal and never let up for his whole hour on stage. He got the mosh pits going again, and was able to match Trampa's intensity with super hard hitting bass. During a section of the set he slowed down and told everyone, "Here's a new future bass song, I hope you'll fux wit." He started to play a melodic build up and then all the sudden; dubstep cannons! TrollPhace gets back on the mic, "Did you think I was fucking serious dude?" We were all trolled live by TrollPhace, absolutely classic! He left the room breathless and couldn't have done a better job closing out the night and the Never Say Die Black Label Tour.

Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom was ablaze after a show like that. This was one of the hottest and sweatiest shows I have ever been to. Partially due to the amazing performers, but also because of the dedicated bass warriors that represent their city in Denver. Let's not forget the superhero promoters that put these events together Rebudz and Reload Productions. Stay up to date with show announcements and contests by following both on all social media platforms. Big props to Emma Ceaglske at Eyediola Photography for capturing such brilliant images for us all to enjoy. Coming up next month you can catch the Hyper Future Tour at the Ogden Theatre with the another chunk of the Never Say Die squad including: Eptic, Must Die!, Gentlemens Club, Shank Aaron and more. Peep the link for tickets. Love and luck to everyone in the Denver bass family, see you all soon. 

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Megalodon with Twine, Dack Janiels, and Coult45 @ Summit Music Hall (Review) [7/3/16]

Review By: 
jdrightright

Photos By: 
Stetsen Colt Mathias



Summit Music Hall was rowdy this weekend for a big show put on by Amplitude Presents. The line-up was essentially a triple headlined event including Dack Janiels, Twine, and Megalodon. Also Coult45 was in the house to ramp up the hype, and two lucky contest winners were also added to open the doors; Freddie Rule and Coenica.


This was my first time at the Summit Music Hall, and it was impressive. The place maxes out at about 1,400 people including the balcony. The room is set up with excellent vantage points from nearly every position in the building. When you walk in the front door you are in the back of the room next to a long two sided bar island. As you enter the room further towards the stage the floor tiers down so the people in the back of the room can see over top of those closer to the front. To one side there is a small seated kitchen area that serves pizza, burgers and other snacks. At the beginning of the night the balcony was closed and it was mostly used as an area to display the laser fields zapped out by two full color lasers installed on stage. The lasers were mounted high on pillars and angled upward to safely display the powerful beams. Later in the night the balcony was opened and the laser crew made some adjustments so that the people up there would not be in the field of the lasers. Also to add to the visuals a LED graphic wall was assembled in front of the booth in a semi-circle, mostly used to display the logos of the DJs. Summit Music Hall was close to being sold out, but even so, with how the room is layed out there are plenty of spots to view the stage without having to cram into a small space.

Starting out the night were the two DJ mix contest winners, Freddie Rule and Coenica. Freddy Rule got things started off on a chill note, and built up to some melodic dub. Then Coenica took the stage and they started to get things a bit more rowdy getting into some glitch-hop and dubstep beats. Coenica consists of Braydon Drell (The Philosopher), and Alex Williams (Baby). This was a great way to start the night and also get the word out on some fresh up and coming talent.

Denver favorite Coult45 was up next with an extended set going for an hour and a half. Not a problem for a pro like him, he is used to getting the room poppin off at Beta Nightclub right across the street from Summit Music Hall. The room really started to fill up when Coult45 came on, he always has the illest music to drop in his sets. One track he mixed in served as a shout out to the homie !Tyro, another awesome Denver producer. Coult45 has been doing a lot of studio work mixing and mastering new original tracks and remixes too. Definitely keep your eye on Coult45 he always has the club goin up.

Next on the decks was Dack Janiels and he slayed from start to finish. He started out by asking, "Where my fucking stoners at?" This had the whole place screaming right off the bat. Dack Janiels had the headbangers flailing hair and breaking necks to the bass. Dack Janiels has ties to the Never Say Die Black Label, Rottun Recordings, 40oz Cult and a bunch of other hard bass labels. He threw shout outs to a bunch of badass producers including, Habstrakt, Figure, and Dubloadz during his set as he dropped music he made in collaboration with them. Dack Janiels put together a massive bass set with huge energy and it made the room sizzle!

Dack Janiels introduced Twine and he didn't miss a beat, he just went straight into a monster dubstep mix. Twine is another artist with multiple record label affiliations including OWSLA, Disciple, Monstercat, SMOG, and more. Twine lets the music do the talking, he is very relaxed and technical while creating his live mix on stage. Every now and then Twine would direct the people and dance along to the beat, but for the most part he just stayed on point. Twine closed out his set with an incredibly hard ten minutes of filth, he dropped music from Excision and he had everyone putting their X's up to salute.

The final set of the night was from Megalodon a raunchy dub-stepper representing the one and only Never Say Die Records. He pumped out the loudest bass and the dopest new music of the night. Megalodon is on the cutting edge of hard bass music, and that's why he was trusted to put together the most recent Never Say Die Black Label compilation XL 3. The compilation includes tracks from Dack Janiels, xKore, a few Megalodon songs of course, and much more. On stage Megalodon is very animated, he bounces around and keeps the energy off the charts. He had to shout out the bass house boss Jauz as he dropped a brand new song they did together called "Shark Attack". A mosh-pit accompanied the majority of Megalodon's set right in the center of the dance floor. The bass was pounding so hard that the CDJ's were shifting and nearly falling off the table in the booth! Megalodon crushed it and the people went hard right up until the last wub.

What a night, heavy bass echoed through my head for hours afterwards! Summit Music Hall was a perfect place to rage, I hope to attend many more shows there with the growing posse. Thanks again to Stetsen Colt Mathias for capturing an exciting photo album of the night. Huge props go out to Amplitude Presents for bringing this gargantuan line-up together. They are an elite squadron in the Denver bass family who always brings the heat. Make sure to follow Amplitude Presents on Facebook for show announcements and contests to win free tickets.

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Bass Station @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom (3/12/16) [Review]

Review By: jdrightright

Photography By: Emma Ceaglske




Saturday was another huge show put on by two of the best promotion companies in Denver, Rebudz and Reload Productions. The line-up had a little something for everybody with Aarbear, Detrace, SQUNTO, Crissy Cris, LAXX, and Eptic all on the docket. The show of course sold out, and for those who didn't have a ticket I feel bad you missed out on such a superb night.



First up was a local Colorado producer Aaron Jackson aka Aarbear, he was the winner of the DJ contest to open the show. He was met with a quickly growing crowd as the people rapidly filled the Masterpiece Ballroom. Aarbear represents Fort Collins with a hard dubstep/trap style. He did a great job getting the place warmed up.

The next producer Detrace is an awesome talent also out of Colorado and representing Denver. He caught my attention recently with a bunch of dope releases on Kill The Copyright. Detrace has collaborated with a bunch of up and coming producers too and with each new song he advances the game a little bit. I am a big fan of Detrace music, he uses a lot of my favorite video game sounds in his productions. Also Detrace is rather versatile with a wide range of electronic genres covered. Keep an eye on this guy he is going to blow up soon, mark my words.


SQUNTO the bass dragon got up on stage and immediately started breathing fire bass. He is an east coast producer coming out of Holliston, Massachusetts. SQUNTO is quite elite when compared to a lot of producers in how he prepares for a live set. I was able to talk with him a bit and he was explaining to me how he blends up to eight tracks for a single drop when he performs live! SQUNTO threw down such a naughty set, completely unpredictable, and extra mean bass pumped into the people's hearts.

The next set was a bit of a switch up with Crissy Criss and his sick jungle beats. I always enjoy having a nice variety of artists in a single show and for the most part the crowd did too. Crissy Criss had a few trick drops up his sleeve, transitioning sometimes into Drumstep and Dubstep to keep the people on point. Drum and bass is such high energy music and it always gets me bopping around the room. This was the first time I have seen Crissy Criss and I thought he layed it down like a boss.

The Never Say Die boys would close out the night starting with LAXX. He has been on top of the scene lately with a bunch of bangers and collaborations with everybody in the industry. LAXX has a hybrid style he goes in between trap, dubstep, and genres not even invented yet. He definitely has killer production skills, and he is also very good on the decks live. I have had the pleasure of hanging out with LAXX in the past and he is a very humble guy, focused on the task at hand; making the people bounce.


Eptic was the finale for this intense line-up at Bass Station and he mixed a brilliant set. It started off with a special fake-out drop that went right into my favorite song, "Spellbound" from his Immortal EP. You could hear everyone yell "I don't give a fuck" as that part of the track played. I love the music Eptic puts out into the world, it's very unique and his sounds are so crisp and clear. Eptic is also a graphic designer, and every monster or alien sort of image that he posts along with each song he created himself. He has been designing graphics of his own to accompany his live sets on the LED boards as well. Eptic is infinitely inventive and I can't wait to see what he has in store for his next release.

Bass Station was an amazing time, and lots of feels were shared with the bass fam. Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom has a mystical way of bringing people together united in bass. Big thanks to Eyediola Photography for providing these excellent concert photos. Coming soon Rebudz and Reload Productions are announcing another show called Bass Rising set for May 7th, again at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom. Stay tuned for more details, and this time get a ticket right away because you know it's gonna be a sell out. 

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Eptic - "Spellbound" - Song of the Day - [7-7-15]

Just last week Michaël Bella aka Eptic dropped a superb EP called Immortal. This song "Spellbound" is from the new Immortal EP, and it has been stuck in my head ever since first hearing it. Eptic has an excellent range of styles, and he shows it on this new release. "Spellbound" displays a prime example of the type of dubstep Eptic creates. There are always a lot of elements that are mixed into Eptic tracks, he puts a beautiful blend of sounds together. And his bass drops are absolutely stunning, impossible to not bob your head to. You can listen to the new Immortal EP and a lot of other Eptic songs on his official soundcloud page here.

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MUST DIE! - "Project Ghost" - Song of the Day - [6/26/15]

MUST DIE! has one of the hardest songs out there with "Project Ghost." From the album Death and Magic comes a mean dubstep song that is sure to stick in your head for a while. No time is wasted getting to the drop, just a few samples from a speak and spell and then boosh! MUST DIE! will be a Beta Nightclub tonight in Denver along with LAXX and SKisM for a huge Never Say Die Records throw-down.

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Eptic - "Oh Snap" - Song of the Day - [2-12-15]

This is a naughty dubstep track from Eptic, one of the elite producers on Never Say Die Records. Eptic kicks out the bass harder than most, and he always knows how to insert a bad ass sample in just the right spot. You can get more music from Eptic through his soundcloud page here.

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SKisM - "Experts" - Song of the Day - (10/25/14)

You can't mess with SKisM, the guy is an electronic music mogul. He's one of the founders of Never Say Die Records and an incredibly talented producer too. His label has some of the best producers represented including - Zomboy, Eptic, HeRobust, Far Too Loud, LAXX, Habstrakt, Megalodon, and more. This song "Experts" is a hard dubstep jam, a perfect representation of what SKisM is all about. He likes it mean and grimey, although still with high production quality and amazing bass. Go check out the Official Never Say Die Website for new music and touring information from their team of sicko producers.

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501 - "And It Begins" - Song of the Day - [9/6/14]

501 rips it up on this song "And It Begins". If you haven't heard of 501 before you are in for a treat, he is a very unique producer and he is affiliated with two of the best record labels in electronic music. I first heard 501 from Skrillex through his Mothership show on satellite radio, he dropped the 501 remix of Zedd's "Shave It" and I had to hear more. 501 gained a large following from his EP called Headrush / Falling Skies a huge release on Never Say Die Records back in March of 2012. This song "And It Begins" comes from the Beat The System EP also put out by Never Say Die Records in October of 2013. For more awesome 501 music get on his official soundcloud page here.

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Zomboy - "The Outbreak" - [NEW ALBUM]

It's here! The new Zomboy album The Outbreak just dropped today through Never Say Die Records and it's incredible! The Outbreak is ten tracks, all bangers, with a few special guests and collaborations including - Armanni Reign, MUST DIE!, and vocalist Rykka. Zomboy shows his versatility on this album going into some breakbeat, trap, and trance formats at times. Although Zomboy always ends up coming back to his bread and butter, the hard electrifying beats. The whole album is available to listen to streaming through soundcloud embedded above. To buy The Outbreak go on iTunes by following this link here.

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BAR9 - "Brave New World" EP

BAR9 return with their latest EP, 'Brave New World' via Never Say Die Records. "BAR9 said "The 'Brave New World' EP is a collection of tunes which we're happy to have put together. Some tracks are a bit more experimental than what we usually put out, but that's what writing music is all about right? Our Collaboration with Datsik was an idea we had when we were on tour in the U.S. together. We decided to put the wheels in motion soon after we got back and 'Droid' is the outcome We wanted it to be dark and melodic and contain the BAR9 & Datsik sound combined. We also wanted to be able to drop it in our sets and it work on the dance floor. The track progresses all the way through to the end almost taking the listener on a journey. 'Aurora' has evolved from a track which we have had floating around on our hard drive for a year or so. It has taken many forms but this is the version we decided to put on the release. 'Encounter' is a favourite as it doesn't necessarily fit into a genre and isn't really for the clubs. It's an 80s synthy kinda track which still contains a good driving bass line."" All the tracks on this EP are awesome and we definitely recommend picking them up asamfp. ;)

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