Kicking off the night, residents Mikey Thunder and Jordan Polovina brought a variety of MCs to the stage for a freestyle cypher. The guest artists included Zoe Simone from Sassfactory and Benjamin’s Vibe from The Party People. Thunder brought the fire beats while Jordan hosted the cypher.
Next up to the stage was Random Rab’s alter ego Mour. This deep bass side project brought some seriously dark vibes to Cervantes’ Other Side. Starting off slow, Moar’s filled out sound used heavy bass tracks to create thick builds and drops. Literally vibrating the floors and walls, the first three quarters of Moar’s set were composed of powerful lows that shook the venue. Moar sped it up at the end with some flavorful and faster paced housy vibes that still incorporated his deep bass sound but with a more upbeat feeling.
Headlining the night, Denver producer ill-esha’s creative setup was totally unique to any of my previous Re:Search Wednesday experiences. By bringing a keytar and modded Nintendo Power Glove to the stage, ill-esha definitely set the bar high in terms of innovation. I personally loved the dramatic build-ups and drops using the motion sensor features of the power glove. Her variety of moves on the keytar was also noteworthy; her power chords cut through the backtrack well and it was fun to see her jam on it over her electrofunk instrumentals. To top it off, ill-esha’s strong voice brought an entirely separate organic element to the set. When her hands free mic was having issues, she seamlessly switched it up to the standard wired mic and sung her heart out, taking the crowd’s breath as she flawlessly delivered intense vocals. All-in-all, the set was really fun and it was really cool to see her incorporate her weird and different instruments during the set. Talking with her backstage also made me quickly realize how down to Earth and supportive of the global music community she is.
Finally, closing out the other side was up-and-coming DJ Frost. This protege of ill-esha certainly knew how to throw a party; his high-energy mix had Cervantes bumping deep into the night. While I had to dip before catching the end of his set, his well mastered hype tracks truly ended the night with a bang. As always, big thanks to Cervantes, Euphonic Conceptions, all the artists, and all the fans for coming out. See you next time for the PL Live crew, Birocratic, and MZG!
