PHOTO GALLERY: Gramatik Live in Boston

Gramatik
House of Blues | Boston, MA
9/17/2015

A dubstep resurrection of funk and soul over haunted, minimalistic beats

Paralyzed by the stage-light swagger of Gramatik’s setup, three young dudes in banana suits near the front of the stage just kind of swayed back and forth hypnotically. The DJ and his guitarist stood inside a raised platform surrounded by iris-crushing LED screens that begin to light up slowly as he starts his set, with stage lights shining toward the crowd and performers from all possible directions.

Gramatik’s set was largely composed of tunes from his most recent album The Age of Reason, which features infectious dance grooves with stabs of funk and soul underlining simple beats haunted by minimalistic moments of deep bass. Gramatik’s horn and electric-guitar-infused rhythms and soul-scrambling vocal samples combine effortlessly against a backdrop of dubstep and lucid drum patterns.

It could be said that Gramatik’s music was made for today’s post-Napster high-as-fuck generation – stripped down beats offered free to the public, presented alongside pretty lights, with notes of dubstep, funk, and soul. It’s everything that young festie ragers crave, and everything that old ones need in order to admit that they, too, enjoy a little dubstep from time to time.

One favorite from Gramatik’s performance was off his new record. “Bluestep”, led by a fierce electric guitar rhythm featuring flits of harmonica and breakdowns chock full of grinding bass, set the entire venue aflame with dance.

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