ISOxo didn’t waste any time building the energy of his 7 p.m. Lollapalooza set. The San Diego-based DJ and producer stepped onto Perry’s stage as fire exploded into the air and the bass reverberated through the crowd.
Mixing trap music, electronic, house and dubstep, ISOxo began producing music in middle school. Now, he boasts 590,000 streams on Spotify and has collaborated with prominent electronic scene artists such as RL GRIME.
Donning a black outfit and hat with silver chains, he leaped around the stage in rapid bursts, the crowd immediately erupting into cheers.
“Listen,” ISOxo said into the microphone over a mechanical whirring that blared from the speakers. “I go by the name ISOxo.”
The beat dropped as the jumbo screens illuminated in white with ISOxo scribbled across in big block letters. “PARENTAL ADVISORY EXPLICIT CONTENT” appeared on the screen above the stage as red strobe lights shone down into the crowd.
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As the familiar drone of Ken Carson’s “Rock N Roll” blasted from the speakers, the audience screamed and jumped up and down with their hands pointed towards the sky. Inflatable beach balls bounced around in the air as smoke shot out into the crowd.
Throughout his set, ISOxo transitioned from being behind his DJ booth to hurling himself around the stage. He often shrieked into the microphone in heavily auto-tuned vocals, sporadically rapping over his mixes.
The screen behind him showed the festivalgoers’ exhilaration, made palpable from their facial expressions and continuous movements.
ISOxo didn’t allow the energy to die down throughout the entirety of his set, with fire bursting from the stage almost every few minutes and the bass of each song so heavy that it could be felt through the ground.
Each song transitioned immediately into the next with no breaks, and there didn’t seem to be a still body in the crowd. In a sea of movement and gritty energy, people still managed to remain respectful of one another’s space, focused more on their own euphoria than disrupting the surrounding people.
An intoxicating mix of “Good Feeling” by Flo Rida vibrated from the speakers, its recognizable melody twisted into something grittier with a heavy beat driving the track forward.
“Chicago, can I see your hands in the sky right now?” ISOxo requested as he paced the stage, surveying the crowd. “Put ‘em up, put ‘em up!”
Tracks barrelled into one another — heavy drops and twisting synths giving way to dark trap beasts and ominous bass.
“All my ladies, can I hear you scream right now?” ISOxo asked before remixing Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” into “Perfect” by Exceeder, creating an intoxicating mix that sent the audience into an electrifying frenzy.
ISOxo’s vitality throughout his set and commanding stage presence created an exhilarating atmosphere that was impossible not to be engrossed in.
An hour after he took the stage, the set came to a close just as it had started — with untamed energy and booming bass that promised to ring in the ears of everyone in attendance.
