Re:Visit - Orchard Lounge Crushes Cervantes - Exclusive Convo With Defunk Prior To Next Week
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This weeks RE:Search ft. Orchard Lounge w/ PRUITT & more turned into a wild Wednesday night! As Denver reaches the peak of its summer months, everyone and their mother wants to catch some of the cool evening weather. The weekly staple knows as RE:Search Wednesday at Cervantes is a great night to enjoy the scheduled set of music indoors, along with the ability to escape outside for a breather or partake in the patio’s silent disco. The popularity of these hump day extravaganzas are no secret to Denverites, and this week with the legendary Orchard Lounge trio taking the stage, organizers had to use the full Masterpiece Ballroom as opposed to the smaller, “Other Side.”
Photos by Jordyn St. Vrain & Luke Bowe of SharedViews Media Group
The Ballroom is a much bigger space, which provided more room to spread out and dance! Jordan Polovina, the resident artist at RE:Search Wednesdays, kicked off the night with his incredible instrumentals, vocals, and special guest appearances. It is no wonder why you will always find Polovina rocking the stage every week from 9-10pm, his set never recycles itself. He is adept at improvisation and as a special treat this week, he performed a live looping set alongside Jessa Red. We highly recommend getting to the venue earlier rather than later, to catch some of Polovina’s hypnotic cello and secure a spot before tickets inevitably sell out or go up in price.
PRUITT took the stage after Polovina and like clockwork, the dance floor began to breathe as the ballroom flooded with bodies. His house-influenced style was met with incredible mash-ups that incorporated old-school songs in the underbelly of the track while layering on deep beats or his familiar disco based style. The energy was building as PRUITT’s set commenced, seemingly waking the crowd up from their midweek lull. Getting over that “hump” of the five day work week is another reason RE:Search has become such a hit for the Denver community. The huge disco ball hanging in the center of the ballroom, paired with the show of lasers from the stage, made the room sparkle and gave life to the lights as they cascaded over bodies. PRUITT describes himself as an artist producing “hypnotech” and “electro-funk”, which paired with the venue perfectly and created an aesthetic that resembled a disco rave.
As PRUITT came to an end, people excitedly anticipated the main act...Orchard Lounge. Their show at Cervantes marked the first of a four-part series of shows that will be held across Colorado. As the set began, people strapped in and took off on what would be a wild ride. Eclectic is one way to describe the way Spencer Lokken, Bethany Lokken, and Ben Silver work with each other’s styles during performances. The first half of the set was accomplished by the three artists taking turns at the head of the stage, transitions between them almost went unnoticed because they flowed into each other so effortlessly. Although their music is made with thoughtful intention, little work goes into production because these long-time friends feed off one another and are so in tune with one another’s musical direction. Their set included heavy psycho-techno, funk forward melodies, futuristic blends, and chill ambient riffs. The compilation of sounds was smooth and even, no sound drowning the other out. Orchard Lounge and their music spoke everyone’s language.
The beauty of RE:Search Wednesdays are that it is fueled by experimentation and originality, hence you will rarely hear the same thing twice because there is always a new theme and new group of artists to get behind it!
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If you didn’t make it out to this week’s show, don’t miss out on July 31st as RE:Search features Defunk of Westwood Records and just days before his set at Arise Music Festival! Next weeks show will incorporate more bass oriented music styles, a bit different than this weeks house focused artists. Defunk is a Canadian based DJ who has been garnering insane popularity as of late and will be headlining the show, performing alongside Memba and LYFTD (late set).
In preparation for his upcoming show, we spoke to Defunk about his love for the venue and the entirety of the Denver music scene. He has played Cervantes many times before, as well as The Fillmore and Red Rocks. Without giving any spoilers, Defunk may soon be announcing an exciting headline show in Denver, but ssshhhh you didn't hear it from us. Check out some of our convo with him here and enter HERE for a chance to win 3 tickets for the show!
SV: Having played Cervantes a handful of times, what is special or unique about it to you and keeps bringing you back?
Defunk: I love Cervantes because it has so much character and history. Tons of huge artists got their start there and it’s always a very energetic crowd that makes it out to the shows.
SV: You just released 6 tracks this year, tell me about those releases and how the response has been since then.
Defunk: I’ve had a number of singles released this year, which has been a change from the usual EP or album drop I’ve done in the past. Some of those singles are part of a bigger EP on Westwood Recordings, and some of the tracks were official remixes. I’ve really focused on trying to develop these songs as strong stand-alone singles that utilize catchy synths, choruses, and vocal work. The response has been amazing, some of the best comments and appreciation I’ve ever received.
SV: Any big shows or festivals you have been to or have yet to play this summer?
Defunk: Electric Forest was a huge bucket-list festival for me and it was wonderful! Extremely excited for another year at Arise Festival next week, then Shambala Festival. I’m also very excited to play some brand new areas with Equinox Festival, Quasar Festival and Brainquility in Florida!