Kicking off the evening, Jordan Polovina opened with one of his signature cello/hip-hop jams “Late Night.” The melodic ending helped him transition smoothly into his “Lana Del Ray vs Method Man” mashup. The track features Lana’s eerie vocals over a spacey trap instrumental that bridges into a Method Man verse over a fresh beat and Jordan’s cello playing. Afterwards, he went into “Understandable”, in which Polovina comments on his struggle to be appreciative of the opportunities he has had working in the music industry while still keeping a chip on his shoulder to push himself musically and creatively. Polovina did an excellent job of keeping the set fresh and featuring new content while still retaining his mystic style which Re:Searchers know and love.
Following up Jordan, Mikey Thunder stepped up to deliver a wonky, bass heavy set that had the crowded venue bouncing. Mikey’s flavorful records fill out each Re:Search Wednesday like a missing puzzle piece. Joined by Colorado producer Phloethik towards the end of his set, the two went b2b dropping a thick, saucy banger which was received nicely by the venue. Overall, it was a pleasure, as always, witnessing Mikey demonstrate his mastery of his craft.
Next up was Phloethik. The most hip-hop influenced of the non-resident acts in my opinion, I loved his jazzy but bass heavy sound. His remix of Lupe Fiasco’s “Superstar” was one of my favorites of his set. His style reminded me of Gramatik, but with less string samples and more elements of experimental bass music. Overall, it was a nice surprise treat to have him join the group of artists playing that evening.
Unknown by many, but loved by those that have heard him play, Dorfex Bos is a hidden gem in the bass community. His collabs with Bassnectar and afterparty/opening sets have helped him earn him a loyal group of listeners. Those that know his name have probably seen him throw down and understand the depth of his music. His “Clint Eastwood Remix” was a highlight of the set and displayed his ability to dissect and recreate a track with his spacey bass style. Fusing powerful kicks, enveloping bass, and contorted scales, Dorfex’s set was not one to miss.
Headlining the evening, San Francisco producer ill.Gates dropped one of the cleanest sets I’ve witnessed at Cervantes. Flawlessly mixing well mastered tracks, Gates’ energy fed the entire crowd throughout his show. Gates showed off his range by dropping everything from his unique take on dubstep, housy upbeat funk, and impressively lyrical hip-hop. Gates even grabbed the mic for a track and spit a clean 16 over one of his instrumentals. Spinning a combination of singles, collabs, and remixes, Gates was able to keep it fresh by hopping around genres and bringing his take on each point in the spectrum. He even dropped a juicy collab with Louis Jordan and his Class of 808 student producers called “Is You Is”. Not only does Gates produce a plethora of collabs and singles, he also teaches a program for the next generation of producers, moving them forward through the world of production and music industry. All in all, the set was awesome and the crowd was definitely packed tight and loving it.
I wasn’t able to catch more than 5 minutes of Since JulEYE’s set, but I heard a nasty remix to Space Jesus’ “HMU” that had been totally deconstructed but was still filthy. It was yet another great Re:Search Wednesday; make sure to come back Wednesday, March 14th for Artifakts, Wax Future and more!
