Last Week: Seven Lions Inspired by New Orleans
Producer Seven Lions fills his stomach and the dancefloor while in New Orleans.
Seven Lions (Santa Barbara native Jeff Montalvo) was first recognized by the electronic music world by wining a remix contest held by Beatport back in 2012. He remixed trance heavyweight Above & Beyond's "You Got To Go" into dubstep. In the last few years, he has gained popularity by creating melodic dubstep from trance. He loves the ethereality of trance and the skin-tingling bass of dubstep. His ability to marry such different genres has set himself apart from other producers in the industry. Montalvo’s latest EP Creation is anything but cohesive, oddly including folk and rock tracks in the conglomerate.
There's something magical about the Big Easy that makes artists, actors, and musicians feel a special connection quickly. On the night of his arrival in New Orleans, just hours before his Saturday night performance, Seven Lions tweeted that there is no other city like it.
New Orleans natives C-LaB and Klutch team up for the opening set Saturday, April 24 at the Metropolitan calling themselves MELTFACING. They got the crowd hyped for Montalvo's performance, spinning house and trap records that got people away from the bar and onto the dancefloor. MELTFACING played Bassnectar, Audien, Tritonal, and even Rise Against the Machine.
Finally, when the dancefloor was packed, Seven Lions kept the energy high with a mashup of "Coaster" by Jason Ross with the vocals from "As the Rush Comes" by Motorcycle. This high-tempo mashup was unexpected but inventive. Throughout his performance he took the crowd on a rollercoaster, switching from trance to dubstep and back, mixing new remixes with his originals. Of course, the show couldn't be without his classic "Strangers" or his remix of Florence + The Machine's "Cosmic Love." His wide range of styles made the show particularly dynamic, but Montalvo seemed to put more emphasis on his trance and house sound. His choice of Tiesto's remix of "Don't Leave" featuring Ellie Goulding and his totally trance remix of ILLENIUM's "Fortress" may be an indication of what direction he will go next.
