Electronic music is a spectrum of creation — wavering and expanding through infinite sounds and genres. The modern electronic producer plays with this flexibility and creative freedom. The collaborative element of music production is the glue that keeps music alive and appreciated. As electronic music continues to wash over Denver, local artists are merging sound and community interest.
Jared Oppenheim saw the value of collaboration and community in music production. His vision began in his local community, expanding from his personal music career and developing into an artistic collective for like-minded artists. The Gradient Perspective is just that — a community-inspired music collective. It is as fluid as it is transformative, managing artists from all spectrums of electronic production.
The Perspective was originally designed to establish a better outlet for local artists and the overall electronic music community. “The Gradient Perspective started in 2015,” Oppenheim said. “I was getting a lot of opportunities after throwing shows and DJing for a couple of years. The idea behind it was if I am getting these opportunities, I want my friends who I think are way more talented than I am to be able to get these types of opportunities as well. I hit up a couple of my friends and I was like, ‘I really like your music, I would love to try to manage you and see if I can help get you more opportunities.’ Ultimately, the goal has always been to help our artists reach more fans and the music that our friends make to reach more listeners around the world.”
Mantra Sounds. Photo courtesy of Gradient Perspective.
The collective started as a record label and has quickly grown into a management and promotion company, currently managing and representing 19 different artists. Newly stationed in Denver, Oppenheim acknowledged, “It is no secret that Denver is the bass music capital of the world. I want to be immersed in the bass scene and collaborate with as many people and get involved with as many things as I can.” Denver has an incredibly developed art scene, making it a dense and fertile community for music collaboration and creativity. Artists are constantly moving through and from Denver, creating a nationwide hub of good music.
The Gradient Perspective has established itself in the Denver electronic community, performing venue takeovers in July of 2019 and 2021 at the Black Box. The Black Box is an iconic venue, constantly throwing down shows and bringing together a like-minded community of people who are passionate about music and its direction. “It was crazy because this year we had three times as many people come out to the second one, which is awesome to see the growth. I think a lot of that is attributed to how much the Black Box is a staple of the Denver bass music community,” he said.
Dredlok. Photo courtesy of Gradient Perspective.
The Gradient Perspective is actively looking for new talent. Taking on a team of new managers and “seeking artists that are really pushing their sound and ready to take things to the next level.” Oppenheim said that “there are no limits to what we can do or how big we can grow. I don’t have a benchmark goal — my goal is always to keep growing.” Currently, the Perspective only represents artists that are solely based in the electronic realm.
New music requires constant creativity and the tenacity to try something a little different. The electronic scene radiates through sound culture and continues to innovate music as we know it. That kind of diversity and innovation is a large part of what the Perspective looks for in upcoming artists.
“There are a lot of people out there making music,” Oppenheim said. “There are a lot of people doing the same thing or similar things, so we want to make sure that we are always doing something that goes a little bit against the gradient and in the opposite direction than everyone else. And that’s the whole basis of the Gradient Perspective. It is a perspective from the darkest to the lightest, so we really represent artists that cross the whole spectrum of electronic music.”
The Gradient Perspective is a genius project, seeking to reach all corners of possibility. “We think that when you bring people together you are able to do much more than you can alone — that’s a big part of our collaboration aspect,” Oppenheim said. As the collective process grows, more artists will be heard and more music will be distributed. And Oppenheim and the Gradient Perspective team have only just begun.
Check out Gradient Perspective on SoundCloud!