Sonic Bloom 2012: Artists Not to Miss!

• Sonic Bloom 2012 • Buy Tickets • See Schedule • Workshops • See Map •

As the celebration of the Unified Tribe is rapidly approaching, it’s time to dissect and take a look at one of the most incredibly stacked, top to bottom, game changing lineups at an American electronic music festival to date. The standard Bloomer usuals are there. However in my opinion, everything aside from the Zilla family & friends is filled with hopefuls, a few unexpected’s, and then close to 90% of the artists I have been listening to over the past year or two!

This should be used as a guide for everybody who might not be familiar with ALLL of the artists on this year’s lineup. I can honestly say that this is one of the first and only times where I am this familiar with and a majority of my music listening time has been spent tuned in to such a high percentage of 2012’s performers. I hope this post proves useful, and I especially hope to see each & every one of you at as many of these sets as physically possible!!! Now, let’s have some fun!!!

BONOBO : Boiler Room Mix : Feb 2012 by bonobo

∞ THURSDAY EARLY BLOOMER SETS ∞
*for an extra $35 ($45 at the gate) you can get down with the dedicated & obviously stoked, “Early Bloomers”

• Dynohunter [Thurs- 8pm]
https://www.facebook.com/dynohuntermusic?ref=ts
Their newest release, The Precambrian Era is a must-download (free). Prepare for this Boulder trio to take you on the most gangster tour through a prehistoric Amazonian rainforest that you could ever imagine. Just when you think you’ve gone too far and sense a primordial beast springing to attack, Clark Smith jumps in to the rescue, inspiring courage with his soulful tenor sax.

• The Malah [Thurs- 10:15pm]
http://www.themalah.com/ 
In the past 6 months alone, this three piece has played two epic shows to a packed Cervantes’ Other Side! As a unit, The Malah is one of the more cohesive groups I’ve seen. To be playing at such a high caliber, show after show is not as easy as one might think. The age of bands and manager’s (let’s face it, band psychiatrists) sticking through the hard times [just as often as the good] and wholeheartedly committing to each other’s song writing are no longer. I hope the crowd Bloom’s early and let it be known from the get-go that this is a Unified Tribe. OUR Unified Tribe. If there’s one thing The Malah show and make us feel through their music, is that unity and the celebration of life & music are quintessential to leading a successful weekend and ultimately, life. When I asked my Facebook friend list what each person’s favorite Malah song was, I got 9 different answers from 9 different people. If that doesn’t show a band’s range, diversity, and talent then I don’t know what does! Let’s really make it worth their while and show our numbers! 

• Bonobo (DJ set) [Thurs- 11:30pm]
http://www.bonobomusic.com/
For an extra $35 you can get an “Early Bloomer’s” Thursday ticket & get your chance at the primo camping spots. But securing a kick ass camping spot isn’t the only thing that’s enticing about early blooming. A dance-tastic and upbeat DJ set from the legendary Bonobo will kick this festival off with a bang! Mixing his own productions with an eclectic array of dance tracks from across the globe keep Simon Green’s DJ sets groovy and well worth the Thursday arrival!

∞ZILLA FAMILY SETS∞
*founders & producers of the festival

• VibeSquaD [Sat night- 2am]
http://vibesquad.com/
It goes without saying that Aaron Holstein, aka VibeSquaD, is going to bring the HEAT to Georgetown. With the Funktion1’s as his weapons & bass waves are his bullets, I’m sure he is excited to wobble and melt the crowd with an arsenal of bass heavy tracks which bring out the best bass-faces in all of us!

• ZILLA [Sat- 9pm]
http://www.zillamusic.com/
Something I have been waiting years to see for the first time, but (truthfully) don’t know an awful lot about is this all improvisation group. Consisting of Jamie Janover, Michael Travis (SCI), & Aaron Holstein (VibeSquaD), one of the only times you can catch them playing anymore is at Sonic Bloom, as the festival is a Zilla family production. To get an idea of what the trio is all about, Janover is on the dulcimer, Travis on drums, & Holstein is on the bass. It’s 2012 and right now could not feel like a more opportune time to finally catch them live!

• Karsh Kale & Janover [Fri- 8pm]
http://karshkale.com/
http://jamiejanover.com/

Karsh Kale is a talented “Musician, Artist, Producer, & Composer” who has been blending genres for 12 years but has started to gain more public notoriety as of late. Raised in NYC by immigrant parents from India, Karsh is currently “exploring the worlds of electronica, Indian classical music, rock, jazz fusion, and hip hop which has led him to work with some of the most renowned artists from around the globe.”
Constantly collaborating and not afraid to try something new as one of the worlds most sought after fusion artists, this should be an interesting performance which will open many of us to new boundaries when it comes to our musical tastes and preferences. As an incredible tabla player, the fact that he will be playing with none other than Janover himself at his side, should get the hips swaying and booty’s shaking…hopefully with tons of belly dancing mamas, trying their best to make Zoe Jakes proud, with their gold and silver hip scarves filled with loops and coins!

 

∞SUNRISE SETS∞
*in the Rocky Mountain Hydroponics Dome

• Motion Potion [4 nights- Silent Frisco]
http://motionpotion.ning.com/
MOPO is a sure shot for any and all late night keep it move-athons with a variety of House ranging from classic to funky, diva biddy buildups to disco breaks and break downs, gangster booty bumperz and fun obscure remixes, not to mention he is the head Maestro for Silent Frisco (http://www.silentfrisco.com/), co-creator of SF’s New Year’s Eve Blowout Sea of Dreams and good friend of LiS.  Robbie is well known in the Bay Area and beyond as a motivated promoter and mix master on the 1’s and 2’s who knows exactly what the dancefloor needs to keep it moving on and on and into dawn, with or without noise permits.

• Random Rab [Fri night/Sat sunrise- 5:50am]
http://randomrab.com/
Random Rab has been blowing up in the past year and it’s all because of hard work, suave grooves, dedication, instrumental song writing, and vocals which all play a large part in what it is that Rab is all about. Each time I see him, his set caters exactly to the time slot, venue, & crowd in which he is playing for. Most recently, at Lightning in a Bottle, he played with a drummer/percussionist, a couple of other guest musicians, and perused around, playing on all sorts of different strings, drums, and microphones. Let us wait and see what he has in store for the weekend’s first sunrise set in the dome!

• Bird of Prey [Sat night- 4:45am]
http://birdofpreymusic.com/
Hopefully by this juncture in our relationship, LiS fans are familiar with and somewhat intrigued by Torin Goodnight aka Bird of Prey. Almost using Bird of Prey as his project to find and blend the “middle ground between my aggressive and peaceful natures”, says Torin [in this April 2012 interview with LostinSound], so far everything up until this point has merely been practice! For some readers this might shed light onto a producer which we have seen work over the past few years, however to others this entire thing might still be ambigious and a vague encapsulation of what it is to expect from his performance. For those of you who still haven’t grasped it, here are some of the atmospheric/soundscape producing acts he has been listening to of late: Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Ishq, & (the amazing) Ozric Tentacles. A little more of an eye opener might be who Torin has passed his stems along to: Kalya Scintilla, Kaminanda, KiloWatts, Desert Dwellers, & Hedflux!

• Kaminanda [Sun night- 4am]
http://kaminanda.bandcamp.com/
The last time Kaminanda was in Colorado (Denver), he played a late night warehouse trance party post Shpongle. Playing with The Human Experience (also participating in this weekend’s festivities) they were the 2 main event’s, trance genre withstanding. No doubt a great party and Kaminanda’s bass music was provocative and endearing. Great stuff to play along to with your poi or fire and hoopers take note, this is the guy you want to bring your hoop down to the stage for.

 

∞ALL OTHER ARTISTS IN BETWEEN∞
*All of the amazing artists that perform throughout the day, night, and late-nights (in no particular order)

• Tipper (2 sets) [Sat night- 12:15am / Sun- 8:15pm]
http://www.tippermusic.net/
Recently on fire with 2 Symbioses sets, a recent EP release –Puzzle Dust-, & a stage production setup donned, “The Tipper Sound Experience” by Android Jones, Dave Tipper is the only man with 2 sets this year. And ohh boy, are we Bloomers lucky!!! Because both sets promise to be nothing short of spectacular!

• Emancipator [Sat- 10:30pm]
http://www.emancipatormusic.com/
By now most of us have heard the talented duo, Emancipator. Having sold out 75% of their dates from their National tour at the end of 2011, Colorado was no different. Doug Appling & Ilya Goldberg produce the casual electronic music based on hip-hop beats & elements which are then spiced up with [live] violin which can give you goose bumps every time. Influences clearly come from a variety of different music styles, as Doug’s guitar is a prominent feature across the 2 original LP’s and 1 remix album released to date.

• Ott [Sun- 10pm]
http://www.ottsonic.net/
For a festival such as Sonic Bloom, it is important for Twisted Records (UK) to have some sort of presence. And when it comes to talking about a “Unified Tribe” and coming together to explore different elements of celebration and humanity, OTT Sonic feels like the perfect fit. I am not sure if OTT has played Sonic Bloom before, but I do know that he will feel right at home and comfortable helping us expand our minds as one core Unified Tribe. The soundtrack to cosmic unifications comes in the form of OTT Sonic.

• Eskmo [Fri- 9:30pm] & Welder [Sat- 7:30pm]
http://www.eskmo.com/
http://www.weldersounds.com/
This man is nothing short of spectacular. Performing as the beautiful, subtle, & well-crafted Welder, Brendan Angelides shows us what true ingenuity and experimentation is all about in the electronic world. Creating soundscapes and atmospheric beats, Welder requires some imagination and patience to fully compute the experience. Eskmo on the other hand, appeals to the more glitchy and industrial side of IDM world. The bass is as crunchy as ever, and the crowd’s dance moves include a range of stomps to gangster head bobs and body flows that probably crack your back more than once throughout a set. Be sure to catch both sides of this man’s personas, because whether the music is for you or not, you will learn a thing (or an infinite amount) about creativity and live music production.

• Ana Sia [Fri night- 12:30am]
http://anasiamusic.com/
One of the more highly celebrated female DJ’s in the low-end movement, the Bay Area’s own Ana Sia gets shit hyphy quickly and keeps it crunk all the way through. When you attend her set, it’s probably wise to come equipped with your pimp chalice and legs ready to bend low. Once you find yourself getting down, it will be hard to keep your insatiable crush for this foxy DJ a secret for much longer.

• GRiZ [Sat night- midnight]
http://www.grizmusic.com/
Performing at Cervantes’ Sonic Bloom pre-parties back in April, the 21 year old Michigan native impressed fans and received quite the acclaim. His beat making and controller prowess is highlighted by the impressive wailing of his saxophone! This is already quickly proving to be a revolutionary summer in a breakout year for the 21 year old glitch hop and IBM producer who seems to effortlessly hop across genres. Cervantes was probably just a small taste of the elaborate set I expect to see from GRiZ as the clock strikes midnight on Saturday night.

• Octopus Nebula [Sun- 6:45pm]
http://www.octopusnebula.com/
Denver locals, this is one of the few full bands on the lineup. This clearly attests to the talent that this band possesses, as well as their style and fans. Having [flawlessly] covered songs from producer’s Ott and Shpongle and raging a late night set at Lightning in a Bottle 2012 (another electronic heavy fest), it’s quite obvious that this 4-piece is at the top of my weekend’s list of acts most excited to dance to.

• Govinda [Sun- 11pm]
http://govindamusic.com/
The classically trained violinist and electronic composer from Austin, TX infuses sexy bass beats with the power & emotion of a violin. Connecting wirelessly appropriately creates this subtle organic layer, which at times comes across as beautiful even though the music behind it can often be quite abrasive, loud, and in your face. His albums almost feel timeless yet his live shows are more of a dubstep DJ performance occasionally picking up his violin. Most importantly however, are the amazing, beautiful, and sexually empowered dancers that join Govinda on either side of the stage.

• Stephan Jacobs [Fri night- 1:15am]
http://stephanjacobs.net/
This dude is blowing up and rightfully so. Hearing his style and track selection change from Coachella just 2 short years ago (2010) to this year’s Memekast 064 mix, shows the scene that Stephan Jacobs is committed to making bass music a house hold regular. I don’t see this guy stopping at anything and his live shows are a work in progress, but I can tell you that his mixing, mashes, and track choice are some of my favorite right now.

• Phutureprimitive [Fri- 11pm]
https://www.facebook.com/phutureprimitivemusic
Although LiS feels as though this guy deserves no introduction, that’s not what we are here for. After a critically and fan acclaimed release with Kinetik, (where every song, 1-10, is awesome…somewhat of a rare occurrence these days), Phutureprimitive has been on tour with Shpongle and others, while playing shows all across the country. The raw feeling and emotion that goes into AND comes out of (received by his fans) Phutureprimitive’s music is what makes it so special. Girls favorite to hoop to and guys favorite to get “hard” without that abrasive “noise” feeling taking over your brain shows me that Rain Phutureprimitive will always be a set worth catching.

• Adham Shaikh [Sun- 11:45pm]
http://www.sonicturtle.com/
“As a music producer and composer, Shaikh skillfully weaves organic and electronic sounds into global music tapestries that take listeners on sonic journeys transcending time and place. He has released 10 albums and many individual compositions, among them was 2004’s Fusion, which was nominated for a Juno Award (Canadian Grammy) in the World Music category.

• SuperVision [Sun night- Midnight]
http://www.prettylightsmusic.com/therecordlabel/supervision.html
SuperVision is the Pretty Lights Music project from Richard Blake Hansen, originally from Dallas, TX. Another up-and-coming name within the electronic hip-hop realm, fans of Gramatik, PL, Mikal Menert, & the synth bass lines of Justice will have absolutely no problems shaking their booty to the sampling and crafty creations of the smooth SuperVision! Calling Colorado his home since 2002, let us turn out by the thousands and help support the crew of musicians that make CO. such a desirable place to live!

• Filastine [Fri- 6:45pm]
http://filastine.com/
The off-beat and eclectic setup is what initially caught my attention on stage. Grey Filastine is the mastermind behind it all, however he is constantly bringing in collaborators of all sorts, including a more permanent fixture, cellist Amelie Bouard. Using all types of new age and unique marketing and promotional techniques, I think the main draw comes from the wacky and at times jaw dropping music and what goes into re-creating it all live. Using a “local” shopping cart in each city as well as custom wired megaphones, trigger fingers, and drum pads, the entire performance is synched with video too which is all the more impressive. Sometimes taking a solo approach and glitch DJ’ing his way through a track and at other moments collaborating with female vocalists and constructing his beats from the most stripped down, basic way possible. It all comes off as impressive to the intricate or casual listener.

• ProJect Aspect [Sat- 9pm]
http://soundcloud.com/project-aspect
Hailing locally from Denver, I saw Project Aspect play the Pre-Parties however I can’t say that those memories aren’t slightly fuzzy. I know this is a set that everyone needs to catch, so to help with a little background here’s a snippet of Jay Jaramillo’s auto-biography, “In 2008 I began pursuing musical creation in a new light. With electronic/hip hop influences ranging all across the galaxy, I Started “ProJect Aspect”. A new vision, way of looking at music as a whole, an idea if you will. Computer performance is the backbone of this project and performing 100% Organic, original material is an essential piece in what which makes ProJect Aspect. With a vast array of heavy bass tones, melodic ambience, whompy hyphy crunchy beats, and mashup acapellas, Aspect brings a unique sound to the dance floor that will leave you craving more!”

• Russ Liquid [Fri night- Midnight]
http://soundcloud.com/russliquid
This is a breakout summer for RLS (Russ Liquid Sounds), due to the fact that he played to a sold-out show at Cervantes for the Sonic Bloom pre-parties and also gained some exposure from the loads of new attendees at Lightning in a Bottle – An incredible set and highlight from many people’s weekends. Proclaiming that “things are going to start getting very weird” is a sure sign that this is somebody you want on-stage entertaining you. Add the fact that he puts together dope mixes and then splashes them vibrantly with his trumpet and you have a premiere electronic musician of this day and age. One other working element in his favor is the ability to easily collaborate with different musicians as was evident via LiB 2011, bringing on a lyricist such as Lafa Taylor.

• Jimkata [Sun- 5:15pm]
http://www.jimkata.com/
Sort of the wild-card on the lineup, I can’t complain that Jimkata was chosen to fill that role. Having worked with them for years and becoming familiar with them through East Coast ties, brings a little bit of “home” to an otherwise West Coast dominant festival. This band has talent for song writing and the lyrics connect with people easily. Some people might not dig the sort of pop influenced live band, but those that will enjoy it are sure in for a treat, especially when they are looking to give their “Robot” ears a break.

• Lux Moderna [Sun night- 3am]
http://www.luxmoderna.com/
From Lux’s About page: “Lux focuses her energy into music production, education, and healing on all scales of existence. She also promotes the integration of creativity and wisdom into esoteric and embodied practices such as Meditation and Yoga for healthy, conscious living. Lux Moderna is a certified Naam Yoga instructor registered with the Yoga Alliance and serves as an Emissary in affiliation with The Resonance Project.”

• Michael Garfield [Sat- 2pm]
http://michaelgarfield.blogspot.com/
One of the most respected artists in this scene, and a guest contributor to Lost in Sound, M.G. has mad a name for himself concocting live pieces (paints & markers) during some of the most notorious sets to take place around the country in the past 3 years. A true artist by nature, his star shines bright wherever he is performing or with whatever type of project he chooses to tackle. A perfect fit for his time slot, his singer-songwriter style should help us ease into our afternoon as we breach the halfway point of the weekend’s activities. Whether this type of music is your thing or not, let’s make sure M.G. feels the love as he has spent a vast majority of his time giving back to the community he loves!

• THE SONIC BLOOM ORCHESTRA!!! [Sun night- 1:30am]
http://www.sonicbloomfestival.com/
Featuring: Michael Travis & Jason Hann (SCI), Tipper, Dave Watts (The Motet),
Jamie Janover, Govinda, Sasha Rose, Hopscotch, Lafa Taylor & many more special surprise guests TBA.

 

 

PLUS:

SILENT DISCO
Through sunrise every morning; Powered by SILENT FRISCO
Featuring: Motion Potion, ManCub & Matt Haze
w/ Special SONIC BLOOM guests!
http://www.sonicbloomfestival.com/silent-frisco-all-4-nights/#more-5353

ART THAT FEEDS!
Below is an image of the poster created by Visionary Artwork of Krystleyez that you will receive for FREE with a donation of 10 non-perishable food items for the Conscious Alliance food drive! Help us help Conscious Alliance feed those who need OUR help!

 

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