What a time to be a G Jones fan. This past weekend, the experimental bass producer came to Colorado to celebrate the release of his new album, Paths.
The weekend culminated with the premiere of the artist’s new live show at Red Rocks, but first G Jones kicked off his two-day Colorado run with a DJ set at the Ogden Theatre. The pre-party also included sets from Ellem, Lord Genmu, Sayer and Mala.
The Openers
As soon as Ellem took to the stage, the crowd erupted into a massive dance party. With a diverse selection of tracks that included everything from French house to midtempo bass and even hyperpop, the DJ kept the crowd guessing as to what would come next. Accompanied by nostalgic anime and video game visuals, the set’s upbeat charm provided a delightful launch to the night.
Up next was rising bass artist Lord Genmu (real name Marc Vela). 2023 has been monumental for the producer, who released his debut album Sigils earlier this year. For this set, he premiered a new set of visuals. The imagery paired perfectly with the hard-hitting sound design and beats.
Afterwards, Sayer continued the show with his signature bass sound. The producer kept the audience mesmerized as he navigated through a dark sonic landscape that explored the bounds of experimental bass music.
Providing direct support was the dubstep pioneer Mala (aka Mark Lawrence). This was Mala’s first of two sets of the weekend; the second was as part of Digital Mystikz at Red Rocks. The producer captivated the crowd with deep sub bass and heavy vibrations that only a dubstep legend could provide.
IllusoryOS
The concept of IllusoryOS shows was developed by Greg Jones (aka G Jones) in between his debut and sophomore albums. Differing from his album-specific live shows, these DJ sets provide an audiovisual experience in which Jones plays a selection of original music, unreleased tracks, and custom edits.
IllusoryOS started as a series of internet livestreams, then a curated New Year’s Eve event, and eventually a full-blown tour. As a precursor to the inaugural Paths performance, Jones treated Denver fans to an IllusoryOS DJ set at the Ogden Theatre.
A few days before the show, the producer tweeted that this set would be “unhinged.” He was not lying. From start to finish, the producer’s unique blend of glitch, IDM, trap, and every other type of experimental bass shook the sold-out Ogden to its core. The dazzling display of psychedelic black-and-white visuals provided the eye candy to match.
The song selection included tracks from Jones’ pre-Paths discography. He also premiered some unreleased IDs from EPROM, Space Laces, and Flying Lotus. Noticeably, tracks from the new album were not part of the set. This performance served not only as a palette cleanser for the upcoming tour, but as a victory lap and celebration of Jones’ career up to this point.
The Pre-Party
Colorado G Jones fans were very lucky this weekend. His pre-party DJ set at the Ogden was only the beginning. We can’t wait to see how the Paths era unfolds and what the future holds for the talented producer!
Photos by Kyle Weiss
