Acclaim All Around

In the groups I’ve met at festivals, there’s been a commonality that I’ve noticed among their opinions as of late. It’s not about how great Electric Forest is, we know that. It’s related to an artist that everyone agrees is awesome, however, until this summer, when I got my first real taste of festival culture, I hadn’t heard of her. Her name is CloZee.

The show was at The Loft at Skyway on a Thursday, but you’d think it was a summer Saturday night with the sheer amount of people and buzz in the crowd. I entered right before IHF took the stage, another artist I would recommend if you’re into chill trap similar to CloZee.

IHF stands for Imagined Herbal Flows, I think the name tells you what kind of music it is. I’d give it a listen, “Clouds” is a particular stand out for me, it really captures his overall vibe and is an all-around excellent track with a strong bass, sweeping and fading melodies, and catchy percussion beats.

Room Full of Super Fans

CloZee was up next, and from the get-go, her set started off strong and never let up. From her music on Spotify, I was expecting a more mellowed-out set than the typical electronic music I was used to. To an extent, this was exactly that, except my initial impression was missing two key elements that brought the music to the next level. Bass & Lights. You can’t get that at home with speakers or headphones.

By bass, I meant the hard-hitting bass that you can feel through your entire body, not just your headphones. When you add this to the almost ethereal treble lines of her music, it’s something you can completely get lost in. The vibe from the crowd never let up at all from start to finish. Everyone was captivated. It kind of reminded me of a BROCKHAMPTON show I attended earlier this year. It seemed like I was in a crowd of super fans, everyone was screaming at the top of their lungs with the passing of each track.

The light show was also excellent. Featuring a full-fledged laser system, your typical dazzling lights and what I can only describe as tree trunks with light coming out of them. It added a lot to the music, however mostly for only for the folks in front, the lasers, unfortunately, were just a little too high up on stage, so they got caught up in the duct work of the loft after 50 or so feet.

Also, this is probably only a photographers complaint, but CloZee wasn’t illuminated, so it was quite hard to see her beyond the light show, but maybe that was the point, let the music do the talking.

“This Slaps”

It was an amazing set; CloZee played almost her entire discography, as it is still growing. This included her most famous song “Koto” as well as “Secret Place.” Another notable song was “Inner Peace” which, with some amps and bass punches hard. She also played some classic electronic hits, like “Loud Pipes” by Ratatat and “Ghostwriter” by RJD2. She closed out the set with an encore using the latter.

After the show was done, the crowd was still chanting for more, and I wasn’t surprised. I wanted to hear more as well, the hour and a half on stage breezed by. I officially understood the fandom from all the festival circles I ran in. CloZee is the real deal. Her music is unique, fun and it hits hard. It’s definitely something I’d love to hear again.

It’s a whole different ball game live, something you can’t say for a lot of artists. Her live performance brings a different dimension to her music. The visceral hard hitting bass from an amp is the missing link when you’re listening at home. Listening at home simply does not do CloZee justice.

P.S. to the obnoxious fan in front. I get you’re enjoying the show and you like CloZee, but you’re not doing anyone favors chucking your cell phone at CloZee’s feet to take your picture. That’s just rude as hell. Security would have kicked you out if the set wasn’t completely done. You’re lucky that CloZee was nice enough to actually take your picture with it, I wouldn’t have. Who throws a phone, honestly?