Wide Awake

Big G is unreal live, I saw them with bassnectar this weekend and they absolutely killed it. I really can't say enough great things about these artist! OUTSTANDING!

Saw them play at Electric Forest Festival, the duo compliment each other beautifully. The jazz sound of the sax combined with a drummer in perfect time created quite the experience, the electronic aspect is almost just background ambience.

This album is probably my favorite from Big Gigantic. Wide awake has a great combination of electronic beats with a groovin' saxophone. Big gigantic is delicious and really knows what to put in a album to keep the energy up the whole time. Its great seeing them live to see the mixture of electronic production, drumming and saxophone. In my opinion "High Life" is the best flowing song off this album, but its really hard to choose a favorite with "Polarize" being so good too!! Definitely make sure to support the artists and peep this album, or catch them live this summer at Wakarusa 2011. :)

just started listening to music like this and these guys caught my ear like whoa. sick beats.the Five is def. worth it....Holla at them Oxford Lyric

Im tired of seeing free music for sale on itunes. I almost buy a album with my money, then thankfully i realize that i can get the album for free. this has happend several times. Just search on google : "Big gigantic free download"

This Album is a FREE DOWNLOAD from the artists website!!!!!

It's awesome and it's also free on the bands website.

The albums are good, but the live staff is unreal. Up until a week ago I had only heard recordings of Big Gigantic, which I absolutely loved, but the recordings can not even compare to how good they are live. For those of you who don’t know Big Gigantic, they are a two person group that uses electronic sampling and heavily synthesized and distorted keyboard, saxophone, and other instruments. While the use of the instruments is integral to the overall sound of the songs, one could easily listen to certain tracks (that are less distorted) and believe that they were made entirely by computer. Before I talk about the concert, I would like to talk about the recordings to give some context. Wide Awake is a very good album, and depending on the context in which one listens to it, it can be very fun to listen to. It is an album best enjoyed socially, as is the rest of Big Gigantic’s music. This is because the songs all have a very persuading rhythm and interesting melodies, but when put on in the background while you are typing on your computer or doing something else that requires your attention, everything begins to blend together, even one song in to the next. However, when you are with people, and you are free to move, the aforementioned persuasive rhythms and melodies get everybody moving. There is one thing about Big Gigantic’s music that is a downfall in their recordings but great in their live performance: the formulaic and predictable nature of their songs. The problem with the formulaic nature of the songs is fairly evident in the recordings because when listened to consecutively it takes a keen ear and familiarity with the music for all of the songs not to blend together and get boring. This did not occur in their live show for a couple of reasons. One was that the music in the show was different than music on the album in many ways. There were songs that I had never heard before, and other songs that I recognized had significant improvisation throughout. But, although there was stuff I had never heard before, it was still formulaic in the same way that most of their songs are. They usually start with something basic, run it for a little, add a couple of layers of rhythm or melody, then dial it back a couple of layers, but then add even more than before, an undulation of force throughout the song. For the live listener this is great, because in the lower energy parts you anticipate the build up, want it, and when it comes its very gratifying. Another thing that made their concert great was that everything that played was very upbeat and forceful, whereas some of their recorded stuff, such as “Upswing” is softer, slower, and has a less compelling rhythm. Granted, their concert was at a fraternity, so they could have been changing their set to encourage dancing, but regardless it made a great environment and experience. In addition to musical differences, one thing that the concertgoer got to experience that set the concert apart from the recorded music was the visual aspects. First of all, the lighting was great, with lots of color changes and flashes that coincided with the melodies and breaks helped to involve the listener even more with the music. Also, it was very interesting to watch them make music live. Their songs have so many parts to them, and to see two guys build up the pieces with instruments and computers on the fly was fantastic. All in all I would definitely recommend “Wide Awake,” but if you get the chance to see them in person, it is definitely worth it, as it is great music, great sights, and fun to dance to.

Big Gigantic Has Gigantic Sound By eleven o’clock the lingering clouds had drifted away to reveal a clear, starry night sky. As a light breeze swept through the air, college students sporting colorful clothes and armed with glow sticks began to converge at the venue’s entrance for an unforgettable night of electronic music. Yet, this venue was truly unique. The stairs leading to the front door of the Sigma Nu Fraternity were covered by a bamboo canopy and adorned with tiki torches. At the top of the open air stairwell, a giant waterfall cascaded down from the balcony into a lagoon. No shoes were required here, as the foyer and basement floor were completely covered with soft beach sand. While many of the guests had seen Big Gigantic perform before, none of them had experienced their music amidst the tropical paradise called Xanadu. Hailing from Boulder, Colorado, Big Gigantic blends elements of the dubstep and drum & bass genres along with hip-hop samples to create their own distinctive electronic sound. The duo consists of keyboardist/ producer Dominic Lali and drummer Jeremy Salken. While Salken keeps the crowd energized with his high energy beats, Lali combines two different digital music programs to re-create and re-mix Big Gigantic’s songs live. First, he uses Ableton Live 8 to organize and trigger the band’s audio sample library as well to control a variety of digital effects. Second, he uses Reason which acts as a digital synthesizer rack for his Akai MPK 49 MIDI keyboard. Witnessing this vast array of digital music software controlled by the keys, faders, knobs, and buttons of one keyboard gave me great appreciation for the efficiency of the MIDI design. Designed and released through the collaboration of Sequential Systems, Oberheim, and Roland Corp. in 1982, MIDI revolutionized music performance by allowing the control of multiple synthesizers through one keyboard. The MIDI keyboard sends a soundless message written in serial binary code to the synthesizer which translates this message into an audio signal. While this technology has become widespread amongst performing musicians, Big Gigantic adds an additional twist to their live show which makes them a truly unique electronic group. When Lali isn’t looping samples or playing melodies on his keyboard, he solos on his tenor saxophone. Big Gigantic’s latest album Wide Awake showcases their blend of hip-hop beats, glitchy synth melodies and wailing saxophone solos, and the band played its entire discography during their Xanadu performance. As the lights came up, they launched into the popular track “High Life.” The song opened with a high-pitched, glissando synth melody with a swirling filter accentuated by deep bass drum stabs. A wobbly bass line then faded in along with a clapping drum beat. This musical collage continued to build until a sweeping filter marked the transition into the chorus. Lali played a jazzy sounding saxophone hook overtop of dissonant string machine chords. As these loops continued fade in and out of the mix, Lali began to improvise on his saxophone wowing the packed basement crowd. As the night continued the band kept the audience dancing with more songs from Wide Awake, energizing the masses with its title track and then breaking down the beat with the heavy dub- step sounds of “Polarize.” The band’s live set also featured tracks from their appropriately titled first album Fire It Up, including “Thinking Out Loud,” “Get You’re Your Rowdy On!” and the menacing tune “Stand Up.” However, the band saved perhaps their most memorable rendition for last. Enticed back onstage by cries for an encore, Big Gigantic pleasantly shocked the crowd with their cover of Pendulum’s drum & bass anthem “Slam.” This fast paced tune proved the perfect ending to a night of dancing in the sands of the tropical paradise called Xanadu.

The Big Gigantic combines elements of live band instruments with heavy electronic influence including synthesized keyboards and computer created beats and base-lines. Upon first listening to the band’s debut album, Wide Awake, it is easy to understand the widespread appeal for such electronic compositions as created by the Big Gigantic. The heavy synthesizer use and sampling that characterize the band’s base signature sound are obvious only seconds in to the first song entitled ‘Wide Awake.’ After a short time, the saxophone, which is the most integral part of this band’s unique sound, enters the mix. While it is easy to see how the band produces its records, one can also begin to imagine the effects of seeing the live performance, which includes live drums and saxophone. As the listener travels through the rest of the short debut album, a basic formula for their compositions begins to reveal itself. Just by comparing the first two songs, one sees that the band tends to lay down the electronic background for the entire song immediately, and often quite suddenly. This usually includes some form of synthesized melody, layered with multiple beats, and finally some form an electronic baseline. Once again in the second song, entitled ‘High Life,’ the saxophone enters in to the mix some 15-20 seconds in to the song. While in some of their songs, the sax takes a backseat to the electronic layers, in this song it is the dominant ingredient within a greater composition. The third song on the album, ‘Upswing,’ is more reliant on sampling than the first two. Similar to the first two, it begins with a good electronic base comprised of layers of basic melodies and various beats. Again, the saxophone plays an integral lead role throughout the song. In fact, this song relies more on the saxophone than on any other song on the album. Like any good technosonic blueprint, the last half minute or so sees a quick removal of the dominant sax and the listener is reminded of the electronic base with which the song began. The next to last song on the fairly short debut album is entitled ‘Light of Day’ is arguably the best song on the album. It begins with a beautiful space-electronic or laser-like melody, when suddenly that melody takes a back seat the heavy base additions that define the remainder of the composition. The sax in this song is not quite as dominant as it follows a synthesized melody throughout the song, never deviating in solo form as in many of the other songs. Finally, the album concludes with a summary of the skills and styles employed throughout the first four songs of the album. The use of synthesizers and what sound to be some sort of frequency modulation make this song another highlight of the album. While in a studio it is easy for this duo to record the many aspects of the song separately and then layer them together using various computer programs, it is in the live when this group really thrives. The front man, alternates between his various computers, synthesizers, keyboards, and of course his saxophone. The drummer meanwhile provides an extremely realistic and energetic addition to the electronic melodies and base lines that dominate on the band’s albums.