For years, Ravenscoon has captivated our minds, bodies, and souls with his signature combination of heavy and melodic sonics. The intention behind his music sends listeners through thought-provoking and mind-bending soundscapes. After nonstop music releases and his headline tour, Ravenscoon is ready to bring his intention to a two-night, curated experience.
Denver’s two-night Ravenscoon headline is setting the bar for the bass capital. The experience will showcase his genre diversity, with one night of wave and one of rage. While backed with the best production Colorado has to offer, there’s no doubt this one will leave an indelible mark.
Khalila (Electric Hawk): Let’s get started with an overview of the two-night Denver curation. What do you have in store for us?!
Ravenscoon: It’s two nights, March 8th & 9th at the Ogden Theatre. The last time I played the Ogden was with Champagne Drip as a support act, so it’s great to come back and headline. Denver is perfect; they have a huge bass music scene, and I’ve really built myself there more than anywhere else. I’m finally at the point where I’m getting a bit more budget for some of the bigger shows, so I can really do something. I always wanted to do two nights. I’ve just always liked going to shows that are two-night runs. It gives the artists much more time to showcase their sound, range, and diversity.
I wanted to do a night that showcases the melodic side of myself but also the experimental side. I’ve been pushing wave music for years at this point; I started really getting into it around 2018. I feel like Denver’s getting a good amount of wave shows lately, too, and The Black Box has been really good about that. Some of my friends were at THE vibe.digital takeover, which is one of the big wave labels doing shows there. So it’s been really cool to see. For rage night, I have all sorts of dubstep and halftime that you’re just going balls to the wall for the whole time.
When I was coming up with the idea, I wanted to figure out a name for it. I feel that having some kind of brand around the event helps people understand what you’re trying to show them. Also, I had the ability and some budget to pick artists I’m really interested in for support. Before getting to the point I am now, you don’t always get a support budget.
“It’s going to be more than a show, especially for Denver. They’re so over-saturated with a bajillion shows happening all the time. Every part of the curation has thought behind it, and I’m sure people will recognize it. People deserve something that’ll be considered a memory.”
K: Amazing. Let’s break down each night’s lineup. Who do you have on support?
R: On wave night, we have w/out b2b Djedi. w/o has played support on basically all of my shows in Denver for the past three or four years. They opened for me at The Black Box, Cervantes Other Side, Boulder, and Fort Collins. Now they’re on this Ogden show with me. It’s really cool they continue to grow with me as I grow into bigger rooms. Djedi actually runs vibe.digital and is one of the few most important people who has pushed wave as a genre in the US.
I also have KTrek b2b REMNANT.exe. I’m a fan of both and feel their sounds go well together. They did a couple of b2b’s on my tour, which were amazing. I knew I had to run it back for Denver. If you’re not familiar with them, they’re both super diverse producers, almost like cyberpunk wave music.
brothel., whom I’ve become really good friends with, is somewhat on the edges of house and wave – really slow and haunting. He actually just did a tour last year and produces music outside of the brothel. project.
barnacle boi is direct support. I feel like he’s one of the bigger international wave acts. He has a pretty big following in Europe and the US. I’ve been playing his music for a long time, too. He blends a good vibe with like lil peep style rap beats. I really f*ck with it. He has a very unique sound that he’s pinned down.
For rage night, we have JETSET, who’s mostly soulful dnb. I think it’s important to include artists pushing drum and bass tastefully. A good DJ is really important and a great way to kick off the night. It’ll be fun and set a mood. I don’t want rage night to be nose to the grindstone the whole time. It’s important to set a vibe.
We also have Ian Snow. He and I have a collab on my album called “Out Cold.” He’s melodic and ethereal and combines styles I gravitate toward. Mindset follows and is kind of in the realm of Saka, Black Carl!, and VCTRE. He’s super talented; I’ve been a big fan of his music for a long time.
Artifakts, who I think was on hiatus for a couple of years, is obviously incredibly talented. He recently sold out Cervantes as well. He creates all of his own visuals where you can sync the video with the music. He’ll have the full LED wall to showcase what he’s been working on. In the past, he’s made stuff in the realm of Daily Bread. But recently, he’s been making all sorts of stuff.
I’m trying to schedule myself to play for two hours each night. I did two-hour sets for every single one of my tour stops. I’m going to debut an Ableton live set, where everything is synced perfectly to the visuals. Ableton can also send midi signals to control lights and lasers. I’ve been working on it for the past month with a program called Show Control. Bigger artists use something like this for shows that are entirely planned, but it’ll be a bit more improvisational than that. It’s a lot of preparation work, but it’s definitely going to be worth it. It’ll be a lot more intricate of a set, so I’m pretty excited.
K: Aside from the music, what can we expect production-wise?
R: Production-wise, I’m teaming up with a bunch of different people. I’m teaming up with Nexus Productions based in Denver. They’ve done things at the Ogden Theater, Mission Ballroom, and a bunch of ILLENIUM shows. I think we connected after they did the recent Champagne Drip at the Mission Ballroom.
Laser Monkey‘s also doing my show; he was on the Liquid Stranger Dimensions tour with me, which was actually the first bus tour that either of us did. We were on a bus together for seven weeks. He also did Cervantes’ Other Side headline with me a couple of years ago. So, we’ve built a really good relationship as we both have unlocked opportunities for each other. It’s been really cool. We’ve both blossomed.
I’m teaming up with Unify Mountain Soundz, who’s done a couple of festivals out in Colorado. They’re the main Hennessy Sound supplier for Colorado, bringing in as much sound as the venue would let us. It’s going to be loud. I’m going to provide the venue with earplugs for free at the entrance.
I remember Excision at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, a 3,000-cap venue. They created an insane amount of sound, not even comparable to what I’m doing this run. It was f*cking ridiculous; your whole face vibrates, which changes the experience. There are so many shows where you just hear the mids and highs, and you’re missing the whole show… It should be punching you in the chest.
The possibility of that happening at the Ogden is wild to me. The only other person who brought Hennessy there was Yheti. He brings Hennessy to a decent amount of his shows, too. It’s possible, but the thing is, it’s expensive for the artist, and it’s usually not included. I’m not going to be able to afford to do this everywhere I go, at least not where I’m at right now. It’s a lot of logistics and arrangements, but honestly, it’s worth it, especially for these shows.
I want to ensure the openers get proper sound, too. As an opener, a lot of the time, you get shafted on sound. Proper sound gives everyone the chance to rip their tunes on something that sounds really f*cking good. You know, Liquid Stranger did that for me and everybody he brings on his tours.
R: If there’s no bass, there’s less dancing and more talking. I feel like that’s been an issue at shows I’ve been to lately. The sound system will help minimize some of that. It’ll get people to really tune into what’s the main focus.
K: Have you envisioned something like this for a while, or did the opportunity just somewhat come up?
R: That’s a good question. Yes, I’ve always wanted to do stuff like this. I’m not interested in getting famous or the clout part of it. My goal for many years has been to get big enough to throw my own shows and have my own way of doing things. I wouldn’t say I’m controlling, but I have a specific vision of what I want to do and how I want it to be. I have a strong idea of what I like and what I want to do with my project.
But, yeah. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, and I think if it goes well, I’m going to do it bigger and better next time. I’d always want to do a 2,000 to 3,000 capacity, though, because it’s not overstated and way more intimate.
K: You just announced you’re releasing a mixtape. Is it somewhat teasing what you might be playing in Denver?
R: Yeah, I actually have it open on my other monitor here. I honestly got popular off the mixtapes that I used to do. Before I started producing, I was doing mixtapes, and it’s always been really fun for me. I guess it’s just been a while.
Last year, I released one or two mixes but had an 18-track album that took up half of the year. I didn’t release a lot of mixes because I was doing the In The Nest series, which I’m also bringing back in February.
Haven’t heard of Ravenscoon Radio? Check out the In The Nest series here!
R: There’s stuff that I want to put in them that I do want to save for these shows in Denver. This is more of a light-hearted mix because my album felt so serious. You know, it’s like ‘Periphery,’ with soul, a lot of intention, and thoughtfulness. I’m not saying the new mix isn’t. It’s “That’s So Raven.” but with me instead of Raven on the cover art. I wanted to do something a little bit more playful.
Mixing will be a little bit less serious to me if that makes sense. For this one, I’m down to mash up whatever the f*ck. I’m going to mix faster because sometimes, my transitions are more drawn out and thoughtful. It’s like something you would listen to in the gym, during pre-game, or when driving.
Back to your question, though. Some stuff in it will be played in Denver, and the mix will come out before then. So, it’ll give people a little idea of what I’m working on.
K: To conclude things, is there anything else for 2024 that you’re anticipating?
R: I have so much music that I’m working on. But it’s all about 80% there. I probably have 10 or 15 unreleased tracks, which are more collabs than originals.
I have a FLOZONE collab that we’ve worked on for about two years. We ended up writing two versions of the same song. One is faster than the other with different arrangements. But the sounds are similar, so we’ll release one as a VIP.
Also, I’m working on remixing my album right now. It’s proven pretty difficult, to be honest. But we have about fifteen people cooking remixes right now.
I’m going to work on a record. I don’t know if it’ll be an album, but there are about six to ten songs for release, maybe this fall. That’ll be more like a body of work. Plus, I’m hoping to release some of my mashups and edits since people have been requesting those on SoundCloud.
The focus is to play a bunch of festivals and shows. I’m doing support on four or five Liquid Stranger tour stops and playing support for Ganja White Night in Las Vegas. I have about five festivals lined up, maybe more. Only two of them have been announced so far, though, so keep your eyes peeled for more announcements soon.
K: Well, I know we’re very excited to see you at some of our favorite places this year.
I wanted to end this with a few words. Your intention behind everything is insane, plus your passion is just something that you don’t see very often.
R: I appreciate that. It makes me happy that passion is recognized because it’s key. In general, it’s key to surround yourself with passionate people.
“I honestly feel, there’s no longevity in music unless you’re passionate about it; there has to be that driving force.”
With passion and intention as moving forces, Ravenscoon is ready to show fans the next level of his career. From Laser Monkey beams to the vibrating Hennessy sound system, the two-night journey is sure to immerse us in audio-visual depths.
Join us at the Ogden Theater on March 8th & 9th for Ravenscoon’s two-night curation. Grab your tickets to immersive in wave or energize with rage, and witness this game-changing experience for yourself.
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