One DJ. Two sets. Two ski mask changes. Countless genres. And that just describes Malaa’s time on stage.
On Oct. 10, at EDM hotspot venue Warehouse 215, Phoenix Warehouse Project and Relentless Beats hosted its second of three (and first of the weekend) clockwise-360-degree performance series, an immersive experience in which the audience fully encapsulates the stage, VIP in the back. The show–Malaa vs. Alter Ego–is a concept show where Malaa presents not only his trademark sound but also his Alter Ego, which has a harder, fiercer energy filled with D’n’B and hard techno fury.
Malaa made a dramatic entrance onto the stage from the crowd which immediately caused the glare of dozens of cell phone flashlights to go in the air. He launched his set with an energetic bass-house track. From there, the DJ didn’t stay confined in a box. Booming hard techno, tech-house hits, and even bursts of melodic dubstep and teases of the drum and bass to come were delivered in his hour long set. The unpredictable energy of the set perfectly matched his mysterious persona. And the bow to tie it all together was Malaa’s entourage: a handful of girls in hot pink ski masks.
The Alter Ego set began earlier than anticipated–though that’s easy to do when it’s the same act in a different-color ski mask. In spite of the underwhelming costume change, the beginning of this set was a dramatic transition from Malaa’s last bunch of tech-house tracks to the electrifying drum and bass of a Chase & Status song. While Malaa’s set was groovable and kept you on your toes, Alter Ego focused on being as aggressively danceable as possible. From trap to dubstep to drum and bass, all with blaring bass and bright, flashing, red lights, this set may have seen some attendees beginning to trickle out early, but the remainder were dancing the hardest they had all night.
The energy may have ended with Malaa, but it certainly wasn’t how it began. Phoenix DJ Hot Sauce opened the night to a sparse crowd that slowly but surely grew in size. Meanwhile, the Grotto and Vestibule stages were alive with excitement, movement and positive energy with many attendees dancing, headbanging, and even casually interacting with the DJs.
Blossom’s aesthetic– her bright pink hair and flowy clothing–matches the vibe of her music perfectly. The DJ delivered an hour of euphoric, vocal-filled drum and bass, throwing in occasional harder hits with dubstep influence. The crowd was dancing hard and filled with energy, feeding off Blossom’s infectious vibe. Blossom had the crowd singing along to remixes of familiar favorites like “Sugar” and “Show Me Love,” then throwing down intense dance moves in the middle of her set as the sound became bold and electrifying with intense lighting to match. The DJ bounced back easily between aggressive drops and melodic tunes, ending on a high energy note. She even introduced a burst of hard techno in the middle of her set.
Dark Heart represented well the later-half of Malaa’s set, with more thematic and darker techno and tech-house tracks. Dark Heart’s set told a story, with songs that seemed to flow right into another and the use of subtle, darker colors to create a time-warping, immersive vibe, ending the show with a spectacular spiral of lights.
“Phoenix was the perfect stop for the first leg of this tour,” Dark Heart shared with Downtown Devil. “I always feel I can be experimental and test new music here.”
With a wide range of genres explored, Malaa’s headlining show brought in a decent crowd of attendees and created excitement for Kayzo’s headlining show the very next day.
