Glitch-hop is a genre entirely outside the normal bounds of electronic music. Unlike house or a lot of trance, there’s no “build-drop-build-drop” formula to follow. While it shares some elements with dubstep, it’s not completely centered around a need to melt your face off with hard bass. When you look at all the genres out there, it’s clear that EDM is about the music of the future. Glitch-hop on the other hand focuses on bridging the disconnect between the last 60 years of music and today.
When you think about artists that do this the best, Big Gigantic comes to mind immediately. With their live drums and sultry saxophone, they rolled into Seattle in front of a small but enthusiastic crowd that were treated to a performance like no other.
When you go to a show like Big Gigantic’s, you aren’t going to hear top 40 hits and you’re not going to be belting out “Clarity” at the top of your lungs. Rather, the Showbox Sodo paid witness to a duo with an unmatched energy, as well as an appreciation for the music of the past unparalleled by any genre.
Just an hour before showtime at the Showbox, the dance floor was practically empty, a sight not often seen at a Seattle show. The moment Big Gigantic took the stage, everything changed. The drums kicked in, the sax blared throughout room, and the bass shook the walls. While it wasn’t wall-to-wall packed, it was just enough room to dance around and not have to worry about elbowing an unwitting concertgoer in the head. With an intimate stage presence in a larger venue, the Colorado duo put on a clinic in glitch-hop, bringing the past to light in front of an enthralled audience.
Big Gigantic bringing the sax and drums at the Showbox Sodo (Photo credit: Angelo Carioso)
Throughout the night, Big Gigantic made a point of addressing the crowd as their “Seattle family.” To be a fan of their music, you don’t have be a part of an elite club that outsiders simply “wouldn’t understand.” It’s a family that’s neither exclusive nor private. What it’s composed of is a loving crowd with a shared interest in having a good time. It’s people whose appreciation for music runs deep, branching out into every genre, be it jazz, soul, R&B, funk, or classical. Most importantly, it’s a family whose only demand of you is keeping an open mind. After closing out the night with their remix of Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us,” Big Gigantic could sleep well knowing that the collective minds of Seattle were officially opened.
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