This fourth of July was certainly one to remember! With sand between my toes and red, white, and blue fireworks still resonating in my mind, my new California friends and I capped off the national holiday at Zanzibar in Santa Monica.
Two of Lost in Sound’s favorite artists, Pumpkin and Govinda, played an amazing night of music that topped any firework show. The venue was jam packed and everyone was ready to dance and get sweaty. Unfortunately, I missed the night’s opener, GoldRush, although I heard only great things about his performance. We got there just in time for Pumpkin‘s set and found a small patch of dance floor to occupy, where I ran into fellow Use Your Header, Drift Dodgers!
Based out of Los Angeles, Pumpkin colorfully combines different genres and mixes them together with ease. His DJ style is not only unique, but unpredictable. Unlike most DJs, Pumpkin can play radio classics without making everyone roll their eyes and cover their ears. The same songs that are overplayed everywhere else are successfully given a second chance: Daft Punk‘s Around the World, Jay-Z’s H to the Izzo, and Michael Jackson classics were beautifully thrown into the mix and very well received. My personal favorite, Good Day by Nappy Roots was the perfect feel-good, bouncy beat to finish with.
It seems like I just cannot get enough of Govinda lately- after my second time seeing him in two weeks, I am still wanting more! His opening song, Rumi Love Poem, continuously puts me in a trance that I cannot seem to shake until he is done playing. With violin in hand, producer/composer Shane Madden of Austin, Texas has created a new sound that combines the elegance of strings with glitch whomps and bass drops. This new sound has the Indian, Middle Eastern gypsy vibe that has been gaining popularity on the West coast, although no one does it quite like Govinda. Shane effortlessly fuses the soothing enchantment of the violin with rapping, singing, and chanting to please all of our listening desires.
Halfway through his set, Govinda put the violin aside and declared a Happy Inner-dependence Day to the crowd. “That was just the warm-up,” he said, and asked us if we were ready to really get down. He played familiar tracks like Higher and Higher and Hungry, but there were also a lot of songs that I didn’t recognize. Govinda fed off the obvious energy in the room and kept everyone dancing until at last, the music stopped and I was slowly unraveled from my trance.
It is really inspiring to meet artists whose music you love and see that they have a genuine appreciation for their fans. Govinda seems to not only enjoy making music, but is sincerely devoted to pleasing his crowd. Thank you to J Brave, Luminous Family Productions, and everyone at Zanzibar for a 7-4-12 Fourth of July I will not forget!
Lu Fam is bringing quality events to L.A., more info at LuFamPro.com
Be sure to check out Facebook.com/govindamusic, Facebook.com/PumpkinSounds and Facebook.com/GoldRushMusic for new music and information on the artists!
