On January 31st 2024 San Holo touched down in Columbia, South Carolina to bring his "Existential Dance Music Tour" to The Senate along with Droeloe & OddKidOut. Aside from knowing it was an EDM tour, I initially didn't really know what to expect going into this one. Frankly, I enjoy the music but it just isn't my 'everyday go-to bag' of music overall. That said, this showing was incredibly enjoyable. I have heard of San Holo before, but wasn't familiar with his discography before the show. I have friends who are really into the genre and told me this was a tour date that I shouldn't miss. They weren't wrong. Lets dive in.
OddKidOut
Philly native & multi-instrumentalist OddKidOut opened up the night with his eclectic live finger-drumming focused set. This was my favorite opening electronic set of a non-festival that i've experienced. I was not expecting it to be that good, but it was that good. Aside from showcasing his immaculate ability to puppeteer his controller(as if it was an extension of his own body) his display of a wide-sonic array of multiple genres was truly tantalizing. His aesthetic perfectly complements the type of music he plays & he clearly knows how to work an audience. As the only performer of the night to not bring out a 'conventional' instrument to play live, the quality of his live midi drumming more than made up for it. The name is also fitting, as i've heard other music that is similar, but this live performance absolutely makes OddKidOut stand apart in a sea of electronic music creators. I can absolutely see his trajectory leaning towards higher festival slots, and to build a fanbase that would support a headlining tour. Currently sitting right around 275k monthly listeners on Spotify, I can easily see these numbers at least doubling within the next year or so with proper promotion and continuing to capitalize on opportunities to secure larger acts within the same general soundscape's fanbase, such as this one.
Droeloe
Ok, imma be real I was not expecting this dude to pull out a horn instrument. It was really vibey though. Surprisingly, I had not heard of Droeloe or heard any of his music before the show. After some research & discovering he has collaborations with Zeds Dead, remixes with Charlie Puth & more, I did some crowd questioning. When interviewing crowds of tours, the ususal response to "who did you come here to see tonight?" is whoever the headliner is. When multiple groups of concertgoers expressed that they came out for Droeloe, I knew I had to do some additional digging as to why I havent heard of him yet. The only viable conclusion is that i've been living under a rock. Sitting right underneath 1 million Spotify monthly listeners, its clear that Droeloe has found his audience, and captured the attention of not only a plethora of people across the world, but secured a 'more-than-healthy' level fanbase. Whats even more impressive is the extensive catalog of music released, and even after splitting with a former visual-collaborator (effectively turning Droeloe into a solo-project) this split happened over 3 years ago and is clearly not slowing Vincent down in any way, shape or form; as exemplified by securing the direct support slot on this tour. Definitely more sonically tame of a set than OddKidOut, the live instrumentation performance made up for any lack of gut wrenching growls or excessively hardstyle wubs. Great performance, if Droeloe ever comes back to the area, i'm there, and so should you be.
San Holo
Releasing his 3rd studio album "Existential Dance Music" in autumn of 2023, San Holo has showcased immaculate growth & success in this project. Touring the album across the country, the record has already amassed millions of streams, to no surprise of any listener. As a follow up to previous projects boasting features from international rock legends in Weezer, to 'midwest-emo' genre founders in powerhouse band American Football, to multi-genre artist Elohim; would San Holo be able to top his previous body of work with less well known artists attached? Ten thousand percent, yes! This is perfectly exemplified in the track 'ALL THE HIGHS.' This is absolutely not the "in your face wubs" type of electronic music, rather, a showcase of authentic 'feel good' music that is palatable to a much larger audience.
The mix of live guitar & synths throughout the live performance is simply another variable of why the crowd was so captivated by this performance. Shredding fuzzy and clean tones on his guitar, also showcased his proficiency in multiple instruments.
If you get the opportunity to see San Holo, do not miss it. It was a genuinely fun experience, even for those not exactly the biggest electronic music fans in the world, Holo puts on a performance enjoyable by all true lovers of multi-genre music, multi-instrumental music, and an overall good time. Chill vibes, but with the energy of feel-good pop music. If the thought of "I want to explore more electronic music but I don't know where to start" I highly recommend diving into Holo's 'Existential Dance Music.'
Check out San Holo dates here & let us know what you think of the projects and artists discussed above!
All words & photos: @SAUCEWITHSPOONS
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