Legendary Denver Club Night The Solution Has Found A New Home

November 22, 2018

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HUUUUUUUUUGE NEWS!!! The Solution w/DJ Low Key & Lazy Eyez is moving the party for the first time in half a decade! After a fantastic run at The Meadowlark (starting on 12/15/2011, check the timeline below), the party is off to greener pastures in Capitol Hill at the award-winning Black Box (314 E 13th Avenue, basically 13th Ave & Grant). It’s a bittersweet move after so many classic memories over the years, but we’re super excited about the possibilities of upgrading to The Black Box’s renowned sound system, adding a more flexible setup for more out of town and local guests, featuring drink specials again, having options to live stream the party online, teaming up with a weekly food truck (The Jerk Truck, of Goodness fame) & lots more.

We’d also be lying if we said we weren’t excited to get away from the ‘New Denver’ crowds of randoms that have take over the "RiNo" neighborhood and turned off a lot of our friends and party people that make up core of party. When we initially moved the party to The Meadowlark, we loved that it was such a special space hidden in plain sight, but the secret’s been out for years at this point and it’s cost us some of the magic. With that said, hopefully this can be a reset from the randoms and a chance to make the party better than ever before. We’ve got a bunch of other announcements coming up, so make sure to join our e-mail list, follow us on social media (@DenverSolution) & stay tuned for more great memories at The Black Box - starting with a music video shoot "Party", the new single from longtime friends of the party, The Reminders!

P.S. Thank you so much for rocking with us over the years Denver!!! It’s been well over a decade since we started the party with the goal of making “the kind of party we’d want to go to” and we’ve been humbled countless times by how many magic moments have followed. We realize that all of that starts with having a great crowd of friends and party people supporting the party – so thanks again, from the bottom of our hearts!!!!!

GOODNESS Block Party Set To Take Over Denver September 1st

August 7, 2018

Labor Day weekend just got a whole lot better here in Denver. Our good friends at Red Bull and DJ Low Key are putting together a block party of epic proportions here in the Mile High!

On September 1st, 2018, Red Bull Music presents a Goodness Block Party with DJ Low Key & friends. A celebration of Denver music and community, the day-long event is inspired by DJ Low Key’s longstanding party “Goodness” a signature event of the city’s RiNo neighborhood since 2012. Taking over 27th Street between Larimer and Walnut, the Goodness Block Party will spill onto the space out front of its longtime home at The Meadowlark to feature a stacked lineup of hip-hop and soul inspired artists including DJ Low Key, DJ Jazzy Jeff, YaSi, CRL CRRLL, TiRon & Ayomari, Kayla Marque, and Sur Ellz. In addition, the event will host the debut of Goodness Greatness, an all-star band with Phonte, Exile and friends. Tickets are $10 in advance of the event, and are available HERE.

DJ Low Key has been an influential presence in the Denver hip-hop scene for well over a decade, with his summer series Goodness now in its 7th season and his weekly the Solution (with fellow Denver fixture DJ Lazy Eyez) turning 12 years old next February. Bringing celebrated DJs and hip-hop legends from Denver and beyond to perform, DJ Low Key has created a space to showcase Denver’s unique, independent hip-hop, soul and DJ culture. With the Goodness Block Party, Red Bull Music and DJ Low Key look to highlight and celebrate the uniqueness of Denver’s East Side/RiNo neighborhood, shining a light on the community that has continued to build the area’s renowned musical and artistic legacy.

“The name Goodness comes from the idea of featuring all the goodness possible at the party - from music to people to food to drink to art and beyond. Over time, that focus brought together a whole lot of interesting, like-minded people,” DJ Low Key explains. “Everything starts with the love of the music and then expands out from there in different directions, with a lot of unexpected great things coming from it... it’s a party for everybody, but not just anybody."

An Interview With DJ Low Key: Goodness Season 6 Opening This Sunday

May 19, 2017

DJ Low Key (Photo Credit: Armando Geneyro)

With the ever changing musical landscape in Denver, one thing remains a constant, if you are looking for the best patio party in the Mile High, Goodness hosted by DJ Low Key has become a staple of what a perfect Sunday afternoon should look like. We had a chance to sit down with what we consider one of our closest friends in the scene to discuss Goodness and the ever changing industry in our city.

Castro- First off tell us a little about your background?

DJ Low Key- I was born outside of Atlanta, but have been in Colorado more than half my life now. I bought turntables with money saved from a Summer job working at The Garden Of The God Trading Post the Summer after my freshman year. I initially wanted to buy all the cool independent 12"s and rare white label records coming out, which ultimately led to me realizing you could play music for people at parties for a living and a different side of DJing that became my career.

HUGE shouts to DJ Petey and DJ Chonz for being the two main local DJs that showed me the way. That led to DJing progressional at top 40 club and parties, which eventually led to me doing more of my own thing and starting my own parties like Goodness and The Solution after being inspired by the energy of what DJ K-Nee and DJ Big Styles had created So What! and seeing what was ultimately possible.

Castro- Is there a DJ on your bucket list you have never seen spin?

DJ Low Key- I've been super lucky and over the years have seen most of my favorite DJ before. I'd say the DJ that I'm the biggest fan of that I've never seen rock a live event would be DJ Spinbad, who's a mixtape legend that now DJs for Russell Peters. Sooner or later, I'm gonna get him out to Goodness though - watch.

Castro- Is there an emcee (besides Riff Raff) you would love to DJ for?

DJ Low Key- LMAO! I would say Chingo Bling, but I randomly DJed for him that same Summer as the infamous Riff Raff incident. I've probably peaked as a DJ, but the memories will live forever.

If I have to answer, I'm sure Jay-Z would be fascinating to work with. Kanye would too, but he's intense enough that it might be overwhelming. Then of course, being a part of a stage show for someone as important to music and culture right now as Kendrick would be insane. (For the sake of DJ Low Key's street-cred we decided not to publish his picture of him dj'ing for Riff Raff)

The crowd at Goodness (Photo Credit: Armando Geneyro)

Castro- What is the state of hip hop in Denver currently?

DJ Low Key- In a word: great. I think the whole of the Denver scene is better than it's ever been. We're such an isolated major city that before the internet leveled the playing field, things were much harder for artists in Colorado trying to advance their careers and while it's taken a while for the knowledge to circulate, years later I think the scene in Denver is easily as vibrant as I've ever seen in in my 12+ years living in the city. The DIY attitude from being isolated is strong, but now we have more resources than ever in the city and that's beautiful thing to see.

The flip side of that is that a lot of cats think that because the city's been getting a lot more attention, it means they're gonna "blow up", but really there's not much of a correlation. Hopefully not too many Denver artists are getting gassed up, but somehow I doubt it - it's a natural thing that come with the city having a moment.

Castro- Tell us were the idea for Goodness (GDNSS) and The Solution came about?

DJ Low Key- The Solution came from a place of frustration and idealism that me and the party's co-founder DJ Sounds Supreme, were experiences in regards to the top 40-oriented gigs that we were mainly working at as professional DJs in the mid-2000s. The gigs we were doing were fun, but they weren't necessarily the kinds of parties where we could really play the music we liked best as much as we'd like. The Solution was and still is, our attempt to make "a solution" to the less fulfilling/eclectic/whatever type gigs that dominate most of the nightlife.

Goodness came about in a similar way. I'd loved The Meadowlark since walking in for the first time and their patio always captivated me. It took a little longer than expected, but eventually I started working with them and developed the relationship enough to where they trusted me to try the idea and since then, it's take on a life of its own that I don't think any of us expected.

At the core of both of them, it's just me and some friends trying to make the kind of parties we want to go to, as people who are a little pickier and more knowledgable than the average club-goer.

Castro- One of the things I have noticed about GDNSS as opposed to other “hip hop” nights/parties is the vibe that comes from it, was that the goal from its inception.

DJ Low Key- Part of that comes from the fact that it's a Sunday day party, but most of it is just because the people that come out to the party are so great. They're good people with good taste in music who come out to have a good time and as simple as that sounds, it's really a rarity when most people just go to whatever bar is close to them or club that their friends talked about during the workweek or something a little less specific. I always describe it as the parties being for everybody, but not for just anybody.

Mackenzie (Photo Credit: Armando Geneyro)

Castro- GDNSS currently resides in the biggest growing area of Denver (RiNo) right now, what are the pros and cons of where you guys reside right now?

DJ Low Key- The pros are that the amount of good food options in neighborhood have improved tremendously and it's incredibly quick and easy to get an Uber/Lyft/etc.

The cons are that the more intangible things that initially attracted myself, a lot of the crowd that comes to my parties and similar-minded people to the neighborhood are rapidly disappearing. The rawer energy, the fact that RiNo was an alternative to the downtown scene as opposed to what's becoming an extension of it, the freedom that comes from less people coming to an area with any sort of pre-existing expectations because they read it "was a hot part of town"; that's disappearing fast and probably completely.

With that said, there's still not a part of town I'd rather be in. There's no "new RiNo" to be had in Denver right now and I love the neighborhood and the energy that remains here like none other. The energy of the last few years plus in the area will never be replicated, that's a very special moment in the city's life that I'm thankful to have been a part of, in my own little way.

Castro- The new season starts this Sunday what can we expect this year from previous years?

DJ Low Key- The goal of Goodness, The Solution and everything else is always to try to find a balance between growing organically and still keeping the core of the parties intact. With that said, expect more world class DJs from all over the country, some cool live performances here and there, some art features and I'm sure a lot of cool things that I don't even know that will come together through the magic of the party. And definitely expect more pop-ups and unconventional party experiments, we've done a few to great results and it's got me encouraged to see what other kind of interesting ideas we can bring to life.

Castro- What is your fondest memory of Goodness?

DJ Low Key- Playing Kendrick Lamar "Alright" at the Goodness Season 4 Opener. It wasn't even a single yet, but you could feel people loving the song and that it was an exceptional record, even by exceptional record standards. The energy was already feeling amazing at that point midway through the first day of the season - the place was packed, the crowd was super open and when I dropped "Alright" after playing the Twin Sister joint sampled on Kendrick's "The Recipe", the crowd went INSANE like nothing I've ever felt before.

It was easily one of the craziest moments of my DJ career. Skillz, who used to MC/host parties for DJ Jazzy Jeff recorded video of the moment and people on his Instagram were mistaking the party for [world renowned LA-based party] The Do-Over, which was quite a compliment. I do things a lot different than them with Goodness, but that party is definitely an inspiration for what's possible in terms of taking something that's really good and turning into a worldwide party/brand/etc and if there's any patio party to get mistaken for, it's them...LOL.

There's been a ton though, having the crowd rock through crazy storms with people holding a tarp over the DJ booth once things started leaking, just to keep the party moving. Going back and forth with DJ Revolution, one of my all-time favorite DJs and easily one of the best DJs to ever touch turntables. Putting out Goodness Hot Sauce and making that crazy random idea a reality. The party's been really good for making memories, I'm thankful for that.

Castro- Finally where do you see yourself and Goodness in ten years?

DJ Low Key- Hopefully just taking the energy and everything we all love about Goodness and expanding it in more unconventional, exciting ways while still maintaining everything about it that's the core. My whole DJ career has been built off of trusting my instincts, doing what I believe in and giving the public credit for having better taste in music than most DJs assume they have. If I stay focused on those things, who knows how far as this could go - I've already exceeded any and all expectations I had when I bought first turntables at age 15 with Summer job money and if I've learned one thing, it's never to underestimate where life can take you.

Season 6 of Goodness begins this Sunday at Meadowlark. Make sure to get on their e-mail list for free cover and exclusive invites: Info at djlowkey.com

This weeks lineup includes a couple Ultra5280 Party Alums: DJ E-Trane and Sur Ellz who have both rocked with us a few times.

Music | Getting to Know: Crl Crrll and Mister Freedom (F.Lawless & Neon Brown) | Interview

August 21, 2015

Red Bull Sound Select takes over Denver once again tomorrow night with a pretty awesome lineup. DJ Low Key who needs no introduction has been at the helm of the Red Bull revolution bringing in some of the finest in Hip Hop, R&B, soul and more. If you haven't RSVP'ed yet we won't judge you, but we will ask you to leave the premises. Check out this exclusive interview (each artist interviews each other) that talks about influences, concepts, to eating an over easy egg out of a wet towel.

CRL CRRLL interviews F.Lawless & Neon Brown (aka the duo known as Mister Freedom)

CRL CRRLL: What is Mister Freedom?

F.Lawless: "Mister Freedom" is a duo, and it is a concept/montage album. Mister Freedom is a glimpse into the mind of an American. Mister Freedom is observant, Mister Freedom has a stance on politics and its indiscretions, Mister Freedom is righteous, and ignorant at the same time. Mister Freedom is emotional, and emotionless at the same time. Mister Freedom lives in blissful ignorance at times, and is also completely aware of his surrounding and situations in others. I feel like mister freedom embodies a lot of american sensibilities.

Neon Brown: Mister Freedom is collaboration between MC FL and Producer Neon Brown. It is the concept of freedom in a world that is locked up by oppression, trends, and arrogance.

CRL CRRLL: I thought when I first heard the concept it was the name of an artist?

F.Lawless: We kind of wanted it to come off that way haha. We wanted you to question the album, who, and what Mister Freedom is as a whole.

CRL CRRLL: What's your favorite track on the album?

Neon Brown: My favorite track on the record would have to be Mister Freedom ft. CRL CRRLL. That is one creepy, smooth tune.

F.Lawless: Personally, Suites for smalls is my favorite. It is a very layered, complex record, and has alot of feelings embedded in it.

CRL CRRLL: I would compare this collaboration similar to a early Outkast one where one of you guys is kinda out there and one of you guys is like the rap genius what would you say your biggest influence has been?

Neon Brown: I love that comparison, FL has definitely been influenced by a lot of Outkast lately and I am a huge fan. At the time of creating the MF instrumentals I was listening to Frank Zappa “Were Only In It For The Money” and Johnny Greenwood’s “The Master’ soundtrack.

F.Lawless: For me Gangstarr, Run the Jewels, Madlib, Dilla, Cannibal Ox and Company Flow. It has a classic hip hop feel to it, but at the same time it blends genre's at times and becomes something different. Neon and I were toying with the idea of calling the Genre "Future Nostalgia"

CRL CRRLL: If your last meal was tomorrow what would it be??

Neon Brown: Pizza.

F.Lawless: I like seafood so probably surf and turf. Steak and Lobster. I'd like to go out with a bang!

CRL CRRLL: Shout outs??

F.Lawless: Shouts out to my Foodchain family, shout out to Young Amsterdam family. Shouts to DJ Low Key for believing in me, and making me a Red Bull Sound Select artist, and shouts out to all the fans and supporters of the music, and the movements I'm a part of.

Neon Brown: Shout out to everyone that put forth any effort with this album, Chelsea Chorpenning, Fast4ward, CRL CRRLL, Deca, Vast Aire, FL, Jake Sanders, Java Tunson, Jerod Sarlo, Charlie Mertens, Damien Hines, Shane Mccallister, Austin Matthews, and Mark Clifford.

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Mister Freedom Interviews CRL CRRLL

Mister Freedom: What is the concept behind the new EP?

CRL CRRLL: Concept behind the new EP is wavy live basement cuts. Instrumental drivin with just enough distortion and Lofi grit to make it feel like you just popped in a cassette tape and your driving down ocean drive with the top down.

Mister Freedom: What pushed you to make two eps rather than one?

CRL CRRLL: I had allot of influential things happen in my life the past two years and I wanted to create two different types of feeling one def had a more electro r&b feel and the other had that analogy organic feel. Almost like two different short films with similar direction. Plus I wanted to spread out on my creativity music and art.

Mister Freedom: You've made some big moves in the past year and a half, what's next for CRL CRRLL?

CRL CRRLL: Next is prob some projects with some pretty notable artists in not a name dropper, so we'll just let that ride out and you'll have to see. Also, getting out of the U.S. a little this next year to explore the world of music.

Mister Freedom: If you had to chose between shaving a wet dog that has psoriosis or eating an over easy egg out of a wet towel, which would you chose?

CRL CRRLL: Ha! This has got to be a Neon Brown question! I would probably pick shaving the wet dog because at least someone is benefitting out of it...

Mister Freedom: What's your process for figuring out your show sets? Where do you start?

CRL CRRLL: Ahh I see what you did here..! Your just trying to take my big secret..! No real crazy process I just play what I dig try to keep my music and art together and let it just flow. Daniel Hogans my drummer who's in a number of projects is good at improvising on my randomness.

Mister Freedom: What are your major influences?

CRL CRRLL: My major influences are usually my friends and fam there movements and art and the way they live life inspire me to create and keep on doing what I do the benefits of being around creative people all the time is that it rubs off.

You can catch these cats this Saturday night for what should be a hell of a great time.

Music | Show Alert: Red Bull Sound Select Presents- Towkio, Fat Tony, FL, and Crl Crrll | August 22 | The Moon Room

August 7, 2015

One thing we love about working with the Red Bull Sound Select program is working with the best curators in Denver to bring folks unique shows and lineups that you can’t get anywhere else. They are proud to announce their August show, curated by DJ Low Key of The Meadowlark's weekly parties The Solution and Goodness. This month's installment will be headlined by Chicago up-and-comer, Towkio of SaveMoney (Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa), who’s “Wav. Theory” has been absolutely blowing up. We’re not done though, as Towkio will be joined by Red Bull Sound Select artists Fat Tony (Houston, TX) and Denver acts F.L. and CRL CRRLL. This 18+ event will take place at Moon Room on August 22nd at 9pm. Free drinks for the first 100 people through the door, plus other surprises! Doors are open at 8pm and the show is $3 with an RSVP at RedBullSoundSelect.com. NOTE: RSVP confirmation does not guarantee entry. Entry is first come first served up to capacity, regardless of RSVP. RSVP is also only good for each individual guest. No +1s will be included.

If you’re not familiar, Chicago’s Towkio dropped on of 2015′s most interesting projects in .WAV Theory, featuring an all-start line up of contributors including his SaveMoney cohorts Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa and Leather Cords with ridiculously good production by the like of Kaytranada and Donnie Trumptet (producer of Surf w/Chance & The Social Experiment’s Surf album).

Houston’s Fat Tony has become a legend in his city over the last few years while simultaneously developing a crazy cult following all across the country. Tony’s music is a mix of the classic Houston sound with some Austin-type X-factors and rock star swagger that has to be seen live to be understood. Tony’s live show blew me away at SXSW and we’re super excited to properly introduce his music to Denver.

From his days as a prominent member of Denver’s renowned Foodchain collective to a very successful solo career, F.L. (aka F.Lawless), has firmly established himself as one of the best MCs in the city. His latest project, Mister Freedom, a collab with producer Neon Brown drops the day of the show and from my early listens, stands to further establish F.L. as one of the best MCs in the history of Colorado, destined for even more national acclaim.

Denver singer/songwriter/producer/etc CRL CRRLL’s musical stock has steadily been rising over the last few years, with his latest EP Ghost and his single “Cheers” making noise all around the city and getting love from DJs all across the county. CRL CRRLL (pronounced Carl Carrell)’s next project, the WAVE EP, is part 2 of his double Ghost/Wave EP and ounds INSANELY good from my advance listens. Like F.L. & Neon Brown’s Mister Freedom project, it also drops the same day as the show and sounds primed to take the Colorado favorite to a whole ‘nother level.

Music | Red Bull Sound Selects Denver Presents: Dam Funk, Fast4ward, Oren L (Killing Kings) | Lost Lake | June 25

June 23, 2015

We’re four months into the Red Bull Sound Select Presents: Denver showcases and they’re only getting better. This month, expert curator DJ Low Key will be bringing Stones Throw Records own Dam Funk to town on June 25th at Lost Lake. The show is 18+ and tickets are only $3 with an RSVP to RedBullSoundSelect.com.

We have an exclusive prize pack for you courtesy of DJ Low Key and Ultra5280. Go to our Instagram to enter. Remember you and whoever you choose must RSVP to be entered.

-2 pairs of extra limited Red Bull Sound Select Sunglasses
-The Red Bull Music Academy - For The Record Hardcover
-2 VIP Tickets to the show to skip the main line
-$25 Bar Tab at Lost Lake

Getting to know Dam Funk:

Damon “Dam-Funk” Riddick is the epitome of funk. Ever since debuting with Stones Throw in 2008, Dam-Funk has become one of the genres most passionate proselytizers, out to save it from devilish depictions of cartoonish caricature. To Dam, funk is a way of living, “a feeling of struggle and staying cool through it all.” In 2013, he released his celebrated partnership with hip- hop’s Snoop Dogg titled 7 Days of Funk. Fresh for ’15, Dam returns with a solo project nearly six years in the making: Invite the Light.

Dam-Funk grew up in the Los Angeles city/suburb of Pasadena. A ‘70s baby, he came of age in the era of the Uncle Jamm’s Army parties, of electro-pharaoh Egyptian Lover, of Prince’s purple reign. His parents nurtured his musical talents as a child and by his teens, he mastered the drums, then the drum machine. A chance encounter led to an apprenticeship under funk songwriter/producer Leon Sylvers III (SOLAR Records) and by the mid-90s G-Funk era in hip- hop, Dam found his musical skills in high demand by rappers such as Mack 10 and MC Eiht. “Everybody was trying to do the live instrumentation thing, so then you got cats like me playing on records,” Dam explains.

Sideman status wasn’t enough though. Dam remembers “watching gold plaques hitting the wall” for everyone but him and he decided to go “full-funk” and make a do-or-die try to become an artist on his own terms. In 2006, Dam-Funk and a few friends launched the popular Funkmosphere party in L.A., bringing the boogie back. It’s around then that Dam drew the attention of Stones Throw and both label and artist related to Dam’s insistence that “funk is not just a Jheri Curl. There was more than that.”

Dam’s partnership with Stones Throw has now included everything from his 2009 LP Toeachizown, to an anthology of early productions, Adolescent Funk (2010), to 2013’s Higher and 7 Days of Funk. Invite the Light isn’t just Dam’s first solo full-length since ’09, he thinks of it as his first fully-realized effort – a “concise, beginning-to-end vision – that’s resulted in a loosely autobiographical concept album inspired by the trials and tribulations of his personal and professional life of the last six years. As always, Dam flexes his multi-instrumentalist talents by handling all the production but still makes time for guests including rapper Q-Tip, the father-son duo of Leon Sylvers III & IV, and funk giant Junie Morrison of the Ohio Players, who opens and closes the album with dire warnings of what could happen in a world without funk. Rest assured, Dam is here to make sure that never comes to pass. As he puts it, “funk is the underdog, the black sheep of black music,” and if that’s true, Dam-Funk is its shepherd.

Red Bull Sound Select artists Oren L (Killing Kings) and Fast4Ward will open in support. They’re both up and coming local acts that we think should be on your radar. Check their music out below:

Oren L (Killing Kings):
http://win.gs/1ALD1hY
Fast4Ward:
http://win.gs/1tdvPoZ

TW/IG: @redbullCO @RBSoundSelect | #soundselect