By Arielle Antonio, contributor
Electronic dance music is one of the most popular genres in music with festivals like TomorrowWorld, Electric Daisy Carnival, and the increase of EDM acts at Coachella. When going to those concert festivals, one expects to find the usual LED visuals and light shows along with the synthesizers and laptops. There’s internal organ massaging bass drops mixed in with various music samples than spans hip-hop and pop genres. But what if someone threw in a set of live drums and jazzy saxophone in the mix? What if Kenny G decided to do a jam session with Deadmau5?
You would then have Big Gigantic, a Boulder-based EDM duo that performs with a live saxophone and drums. Their music is a blend of not just the usual suspects like dubstep and hip-hop, but also jazz reminiscent of the jam bands of old. Initially, the idea sounds a bit strange if you haven’t heard it before. However, Dominic Lalli’s saxophone and Jeremy Salken’s drums enrich the electronically generated music with a human element, giving it that much more attitude and depth. This isn’t your grandpa’s jazz, but even he would likely appreciate Big Gigantic’s style.
The Masquerade Music Park was packed Halloween night with people of all ages dancing and throwing their fists in the air to each song they performed. Lalli on the saxophone was superb as he also manned the laptop, while Salken was a down-right beast on the drums beside him. There’s no shortage of passion in these guys, no shortage of originality. It showed on the stage as they played their hearts out for the hundreds of fans. The mix of the old school with the new was excellent, providing a refreshing yet familiar sound. There was some Ghostbusters in there for Halloween, House of Pain’s “Jump Around” — all with some serious saxophone solos.
Everytime the music paused, the flashing LED lights and screens dimmed and flashed back to life with vividly colored visuals at the drop of the bass. The visual displays with the music are very much a part of the sensory experience for the audience as well. During “Rise and Shine”, from their “Nocturnal” album, Big Gigantic represented their home of Colorado with the state’s flag all over the screens. Their new song, “Blue Dreams”, featured popular clips and animated gifs from YouTube in vintage television sets. Colored lights flashed and oscillated into the crowd through hazy smoke to create an energetic, yet surreal atmosphere not unlike magic.
Hands were in the air, heads bobbed, bodies bounced. The atmosphere was frenetic and electrifying throughout the entire two hour set without a single lull in the mood. For some, it might have been the first time they were able to enjoy something with some jazz in it or the first time they could enjoy live electronica. It’s not often that a band can offer something new to two different worlds and cross generations. Big Gigantic brings that something new to the EDM table, taking the genre to the next level in this writer’s opinion, and it’s a beautiful thing.