Lossless and their Espresso Rig is causing quite a stir in Denver’s music scene, and they are just getting started.
Denver‘s arts community is known for its vibrancy; the music scene never sleeps. Sound culture enthusiasts expect quality sound and presentation in this city. One sound crew eager and ready to prove the passion for this scene runs deep is Lossless. They may be the newest sound crew on the block, but this team includes some well-seasoned members who have done a little bit of everything in this industry, giving them a perspective uncommon in the Mile High City.
Although Lossless started its journey only in late January, an impressive number of noteworthy artists have already played on their Hennessey Sound Design (HSD) Espresso Rig. Among them are TRUTH, barnacle boi, Distinct Motive, and Saka.
These gatherings are not like most afters or events; the Lossless crew have ensured each location’s overall vibes match their eccentric palates. Immersive venues like Meow Wolf Denver and The Marijuana Mansion certainly fit the bill.
With such a promising future in their grasp, we thought it would be a great time to chat with the Lossless crew and shed light on what it takes to be knee-deep in Denver’s sound culture. Get to know the masterminds behind Lossless as we talk about how their idea came to fruition, what makes them stand out, the power of community, and so much more.
Hey Greyson and Anastasia! Thanks so much for talking with us today. First, can you introduce your team and tell us how you all came together to make Lossless happen?
Greyson Otwelll: Anastasia [Heath-Sheppard] and I have known each other for years and have always enjoyed being involved in the scene. We’ve always talked about working together on throwing events and providing experiences for others to enjoy. We actually got engaged this past year, around the same time we had the opportunity to purchase an HSD sound system, and it seemed like the perfect time to combine our efforts on curating something new for bass music in Denver. This is when Anastasia and I fully committed to creating Lossless.
I met Elias Pineda several years ago when I first moved to Denver. He had found my artist project, Gallium, and we started working together with him as my agent/manager with Subciety. Through this relationship, we became close friends. Elias had always expressed a love for working live sound and events and was actually our connection to getting the sound system we have.
Anastasia has been working with Elias on Subciety as an artist agent/manager for over a year, so the three of us have worked in tandem for quite some time. When it came time to start building our team for Lossless, it only seemed natural for him to become our head engineer and production manager. As we’ve continued to grow, we’ve brought in a few other close friends to help expand the vision.
Jake Carlson has been one of my closest friends for years. He has a great background in logistics and has been a huge help in streamlining our operations and ensuring our events go off without a hitch.
Austin Bryson oversees mobile stage design and has been a huge supporter of what we’ve been aiming to do with Lossless since its inception. He plays a huge role in making some of our ideas for this upcoming summer a reality.
Creating a successful brand requires some brainpower and industry knowledge. What else have you done in the scene to give you the courage and background to take on this venture?
GO: I’ve been a part of the bass music scene for years with my artist project, Gallium. Performing regularly gives me a pretty intimate understanding of what goes into throwing an event. I’ve seen what works and doesn’t work, as well as what needs improvement within this scene.
AHS: My passion for events began five years ago during my first role in the music industry. At the time, I was working on the talent booking and event management side of things, which allowed me to see the work and dedication that goes into producing large-scale events and festivals firsthand.
From there, I transitioned to artist relations and then to artist management at Subciety. During this time, I’ve also worked in a variety of industries as a full-time marketing manager. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to work across so many different roles inside and outside of the industry, as it’s allowed me to truly understand and appreciate our scene while still bringing in a new perspective that can help us improve.
Bringing a Hennessey sound system into Denver is no small investment. What makes Lossless stand out from the other local sound crews?
GO: One of the main things we’ve been shooting to do with Lossless is to bring quality and professionalism to the thriving bass music scene of Denver. In addition to that, our mission has been to provide curated, well-thought-out, and unique events while putting deserving artists on proper sound. In everything we’ve done thus far, we’ve been pushing ourselves to think outside the box while still focusing on uplifting the community around us.
You’ve already had some notable names play on your system including TRUTH, barnacle boi, and Distinct Motive. How does it feel to have such a positive response early on that opportunities like these are possible?
AHS: It feels insane. To have had this much support and excitement surrounding our vision this early on is something we couldn’t have expected. We’re super grateful to our friends, the community, and everyone else in the scene who has made this possible, and we’ll be working to keep the momentum up from here.
Not only have you provided sound for several late-night afters, but you’ve also been involved with Chakra Garden, which provides yoga-infused sound healing. How rewarding was it for you to supply quality frequencies for such a ceremonial setting? Do you plan to support more events like this?
AHS: Working with the Chakra Garden was extremely rewarding, and we feel super lucky to have contributed to such a ceremonial and healing experience. It’s been amazing to have had the opportunity to be a part of events that aren’t as common in the typical sense of the bass music scene, and we definitely plan to do more experiences like this in the future.
What big plans does Lossless have for the year? Do you have any upcoming dates Denver needs to keep on their radar?
GO: This summer; we’ll provide sound for two of our favorite Colorado-based festivals: Badger Bass Camp and Something Different. Outside of these, we have a lot of exciting events in the works for the next few months in Denver. We can’t speak too much on these yet, but we can say they’ll play into our goal of curating experiences that break out of the typical “late-night” event mold so heavily associated with bass music.
Everyone has a dream lineup, who would you choose as your ideal bill of artists to show off the Lossless Hennessey rig?
AHS: We’ve been lucky enough to have already had several of our dream artists play on our system. That being said I think we’d have to say a dream lineup would look something like: Skream, Mersiv, Hedex, and The Widdler.
