Maddy O’Neal + Late Night Radio

By Rob Goldberg | May 12, 2024
📸: shot by Niko Stycos

Typically, when a room shakes as you enter it, you might think something’s wrong. Maybe it’s an aftershock of the infamous NYC earthquake that happened a few weeks ago. Maybe it’s construction or the subway. Or maybe, it’s just the weekend bassheads lifting their existential anxiety with a thunderous live sonic melee attack from Late Night Radio and Maddy O’Neal. Racket was absolutely bumping on Friday night as these two beat alchemists brought their own flavors of electronic music production like an ice cream shop with a dance floor. Needless to say, our legs turned into shuffle engines as we were ready to get lost in a wave of bass, soul, hip hop, and synth.

Denver-based Late Night Radio (aka Alex Medellin) is the perfect example of an artist enveloped in the genre of electronic music who creates sounds that any hip hop, soul, or funk fan can’t deny. Our initial reaction to the first few tracks was this guy would absolutely crush a late night dirty south club scene as he mixed many southern hip hop tracks including Fireman by Lil Wayne, Kryptonite by Big Boi, Throw Some D’s by Rich Boi, and more. Medellin also incorporated a plethora of soul like Diamond in the Back by Curtis Mayfeild and NYC rap including Life’s a Bitch by Nas and Da Mystery of Chessboxin’ by Wu-Tang Clan. The combination of lyrical samples, wubby bass lines, trap and dub beats, and hype glitch-hop made for a show very reminiscent of Pretty Lights or Gramatik as the soundscape was tantalizing for the soul. One of our favorite songs Late Night Radio laid down was an extra loud and swanky Small World, a west coast influenced track he produced with MCs Def3 and Del the Funky HomoSapien–an absolute banger.

The genre versatility of Late Night Radio had the crowd eager for more as Maddy O’Neal took over next. She continued the high energy bass bash, immediately emanating a super melodic and ambient build up into a dirty dubby and euphoric frequency overlaid with pop vocals for her first track. We could literally feel the vibrations both from the audience and the sonic waves crashing down on us making the experience almost feel like we were being hugged while listening. O’Neal, also hailing from Denver, is a self-taught DJ and producer known for her deep roots in funk and soul which she intertwines with all sorts of electronic genres including dubstep, future bass, glitch hop, trap, disco and more. What really makes O’Neal stand out is her ability to rapidly change musical genres and tempo while making it all blend, keeping the crowd constantly on their toes. And who doesn’t love mixed in pop hits like Day and Night by Kid Cudi as well as London Bridge by Fergie when head banging to some heavy bass music.

The Bass Enchantress continued to command the crowd as she dropped a new song, Hot Shot, incorporating some of the fattest bass of the night. It’s really such a blessing watching O’Neal play, because you really get the vibe she’s just having way too much fun on stage (especially evident when she was rocking out on a beat pad during a few songs, allowing her to produce live on stage). Our favorite mix of the night was a drum and bass remix to Ready or Not by the Fugees which combined with a remix of Regulate by Warren G which had us groovin’ while keeping us guessing. This was the last show of Maddy O’Neal and Late Night Radio’s tour, but be sure to check them out at a music festival or concert venue near you!