Gramatik is Keeping the Electro Blues Alive & Well on the Re:Coil Tour
Gramatik is about a week into his North American Re:Coil Tour, in support his EP the same name that he released in October. EDMTunes was on hand for Gramatik’s show on Saturday at Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and judging by the performance he put on, it’s safe to say this guy has got his live performance down to a science. Joined on stage by his frequent touring guitarist Adam Stehr, the duo threw down a set that was equal parts electro, dub and glitch, complemented by Stehr’s magnificent blues influenced guitar. Having already seen Gramatik a few times, the improvement from set to set is noticeable, and Gramatik is definitely at the top his game, Stehr being a big part that as well.
The evening kicked f with an outstanding set from Gramatik’s most recent Lowtemp Music signee, trumpet player and producer Balkan Bump. Balkan Bump, born Will Magid, studied Ethnomusicology—the study music different cultures—and that educational influence certainly showed throughout his set. Additionally, he is an incredibly fundamentally sound trumpet player, delivering crisp trumpet solos from start to finish. Balkan Bump has an EP set to release on Lowtemp any day now, and we are eager to hear what Magid’s first body work under the Balkan Bump moniker will sound like. He has already dropped the first single from the EP, “,” and was featured on “Aymo” from Re:Coil Pt. 1. Balkan Bump was followed by Haywyre, who is an absolute ace on the keyboard. Playing on a keyboard angled toward the audience, the crowd could see exactly what Haywyre was laying down at all times. His hour long set was mostly a pop & disco leaning affair, and definitely got everyone’s dancing muscles going.
The final two hours belonged to Gramatik, and boy did he deliver. He began his set with one his latest releases “Future Crypto” f Re:Coil Pt. 1, and played each the tracks from the new EP at some point during the evening. Gramatik brought out Balkan Bump to perform live horn segments numerous times, including to perform “Aymo“, as well as one the grooviest jams Gramatik’s career “Hit That Jive,” GRiZ & Big Gigantic’s “Good Times Roll,” and Grizmatik’s “As We Proceed.” Stehr was a highlight throughout the evening; even on tunes that originally had little to no guitar elements, Stehr managed to incorporate something into the mix. Some his highlights included an epic rendition Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile,” his true heavy medal additions to Herobust’s “” and his blistering performance Gramatik’s upcoming collaboration with Gary Clarke Jr. and Tom Morello, “Can’t Stop the Bleeding;” you can see their debut the upcoming collaboration performed at Red Rocks below.
Gramatik still has a good majority the North American tour remaining, so if you know what’s good for you, try and catch him while you still can. You can take a look at the rest the tour dates and ticket prices .
