Denver’s Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom turned into a sonic sphere of electronic waves and wubs last night for a one-night recreation of Colorado’s Sonic Bloom, dubbed Sonic Blossom.
Sonic Bloom, hosted in June at Spanish Peaks Country, CO’s Hummingbird Ranch, saw a spin-off with some of its 2019 artists, including Bluetech, Spoonbill, DYNOHUNTER, The Librarian, Lapa, Patrick Skyler, Janover, PhLo, and more last night for a transcendental October show. Usually having two separate shows going on at once in the Ballroom and on the Other Side, Cervantes’ opened up both rooms so attendees were free to float around and experience both sides throughout the night.
Although Halloween is still a week away, Denver fans wanted to dress up for the spooky October Friday night, as many were dressed up in wigs, masks, and some test-run costumes to prepare for next weekend’s musical events. Denver-bred psychedelic glitch-hop producer Patrick Skyler started off the night at 8:15 p.m. on the other side, as fellow Sonic Bloom and Denver friend PhLo kicked off the bass waves in the Ballroom at 8:45 p.m, bringing his Funktion rig for a crisp, clear sound.
Janover, manned by Jamie Janover, took over the Other Side’s stage at 9 p.m., mixing his psychedelic tribal drumming over lush electro beats. As a master of the ancient percussioned instrument, the hammered dulcimer, and inventor of a miniature amplified drum kit called the “mini-kit”, Janover brought a whole new live electronic experience to the Sonic Blossom annual event. As his set was ending, Canadian music producer Andrea Graham, under moniker The Librarian, brought her mashup of European dubstep, grime, and drum and bass to the Ballroom stage right before the night hit 10 p.m. Also the co-founder and chief music curator of Bass Coast Music Festival, she gave fans a taste of what’s to come from her upcoming new studio work in her hour-long set.
As The Librarian was throwing down in the Ballroom, Sonic Bloom veteran Lapa took to the Other Side’s stage. Comprised of Ilya Goldberg (producer, multi-instrumentalist), Brandon Warren (drums, instrumentalist), and Nickles D’Onofrio (multi-instrumentalist), the trio weaved their textured harmonies over layered beats. As a classically trained musician, Goldberg infused his classical violin with their electronic melodies, resonating a diverse sound and musical world for listeners.
Taking over the Ballroom stage at 11 p.m. was San Diego producer, Bluetech. Manned by 20-year seasoned producer Evan Bartholomew, his 75-minute set was nothing short of sonically uplifting as he played his downtempo, future bass beats from his 27-album and EP collections. Sprinkles of light piano keys and digitalized melodies swirled around the Ballroom as rainbow-colored lazers matched to each track’s melodic tempo. He’s currently out on his Holotrope tour in support of his new 12-track album, making this show one of his only Colorado tour stops along with the previous night’s performance at Durango’s Animas City Theatre.
[Photo: Eric Allen]
On the Other Side, Boulder-based electronic trio DYNOHUNTER gave fans a breath of fresh air with their mix of house and dance tracks. Comprised of Clark Smith (sax, keys, percussion, DJ), Nic Thornsberry (drums, SPD-SX), and Fred Reisen (bass, synth), the group resonated their live instrumentation over dark tribal rhythms, uplifting melodies, and dripping house BPM percussion for 75-minutes of unstoppable dancing.
To finish out the wavy night, wonky-glitch author Spoonbill closed off the Ballroom’s stage at 12:30 p.m. Attendees filled up the room, itching to get closer to the stage as he brought up an eerie classical sample before hitting hard with deep bass grooves and textured digitalized electronic wubs. His set included his Dub FX remix of “Prove Me Wrong”, as well as an glitch-heavy remixed sample of the sea shanty “Drunken Sailor”, incorporating crunchy rhythms, horn echos, and heavy bass. On the Other Side, New Zealand producer K+ Lab layed down his bass-heavy funk til the clock hit 2 a.m. His diverse sound of funk, drum and bass, hip-hop, and glitch took the smaller side of the venue onto an intergalactic space ride of sonic electronic waves, ending the universally-connective night on a unifying high note.
Spoonbill – Sonic Blossom
[Video: Live For Live Music]