Jesse Kardon is three shows into his current tour and he couldn’t be more excited.
Known by his stage name, Subtronics, Kardon has amped up his live performance with all new visuals and new music.
“There’s also a preposterous amount of lasers,” The 30-year-old brings his “Antifractals” tour Albuquerque on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at Revel Entertainment Center. Kardon says. “We’re firing on all cylinders and it’s thanks to such a great team.”
Kardon dropped the album, ‘Antifractals” in December and it features collaborations and remixes from artists such as Zeds Dead, GRiZ, Virtual Riot, Wooli, Peekaboo, Imanu, A Hundred Drums and more.
Alongside his intricate, bass-savvy set, Kardon’s stage production is very sophisticated. The stage features a 40 foot wide by 24 foot high LED wall behind a custom chrome reflective DJ table, with a connecting LED wall angled over Subtronics to create a fully immersive experience.
Ceiling-hung carbon dioxide jets and crowd-scanning lasers will shoot down from the overhead LED wall around Subtronics, with additional lasers mounted on the sides of the stage to go over the crowd.
Kardon says neither he or his team really sleeps much due to the magnitude of the tour.
“For me, it’s been this ongoing pursuit of the impossible achievement of perfection,” he says. “I’m constantly writing new music and finding new places to do double drops in the set. Whenever something works or doesn’t, I am making adjustments.”
Leading up to the tour, Kardon and his team rehearsed for two weeks to get everything set correctly.
Kardon grew up in Philadelphia with a passion for his drum set and Radiohead. While in high school, he discovered electronic music and became part of the scene.
His stage name is taken from his love for subwoofers and electronics – hence Subtronics.
“There’s not much intent when I create music,” he says. “I start playing with knobs and sound designing. I don’t set out to do anything specific. I’ll hear something that I like and continue to develop it on my personal preference.”
Being on stage gives Kardon life as he is known to be on stage for more than two hours.
He says with his current tour, he’s hitting a lot of new markets and will change the set as he needs.
“If I’m playing a heavy market, I will take out some of the lighter stuff,” he says. “I’ve played Albuquerque before and it’s crazy. They audience always has really high energy. The Southwest is completely through the roof for dubstep. It’s a wholesome reminder why I fell in love with this.”
