Relentless Beats’ side project, Phoenix Warehouse Project, crafted to be a “hub for the cultivation of art, love, and culture for Arizona’s EDM scene marked its launch of this project series with twenty-four artists spread over three stages during the first week in March.
In an effort to curate more passion and appreciation for the EDM community, artists Green Velvet, Dr. Fresch, TOBEHONEST, Kito, and BIJOU supported the mission of coming together in the name of music to enrich this Phoenician community. This special underground event attracted a collective to Warehouse 215 to celebrate an atmosphere of inspiration, connection, and hedonistic-good house music.
Chandeliers and Bookshelves: Warehouse Meets Luxury
Veteran ravers: do you remember your first warehouse rave? Many ravers remember their first warehouse rave as an underground, one-for-the-books experience but nothing too luxurious. With your typical warehouse rave, the address on the event flier isn’t announced until 10pm, the warehouse has one A/C unit, everyone is drowning in sweat, and there’s absolutely little to no light–just music imposing as the atmosphere.
At Warehouse 215, it’s a grand, elevated experience. Eclectic yet underground, there were at least two chandeliers in every room, The Reading Room Stage had a bookshelf wall with succulents and books which embellished the ambience–it’s a warehouse-gone-glamorous!
The Three Stages of Intimacy: The Guild, The Reading Room, & The Cathedral
Smaller venues like Warehouse 215 are notorious for bringing people together; sometimes there can be too much anonymity at festivals as it can be harder to recognize people you may know. If you can’t recognize your friends or artists among large crowds, you can’t expect to connect with others.
Three close-knit stages were planted in the rich, elevated warehouse: The Guild, The Reading Room, and The Cathedral. Spacious and close views of the DJ, every space-turned-dance-floor opened a sense of closeness between yourself, other ravers, and the artist.
As much as all ravers love the feeling of dancing at a massive stage, there’s nothing like being able to watch your favorite DJ make every move on the mixing board. It allows ravers to see artists’ facial expressions, movement, and production methods–a look inside artists’ personalities.
Without this small setting, ravers like myself wouldn’t have been able to notice Green Velvet’s stoic demeanor during “Sheeple” and “Jolean." He doesn’t introduce himself to the crowd on the microphone or have a facial expression unless it's his signature smile widening from ear-to-ear as the last sound leaves the speaker and his set concludes.
The Ultimate Seduction: BIJOU’s Performance
BIJOU is one of Arizona’s most prolific and cherished DJs while highly regarded among both g-house and bass house, especially after winning the 2023 Bass House Song Of The Year Award from the Electronic Dance Music Awards for “I know” featuring Marten Hørger.
Since he’s involved with his local community and EDM scene, fans were ecstatic to hear him mix “Gang Gang” and “Losing Control” by OMNOM . “Something for your mind, your body, and your soul”, BIJOU sampled “The Realm” by C’hantal and it felt like a guided meditation to “pleasures of the higher sense."
Soon after that, Dr. Fresch couldn’t help himself from jumping on stage to play a mini B2B with his best friend and played their collaborative tracks like “Hello (Gangsta $hit)”. Biased towards loving bass house to the ends of the earth, this was my favorite performance of the weekend.
B2B2B2B2B…
Dr. Fresch was halfway through his set when he said, “We’re not going home until we decide on a song we like” and proceeded to bring a multitude of other artists on stage for a B2B2B2B2B… If you were standing on the outskirts of the stage entrance, you could see a train of DJs at the right side of the stage approaching the decks, taking turns in an order right after the other.
Some of those DJs were No Thanks, Garrett Murphy, Burman, and BIJOU. It wasn’t until Dr. Fresch ended his set by announcing there were twenty DJs who joined him on stage–what a party! By now, you could imagine the immaculate, tastemaking yet various styles of house music emitting from those speakers simultaneously.
The Passion in Community and Creativity
Community, art, and love were pillars of inspiration for Thomas Turner, Founder of The Phoenix Warehouse Project. The three foundational pillars of this project have one commonality: coming together. Setting the intention of celebrating music and dance, local artists like AVITAS, Peachy Keen, and other creatives were seen reconnecting and frolicking to each other’s performances; artists hopped off stage for fans or friends to shake hands and snag a quick picture.
The Weird And Wonderful Cast gave hypnotizing performances on both nights, so much that people would stop dancing to watch the coordinated dances before them. Visual artists Nonotheartist and Rami completed a live B2B painting for the VIP section for surveyors to witness the work in progress which shows warehouse raves have the potential to be immersive!
Smaller venues/events open the possibilities of meeting your new best friend or sharing kind words with your favorite artists–it keeps the PLUR and inspiration going around. Plus, who doesn’t feel more passionate about EDM, happy to connect with others, and pursuing your own passions after a memorable event?
If you couldn’t attend the kickoff weekend, don’t worry! You still have the chance to embark on Arizona’s epitome of community and artistic expression with Phoenix Warehouse Project’s next event: Walker & Royce featuring special guests Westend, Cloverdale, and Dillon Nathaniel on May 3 at Warehouse 215. Buy your tickets now before they’re sold-out!
