When you think of trance and dubstep, the first thing that may pop into your head is “total opposites”, and historically the following and nature of these genres could not be divergent from one another. Different crowds, sounds, and feelings stem from these genres as they've developed into their own exclusive cultures nested within the dance music community.
As the sole pioneer of the “trancestep” subgenre, Seven Lions is arguably one of the most successful and talented artists within the scene today; with a very dedicated and large following, numerous hit singles and albums, his own record label, as well as a frequent headliner starring in many of the world's most predominant festivals. With his distinctive vision to bring together two of the most opposing genres and beautifully meld them into one uniquely refreshing sound, has earned him the all of the achievements he deserves.
EDM Sauce checked out his San Diego stop of the Journey tour, where he performed alongside a representative from each group, Anjunabeats front liner, Grum and the dynamic dubstep duo, Pegboard Nerds that came together to create a whirlwind of a show.
Photos By:
Jonathan Nelson | www.eventvibe.com
Grum started the night off with some ethereal sounds, testing the trance waters with some melodic feels. With a dash of Anjunadeep and even some classic Above and Beyond hits that were played, it was a smooth start to the show by easing the crowd into some calmer and serene deep house meets trance sounds rather than full force into some heavy dubstep, which came next.
Pegboard Nerds came shortly after, throwing in an array of bass-y goodness with loads of both melodic and heavy dubstep. The two played passionately together, that allowed for high energy levels to soar quickly through the crowd, as this was the perfect pregame for the infusion of both dubstep and trance that was next on the menu.
Photos By:
Jonathan Nelson | www.eventvibe.com
Finally, the grand finale, which was the most anticipated artist of them all, came on with a bang – with an amazing production set of serene, naturistic backgrounds that would flawlessly change into a variety of lights and sounds taking the crowd away to an entirely new place. Seven Lions dropped many of his popular singles, including his new single with Illenium and Said the Sky,”Rush Over Me”. He would flawlessly transfer from heavier dubstep track to a more melodic sound and then even go all the way to the other end of the spectrum to some minimal techno beats. The surprises in sounds successfully kept the audiences on their feet and thirsty for the music the entire night.
The blend of two unusual genres was not only refreshing to hear from an audience point of view but also, was a constant refreshing dose of sound and feels that allowed the audience to break free from the norm of singular-genre shows. Seven Lions dynamically proves that the mixture of two unlikely genres can be molded together to create something that's unseen in the industry today. His boldness and vision for this kind of experience is what allows for Seven Lions to become the artist he is so well known for today, and we hope to see more of this in the future.
