Whether you listen to rock, rap, classical, or any other genre, there have always been outliers who have attempted to challenge the conventional way of how things are done in a specific sphere of music. Electronic music is no exception to that. As of the last few years, dance music has seen a major rise in artists who are producing music with unknown and unexplored sounds and patterns. While this newer style of music seems relatively difficult to dance to sometimes (rhythms sometimes can fly out the window), it is playing a huge role in the movements and popularity of electronic music. There are artists like ‘Shpongle’ and ‘Liquid Stranger’ who have been finding their own weird way through dance music for years, and newer artists such as ‘Space Jesus’ and ‘Bleep Bloop’ who are redefining the popularity that this corner of electronic music has received. Another major newcomer who has arguably taken the top spot in the niche community is producer ‘G Jones’. G Jones, most usually related with bass music mainstay ‘Bassnectar’, has claimed his throne as the king of the weirdos over the last two years or so. Starting his career, he was noticed by Nectar early on, and found that he had many opportunities for himself including remixes and collaborations with the don, as well as plenty of opening slots on his biggest shows. In the last year or so, Jones has worked hard to put out a consistent stream of major productions, on top of consistent touring, in order to separate him from Bassnectar in a healthy way for his career. Developing his own fan base, he has skyrocketed to his rightful level of fame, and in 2017 it seems that he has no where else to go but up.
With the release of his latest album on Friday, Jones also began a tour to support the project on Wednesday. Bringing along with him openers like ‘The Widdler’, ‘Sayer’, and ‘Yheti’, he seems to have focused on the up and coming artists within the strange sector of electronic music. Philadelphia music fans were lucky enough to have only the 2nd stop of the tour arrive at the small intimate venue, The Foundry (at The Fillmore) on Thursday night, January 26th. As we arrived to the show, we got there just in time to catch the second opener of the night, The Widdler. The Widdler brought his signature style combination of UK grime and deep/dark dubstep, similar to the style of big time producer, ‘Truth’. Over the course of the hour long set, we had the chance to hear a lot of music we don’t get to hear on the average night of electronic music. Even most nights that are based on the genre of dubstep or grime overall didn’t seem to have the same type of track list that The Widdler had and we were ever so pleased to have fresh sounds for our ears. Building the set from low energy to just high enough, The Widdler provided an opening set that was a model with its energy for the exact way an opening set should be played. Following his performance, and a few technical difficulties, the stage was set for our headliner G Jones to take us down into the weird abyss.
Jones took the stage to electrifying roars and cheers from the crowd. With the show being sold out, it seemed that everyone who was at the show was truly there for the music. There were no attendees who showed up to just enjoy the party or have a couple drinks at the bar, the crowd was ready to get down and dirty, and G Jones did not disappoint. His set featured music that had so much energy you could feel the temperature in the room rising as the set went on, but also tracks that brought the energy level down to a seriously wonky level. The two feelings paralleled each other and created almost an argumentative dichotomy that provided one hell of a conversation for attendees to enjoy. By the end of the set, it seemed that there was very little ability to dance left in the room, not due to the lack of great tunes, but due to the fact that Jones had overwhelmed the audience in the best way possible. His set challenged the endurance of even the most seasoned fans, and with the added support of his flawless mixing, he seemed to stand on top of the room at the end of the night. That’s the way an artist should perform, and we were exponentially more and more impressed as the set went on. G Jones showed us that he is here to stay, and will only continue to grow as an artist. He mirrors the definition of what an artist in electronic music should be, pushing boundaries and taking risks through his productions and his live sets, and executing them successfully with ease. Please come back soon Mr. Jones, you’ll have even more fans to impress on your next trip.
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[Photo credit: C2H2 Photo]
[Article by Adam Leopold]
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