Flosstradamus Rattles the Oasis

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Pointing out the nuance in an EDM DJ set is sometimes like explaining which color of M&Ms you believe tastes best. The DJs that can make you discover their differences, though, are the ones that stand out. On Friday night, veteran producer and DJ Flosstradamus did just that. 

As the sun was setting over the Summerfest grounds, a crowd was piling in for the 8 p.m. set from the Chicago-based artist, which is now reduced to a solo act after a 2016 split with musical partner JK2. In the decade prior to that split, however, Flosstradamus were known for being one of the originators of bringing trap music from hip hop into the electronic music world, and Friday's set reminded you of that. Perched atop the Oasis riser that hosted Steve Aoki the night before, Flosstradamus took things in his own direction, incorporating elements of dubstep, house, drum and bass and more into 90 minutes of near non-stop music. Along the way, he would sample everything from one-hit-wonder rapper OG Maco to the Crazy Frog version of Harold Faltermeyer's "Axel F" popularized in the movie Beverly Hills Cop, and it would all land with an Oasis crowd that skewed heavily on the younger side of things. At over a decade into EDM, Flosstradamus is an expert at moving crowds at this point, and move they most certainly did. 

The DJ's specialty, however, is all things heavy bass. No matter where Flosstradamus went musically, there was a tried-and-true bass drop accompanied by steam cannons that followed. Thursday night could get especially heavy at times, often including a fake out, where he would tease a big bass drop, only to continue building the beat, only for an even heavier sounding drop to come in. Fans were headbanging along at the rails, and those that couldn't were screaming and moving with every twist and turn off the near-constant beat. 

While trap as a subgenre is really only the better part of 15 years old, there were some elements of Friday night where Flosstradamus showed signs of the early days of his career. Remixes of drill rappers like Chicago's own Chief Keef and Shouse's "All I Need" drew especially loud reactions from the crowd, and while tracks that are five years from their release might not be considered old anywhere else, consider that it might have been a quarter of the average Oasis fan's age on Friday. The big remixes felt just a touch removed from the contemporary, but also played like a playlist of what a greatest hits of trap compilation might sound like. Ever the master of his craft though, nothing stayed in the mix for longer than a minute, navigating from one remix to another with ease. 

While Dillion Francis would go on to headline the Miller Lite Oasis later that night, Flosstradamus did the work that the front half of a double-headlining bill needs to; bringing the crowd up and keeping them there. Only a few minutes separated one DJ from the next, and for good reason, as Flosstradamus exited the stage on Friday night with the Oasis crowd absolutely buzzing.