seven lions

I only first heard the name Seven Lions a month ago when I agreed to work the up-coming (now past) The Journey Tour show at the Catalyst Club. In all honesty, I didn’t even hear his–aka Jeff Montalvo’s–music until I wrote that last article about him the day of the show. Shit, I was missing out. But of course, you all probably already know that .

The 28 year old producer and DJ is one of the most talented on the scene today. Much like his hometown of Santa Barbara, Montalvo blends a concoction of different influences into a sound that’s glaringly rare and undeniably catchy. Since he hit the scene in 2010, the DJ who once told YourEDM.com “I’m too weird for the mainstream,” has torched his way through the underground by drawing from all aspects of the Electronic arena: trance, house, bass, dubstep, trap and many, many more. He might not be mainstream in the sense of Drake or Kanye, but he’s a big raft on a different stream altogether. And after all, isn’t one of the attractive aspects of this culture the fact that it’s something entirely on it’s own, unattached to the shit shoved down our ears on the radio?

Anyway, I digress.

Needless to say, I was amped going to work last Tuesday (10/18/16). Even after I heard it was sold out–which usually means a shit show–I was still amped. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a shit show at all because–not surprisingly–everyone there was looking for a good time of dancing, tripping and fun.

Scottish musician, GRUM, opened the night with a striking set, followed up by Unlike Pluto. Danish and Norwegian duo, Pegboard Nerds, rounded up third with their poppy and chaotic, video game sounds. Even after hours of solid dancing, the 800 person crowd went nuts as Seven Lions took over the deck. For an hour and a half he flowed a solid set in his signature style and busted out many crowd pleasing remixes. The Journey Tour continues until Dec. 2, so treat yo self to a ticket if it passes through your town. After all, don’t you think you deserve it?

Sometimes a song is perfectly named and “Rush Over Me” by Seven Lions, Illenium, Said The Sky and featuring Haliene is just that: a rush of melodic beauty.

I find it an interesting track because normally you don’t see that many producers on one song. The old saying, “too many cooks spoils the soup” easily translates to music as the medium is filled with collaborations that look good on paper but make your ears want to commit hari kari (Metallica and Lou Reed, anyone?).

However, “Rush Over Me” is different.

It flows softly, building up to a powerful rush guided by the producers and captured with Haliene’s voice. Even the image chosen for the track encompasses the song nicely. It would be the perfect track to play at a fest under the Northern Lights.

Seven Lions–aka Jeff Montalvo from Santa Barbara–has built his career blending trance and dubstep for a personal style that resonates with listeners. His second EP, Days To Come made it to number 10 on the Billboard Electronic Chart and he was named “America’s Best DJ” in 2014 by DJ Times.

It makes sense that he would work well with Illenium (aka Nick Miller), a bass producer from Colorado who got his start after seeing once Santa Cruz DJ, Bassnectar, at Red Rocks in 2012. Earlier this year, Illenium dropped his debut album, Ashes, which received critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, Billboard and others.

While not much could be found about Said the Sky (aka Trevor Christensen), I was able to find out he is also a Colorado native (maybe that’s how Illenium knows him?). It seems he’s still coming up in the scene but has already released a grip of remixes and original tracks on his soundcloud.

Haliene is an amazingly powerful and seductive singer who made her break with Seven Lions, last year. Since then she has gone on to work with Illenium (separately from this track), Breathe Carolina and other award-winning artists. Definitely someone we will be seeing more of in the very, very near future. Especially if “Rush Over Me” is just a taste of her talent.

But wait, there’s more! If you’re in Santa Cruz, Seven Lions will be playing at the Catalyst Club TONIGHT for you to get your trance on. See you there!