While there were over 150 seemingly can’t-miss parties going on last week in South Beach for Miami Music Week, there was one that stood out above the rest for us – the Heldeep Pool Party at the Delano Beach Club on the Friday of Ultra. Armed with a stellar lineup including The Magician, Shiba San, Eli & Fur, Chocolate Puma, Eelke Kleijn, Jonas Aden, and Zonderling, the event was punctuated by an inaugural headlining performance by HI-LO, Oliver Heldens‘ bass house alter-ego. Though Heldens introduced HI-LO to the world nearly a year ago with the release of “Crank It Up” on Mad Decent, it wasn’t until earlier this month, at CRSSD Music Festival in San Diego, that he was ready to take the stage as HI-LO to deliver a live set, making his highly-anticipated performance at Miami Music Week all the better.
Shortly after The Magician and Shiba San got the crowd into a deep groove, HI-LO took the stage as the crowd roared in excitement. Taking on the persona of his alter-ego, Heldens quickly amped up the energy with a slew of his HI-LO hits, like “Ooh La La”, “Wappy Flirt”, and “Renegade Mastah”. For the next hour or so, Heldens treated us to a expertly-crafted set of deep, dance-y grooves sprinkled between dark, dirty, and energetic vibes.
Perhaps the most impressive part of Heldens’ debut performance as HI-LO at Miami Music Week was his ability to differentiate his alias from his Oliver Heldens moniker, while still commanding the same stage presence and energy, albeit in a different manner. This set at the Delano may have only been Oliver’s second performance as HI-LO, but he’s shown that the sky is the limit for both of his artist monikers, so keep an eye out for HI-LO in 2016.
