There are a fearless few that look at timelessly iconic songs and have the courage to remake an original. Cofresi passed that boundary many times with ease, and never seems to spoil the authenticity of the original. From taking up Led Zeppelin to Daft Punk,Gotye to Bon Iver, the Chicago drummer has the confidence and skill to take on any tune with success. Most recently, Cofresi remixes the iconic Disney movie soundtrack song of Lion King, one of the most recognized jungle orchestras ever, arguably. CIRCLE OF LIFE is flawlessly transformed into an electro future bass track that respectfully, yet wildly, balances the cinematic aspect of the chants with live drumming on his signature midi-pad drum setup, and some vocal chops as well. All appropriately in the setting of a sand beach in front of nature.
When you think of Haywyre you can already expect some abstract sounds with his creative style of dubstep and future bass. Then to have Cofresi come in to remix one of his tracks from his PANORAMA LP is a whole ‘nother level of greatness. What is interesting is Haywyre rocks the keyboards while Cofresi kicks it with percussive instruments and now, with Cofresi’s live performance video of Haywyres STORYTELLER, they both have live videos to compare! To see the two work it in their own style is something else and Cofresi brings in so much energy with his percussive rendition.
If you think music is your drug then check out these tracks! Cofresi is back after enjoying the success of the Coda EP late last year. Started the new year off right with a video accompanied remix for the modern classic by Gotye, Somebody That I Used To Know. Cofresi’s take on the song really takes you by surprise if you think the original was overplayed, this may change your mind! Behind the scenes Cofresi continues to detail his live performances as he prepares for a long list of events for the spring calender.
Introducing a theme to the tour with the release of Keep U High, his second release and first original of the year, you will notice the tour calender matching the songs cover art. Included in his tour will be Bassphysics, who worked with Cofresi on Keep U High, and Plantrae. On other dates Cofresi supports SoDown on their own tour making it a two in one commitment; capitalizing on the opportunity to make a big thing bigger!
Similar to artists likeElevatd, Cofresi keeps most his treasures exclusively for his live audience. Sometimes he is generous to give some his online fans ataste of the exclusive but it would be best to catch him live. Following his Keep U High release with Bassphysics, Cofresh drops visuals from a live set as he plays his own version of Liquid Stranger and Space Jesus‘s collab track Dragonhawks. An surprising choice for Chicagos future bass drummer but an impressive take as can see through the crowds reaction; or even your own stank face.
Cofresi is back in the headlines and making some noise with a big release! Though he has not been all too quiet either! Following his Daft Punk remix and Led Zeppelin teaser Cofresh popped out a couple more tracks before hyping up an EP! Still coming off the vocal vibes from his Faces EPJofred was invited onto Caution to make a jazzy future bass original. Unable to hold himself from adding another remix to his collection he follows up with a rework of Sable by Edamame as part of a remix album of BASK.
Bringing it back to the moment, we have five more new tracks to listen to collectively known as CODA. His last EP Faces focused around different styles of vocals in each track. CODA comes back to focus on ethereal synths, energetic drum patterns and dark basslines. But you will hear some vocal samples throughout the EP and a feature by Calid B on the outro track Crown; so some Faces influence remains! Altogether this project is the complete set of Cofresi’s production and experience and experiments up to this point; A concluding section, a coda, to foreshadow a new? Catch him on his release tour dropping these new tunes in random cities and festivals!
Is it possible to go Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger than Daft Punk? Few dare try and succeed but Cofresi decides to takes up the challenge for himself. With a live midi drum-set setup, he certainly has the resources to match the virtuosity of the legends! Armed with a camera he proves with a live performance that he can indeed pull off a Daft Punk remix with ease and style. Not only unique with his production and execution the man thinks outside the box when it comes to his originals and remixes.
Maybe its to keep challenging himself to other genres or it could be boredom but Cofresi has become a master at these revisions. Not only perfecting a Daft Punk remix, he takes it one step further and challenges some of the gods of Rock N’ Roll, Led Zeppelin, to remix Black Dog. Then upon listening to the beat it was deemed holy for it sounds sanctimonious! After remixing James Black & Bon Iver, Alina Barz & Galimatias,DNMO & Sub Urban, Imogen Heap, Dillon Francis & NGHTMRE and way more, Cofresi has shown time and time again that his passion is unparalleled.
An impressive progression following the release of his EP Faces. Knowing just how to keep his playlist fresh with new music. His EP consisting of 5 tracks is in diligence with vocalists. Each track works with vocalists of different styles from Probcause, Marcus Allen, Jofred, Cathy P & Riles and Ehiorobo. Cofresi works around hip hop, experimental, soul and pop vocal styles and lays down a foundation of live future bass production that hits the speakers hard and gracefully. A true mastery in both originals and remixes, this is one act you have to follow.
Doin it again, this New Thing will be echoing in your head until you hit replay. First original following a list of remixes after his EP Visions. His most recent remix he has done was apart of a compilation for DNMO & Sub Urban track Broken. Cofresi paired that one with a video showcasing his live abilities. New Thing similarly is apart of a greater project.
Introducing Cofresi‘s forthcoming EP Faces, New Thing foreshadows the quality of the project. Not only does it announce a new body of work but it is marks a first collaboration with a skilled vocalist; Ehiorobo breaks the cherry. Faces itself will be constisting of 6 total tracks with 6 unique vocalists for each track respectively. Cannot wait to see this creative transformation of style.
Ben Cofresi continues to challenge his creativity with his remixes. With a pattern of picking very popular and talented artists to recreate music from. Following Imogen Heap among the list of artists, Cofresi looked to more similar talents like James Blake and Bon Iver, who created the deeply beautiful tune I Need A Forest Fire. A track beautiful composed and yet Cofresi was able to redesign it and create a future bass track without hurting the quality of the original.
Turning to more familiar tunes. You may have heard this song serenading many playlists and radio stations. Alina Baraz seductive voice floating along Galimatias graceful melody Fantasy. Cofresi joins the many to remix the song but Ben has a talent on the drums that sticks out amongst others and he handles it well. If you are in Chicago this December 17th you can check out Cofresi work the drum pads and midi keys at the Bottom Lounge opening up for the Main Squeeze. In the meantime grab these tracks for free and play them loud.
Still hot off his Dillon Francis & NGHTMRE remixCofresi one ups himself and aims for the iconic Imogen Heap & Guy Sigsworth in Frou Frou. Focusing on Imogens vocals in Dumbing Down of Love you can hear where the rhythm comes from. Layering in beats, hats, cymbals, synths and bass Cofresi turns the melancholy track into a vibrant track for an energetic crowd. Hitting up festivals and shows coming out of summer, I am sure the new beats are getting a great reaction and you can get the same at your party with a free download!
The local Chi-town drummer and independent artist Ben Cofresi has some fun in the studio. Seems he is always in there or out doing live shows so why not. Recently releasing his Nuveau EP & a few singles including a feauture on Probcause‘s Drifters LP and joining LIDO on tour, making a stop in hometown Chicago of course, Cofresi is making himself known. Keeping the fans occupied, he just released a beautiful future bass tune, Lykedat, a real good vibe tune as free download as well. Cofresi’s wavy synths and amazing drum work really hits a sweet spot.
Local Chicagoan Colin Grimm otherwise known as Probcause is gettin known quite quickly from fans to artists and labels. It is his unique style of rapping and the energy he brings to a stage for an audience. It is his music itself that has alot of energy on its own so it is hard not to get known, only to feeding his ego! Getting the attention by some real dope artists too.
Prob has turned the heads of the Lowtemp crew and other artists alike and the music they make together is pretty perfect. It is like perfect match in creative minds. Recently hookin up with another Chicago artist Manic Focus to make a sexy remix of Exmags track Tilt Mode with Gibbz. Prob is not unknown to Exmag either, having made a track together on his latest album Wavesand working with Lowtemp creator Gramatik on a real cool super creative beat that will make you wanna grab a beer n party till you get loud!
Speaking of collabing with dope artists Colin has started another project aside from Probcause. Linking up with Hologram Kizzie, aka Psalm One, to give you Zro Fox. Get it? Pretty cool, and they announced the collab with a serisouly dope music video for their single Might Not, as a preamble to their album to be released later.
Hologram Kizzie and Prob have been workin together for a while since 2008 from live sets at the Bottom Lounge up to Lincoln Hall in Chicago, to working on a few songs here and there on records such as the Recipe Vol. 1 & 2 covering multiple genres.Recently playing here in our very own city of Chicago in Lincoln Hall, is where they first layed down Zro Fox’s single Might Not and it was magnificent.
Watching the two flow together on the mic so flawlessly was amazing. They work very well together, them and Kat V the beautuful violinist, Cofresi and other artists that Prob likes to collab with frequently and bring up on stage. Manic Focus is also known to work with a violinist, Colin n JmaC share some similar interests! Colin definitely knows how to spot and pick a good artist that would be compatible to collab with him. Having a show with Big Gigantic at the Aragon Ballroom this Saturday the 14th, I am excited to see what Probcause has next up his sleeve.
New EZY Era is a Chicago born artist with an enigmatic sound. Raised in the multicultural suburbs of Chicago his sound blends as much as his surroundings.
Gridlock Andy
GridLockAndy is a 22 yr old Music Producer from Chicago. He started his music career at 17 making beats in his spare time from home. Eventually moving to his first music studio in 2013. In the beginning of 2014, he moved to his second music studio which was in the back of a cellphone store where he learned how to audio engineer. Later that same yr he teamed up with Rhymster, Frekwenzy, Z3ndoctor, and Will Balonos to rent I studio room in the highly acclaimed Fort Knox studios where they currently house the Ever Evolved headquarters. A could of yrs later in the the spring of 2016 he release his first beat tape “Is Andy Real?” sporting neo-jazz hip hop tracks that defines his sound.
RhymSter
RhymSter
Julian Rodriguez, aka RhymSter, was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. The interest to take on music didnt catch on until he graduated high school in 2010. Looking back on his past, he realized that all his life his family had exposed him to different genres of music such as 80s-90s Hip Hop, Jazz, Rock, Oldies, Soul, House, R&B, & various types of Spanish music. In a way, he was already preparing himself for what was to come.
Julian was a solo artist for some years building his skills and relationship with fellow partners/producers Frekwenzy & GridLockAndy. After some time Julian linked with William Bolanos, Founder of Ever Evolved, to establish a vision that both of them shared musically and creatively. During the time of building the company Julian expanded his creativity into production as well as taking on the business side of Ever Evolved. A jack of all trades is what you can call him.
William Bolanos
EverEvolved Owner
Born and raised in Chicago, Il. I started EverEvolved as a music blog to promote conscious creative music from Chicago. Throughout my life i have been entertained by music of all genres. Music is my one consistent love and seeing it promoted in mainstream television networks in such negative and lazy form, i decided to take matters into my own hands. Making it a mission to open minds to the underground and artists who create original music out of passion rather than greed.
Working along side Rhymster and Frekwenzy at Fort Knox Studios, we quickly transformed EverEvolved into a music studio, event and promotion company. With this platform we not only promote music, we create it and bring it to an audience directly. Hoping to inspire and bring talented individuals together. We aim to create a future of music with class, soul and original style.
Frekwenzy
My name is Ken and I am an engineer/ producer/ and graphic designer out of EverEvolved Studios located near Montrose Blue Line train station in Chicago, IL.
I specialize in EDM and trap based production. I tend to enjoy creating beats from scratch with the people I work with just because I believe in the artistry. It’s always fun to create something organic from scratch. What usually happens in one of my sessions is I would start working on a beat with a lyricist and we would bounce off ideas and give each other critiques.
Xandr
I started gaining an interest in music from a young age. Eventually taking guitar lessons when I was in 6th and 7th grade. Then later into highschool I was musically involved with some friends in a band for a while which just brought me closer and closer to music. Which ultimately lead to me picking up Ableton which completely changed my outlook on music altogether.
As far as to why I do it….well it’s just a part of me. Sitting down to compose and edit music always gives me a really calming rush. Especially knowing that I came from dreaming about as a kid to being here right now.
