Taking us where many Electronic Dance Music events don’t typically go, Cityfox Live Festival 2020 in New York City’s Avant Gardner was astounding and left you feeling energized, inspired and transformed. Spoiled for choice, Cityfox Live Festival 2020 provided three stages including a relaxing ambient lounge that gave attendees everything they would want in a live music festival and more.
Setting foot into Avant Gardner in Brooklyn, New York right before the start of Cityfox Live Festival 2020, I entered a cacophony of sound checks and feel-good vibes that can only be described as celebratory. We’ve been seeing live Electronic Dance Music become more pervasive in many events and the decision for Cityfox to feature some of the most talented and innovative live music artists is no exception. As a lover of this genre, I was floored by the overall presentation of the atmosphere and sounds that Cityfox Live Festival 2020 created for all of us to enjoy.
I started out in the Ambient Lounge located at the entrance of the event. It was clearly genius to locate the Ambient stage where it eased you into the live music experience with its soothing tones and a delightful feeling of elation, meditation, and togetherness. I was drawn to it and thrilled that it was presented in a respectful fashion that reflected the peaceful and explorative emotions you get when listening to live Ambient music selections. One of the openers was New York’s own veteran DJ and music producer Abe Duque. Duque’s decades-long career is filled with underground sounds and music experimentation making him the perfect choice to start the night. His limitless versatility would be the benchmark for many performances to come. Overall, the quality of the music here reminded me of the soundtrack from 2001: A Space Odyssey with its temperative rolls, meaningful undertones of focus and direction while at the same time reflecting on the everchanging world around us.
Tonight would be a night of many firsts as I headed to Kings Hall to see Beartrax. This accomplished musician has left no stone unturned in his career playing with a variety of instruments in multiple styles from Orchestras to Metal bands. Knowing this beforehand, I was thrilled to be seeing this maestro play his electric violin along with his throbbing electronic beats. His entire performance was a sight to be seen as he displayed his agility on the violin capturing a moment of pure serenity. The Lost Circus stage had the amazing combination of Alice Iguchi featuring Jeremy Sisselman Music. The mesmerizing collaboration proved fruitful as Sisselman was stirred by the crowd and made his way onto the dance floor, making eye contact with us as he poured his musical emotions inspired by Rock, Blues, Jazz and Funk into his electric guitar complimenting the Electronic Dance Music tunes from Iguchi.
The caliber of performances at this show was like no other I had seen before. Ray Zuniga (Touch of Class Records) and NIKITA played their electronic songs while Greg Paulus performed on the trumpet. Their set at the Great Hall took my breath away with their compelling performance accompanied by Paulus’ hypnotic skills on the horn.
If Tim Engelhardt‘s impressive modular synth set up and already impressive musical accomplishments weren’t enough to get you interested, then seeing him live would surely make you a fan. This talented music producer from Cologne presented a set that embodied the very best of live music production while reflecting the true essence of his vision of a subtle and cohesive sound that delivers more and more.
Hearing Gleix for the first time play his live Ambient, Downtempo music for an extended three hour set got me wondering if I needed to listen to more music in this genre. I found myself in a satisfying meditative state that isn’t easy for me to reach in silence. I had to acknowledge the role that this Ambient lounge was playing in the overall feeling of the event. This thought-provoking experience didn’t just balance the event, it grounded it in a way that is not common for live electronic events which made it very Zen.
Seth Schwarz is a classically trained violin player that uses multiple influences to create his always-evolving music. Another artist who looks forward to interacting with the crowd Schwarz manages to capture the moment and reinvent the music experience looping his electronic beats and playing his heartfelt violin with a world beat feel. His touch on the strings lulled the crowd to his side and captured a passionate and deep feeling sequence of time that was magical.
Kate Simko closed out the Lost Circus Stage. Simko was stunning with her set with gently rocked synth plays reflecting her unique style and revealing the beauty in her work. As a classically trained pianist, we were treated to her new track “Sexualized Image” from a project she is working on now.
Mathew Jonson B2B Sebastian Mullaert B2B The Mole closing set was mindblowing! These well-known and well-accomplished artists combined their talents to create a unique performance that reflects each artist’s strengths and complimented one another perfectly. This orchestrated collaboration was another example of how the Cityfox Live Festival 2020 opened the door for an artist’s expression with no limits.
Cityfox Live Festival 2020 gave us all a sample of using electronic instruments and classical instruments at the same time and how magic can be created when they are brought together in perfect harmony.
*Featured Image of Seth Schwarz Via Chris Lavado*
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[…] another area that we’re going to see increasing in representation. I believe this is CityFox’s second year doing a live event and you as a veteran already with your own curation of live events […]