Oct 8, 2016 - For Beatroute BC. Review by Karolina Kapusta.
VANCOUVER — Every year at the beginning of October, Vancouver electronic music fans come together to celebrate the birthday of local concert and events company Blueprint. Well known for producing some of the city’s biggest EDM concerts including Contact and Fvded in the Park, this Thanksgiving long weekend was no exception.
As one of the memorable artists on the birthday lineup this year, Rezz appeared on stage in her signature swirling LED goggles ready to throw down. A 21-year-old Canadian who also goes by Isabelle Rezazadeh, Rezz has only been producing for less than three years. Already signed to Deadmau5’s label mau5trap, her deep and mechanical clangor has scored her a title as the “Female Gesaffelstein.” Playing a variety of her hypnotic bass-heavy tracks with a little intermission from Stranger Things, she ended the set just like she began it, with a grimy blast of dubstep and hefty bass.
Up next was What So Not, a producer hailing from the land down under. Formerly a project between melodic trap producers Flume and Emoh Instead, Flume decided to leave the group in 2015 to focus on his own solo project. Opening his set with new discordant down-tempo tracks, What So Not eventually transitioned to higher energy selections including fan favorite, “High You Are.” In the end, he asked the crowd to grab someone special and hoist them onto their shoulders as he played his symphonious remix of Rufus Du Sol’s progressive track “Innerbloom,” hitting everyone in the feels.
A light and funky set by GRiZ followed next with a distinctive mix of live saxophone, electric guitar, and dubstep. Also known as Grant Kwiecinski, the Michigan DJ and electronic music producer is best known for his future-funk tinged tracks. Mixing in both 90s funk and hip hop to show off his dualistic style, the talented DJ conducted the party like a pro.
RL Grime came on next with a grand opening that led into his remix of “Bitches Love Sosa” which had the entire audience trapping out from the start. While the Los Angeles based producer, known also as Henry Steinway, has played Vancouver countless times, he always seems to consistently delivers faultless, heavy sets of trap, bass, grime, and hip hop.
Halfway through the set, he played the same down-tempo Rufus Du Sol song as What So Not had closed with, but instead dropped it into his hardcore “Tell Me” track. Lighting up the Pacific Coliseum one more time, he played a down-tempo remix of La Roux’s “The Kill” that pacified the audience with her hypnotic vocals before transitioning into a solid, signature-horned drop of Flux Pavilion’s “I Can’t Stop.”
Closing out the night with a classic Dillon Francis entrance, the producer came on stage right before midnight and announced himself with the opening to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” before mixing into Calvin Harris’ “This is What you Came For.”
The American DJ and producer, much like his social media presence, delivers fun-loving, unpredictable and goofy sets spanning trap, dubstep and moombahcore. It’s no wonder so many attendants tried to sneak in piñatas (a Dillon Francis visual staple) for his set, resulting in a stack of confiscated sad papier-mâché donkeys at the entrance of the stadium. Playing everything from “The Macarena” and “We Want Some Pu**y” to Sam Smith and Drake to his own indie-dance originals, Dillon Francis really is the embodiment of a party and was a perfect closing gift for Blueprint Events’ 19th birthday.
