Gramatik made a long-awaited reappearance in Philadelphia last Friday, February 26th certifying the event as something certainly not to be missed. Selling out Philly’s newest and most talked about venue, The Fillmore–in relation to the iconic San Francisco Fillmore Auditorium–the Brooklyn-based, Slovenia born producer, Denis Jašarević revealed his latest album, Epigram, in its complete, lustrous entirety to 2500 eccentric musical souls.
Known for producing eclectic electro-chill compilations incorporating swing, hip hop, funk and dubstep, Gramatik notably established an earnest, global following with his 10+ albums over the past 8 years. Fillmore’s audience was anxiously prepared for this illustration of an evening of brilliance especially after hearing of Jašarević’s successful European Epigram tour last Fall and of his first North American show on the tour last week.
Friday’s schedule was stacked with four engaging openers and two guest performers. NYC based producers, Jenaux and Brasstracks kicked off the night’s festivities following with Chicago acid-jazz/house producer, DJ Mark Farina and NYC DJ/Producer, Jai Wolf. Jai Wolf radiated very chill-wave, dreamscape sounds remixing artists like Odesza and even Fetty Wap before leading into Gramatik’s highly anticipated two-hour set.
Rolling right into some fresh, gritty hip hop, Brooklyn rapper/producer, Adrian Lau took the stage with Jašarević just after midnight and introduced them both saying, “This shit is special right here” and segued skillfully into the new track, “Satoshi Nakamoto.” The crowd was immediately thrown into a perfect union of elation and renegade brazenness as a multitude of infectious sounds permeated every inch of the 100 year old building. Jašarević’s guitarist, Andrew Block was a main attribute to the euphoric contrast, instantly gratifying every sensation by fusing heavier, electrifying notes with his sensual guitar solos.
One of Gramatik’s distinctive musical traits is integrating French styled swing and live horns, so naturally his trumpet player performed a magnetic Gatsby-like track similar to his Street Bangerz series all while images of Guy Fawkes mask, aka the V for Vendetta mask, flashed on screen. The visuals and stage lighting throughout his set were truly definitive of Jašarević’s art and personality–precise, yet lighthearted–exhibiting faces like his idol, Nikola Tesla and an illusory, glitchy robot prevailing his walk to the song’s rhythm.
Amongst playing his new Epigram material, Gramatik also executed an enthralling remix of Moby’s “Honey” and Hermitude’s popular track “The Buzz,” constantly keeping his fans dazed and desirous for more. It was then when R&B singer Orlando Napier walked on stage that the 3-D pixeled fireworks behind him actually seemed to be originating and reflecting from our eyes and not from the computer generated screen. Napier, also hailing from NYC, sang the first track off the Epigram EP called “Native Son” and layered it around Gramatik’s raucously appealing “Illusion of Choice” song off the 2012 #digitalfreedom EP.
Jašarević finished his night’s phenomenal performance with a characteristic, groovy guitar laden track off Epigram as purple and orange lights blitzed around the concert hall. Faces everywhere were beaming as all of the talented musicians came back together on stage to thank us while David Bowie’s “Fame” enlightened our over joyous ears. Gramatik’s presence in Philadelphia brought such a wonderful gathering of people together celebrating an artist who clearly appreciates and portrays a vast diversity of music from all over the “genre spectrum.” Let’s hope he returns rather quickly.
Check out more photos from the evening, courtesy of Sean DiSerio:
