You know what we do under the stars?
We champion music projects. most.
Well, except we make suggestions. Burrito suggestions.
So what’s the… What’s the best San Francisco taco crawl?
It starts at El Farolito and ends at Taqueria El Castillito.
You can add a few others in between, such as a fancy brunch, but the ones suggested first will give you the best Chitty Chitty bang bang value for money.
Anyway, let’s talk about music. Like an up-and-coming pop group.
Annoying bassy electronic music. Hip-hop hits your ears like Marshawn Lynch kicking a football across your face.
House music, it’s great, you bring smoke machines to the clubs.
We think of Toni Tony Toné as a genre, vinyl as a choose-your-lifestyle.
Furthermore, a live performance at San Francisco’s Kilowatt Bar, The Chapel, or the Great American Music Hall should be classified as a religious experience.
This is what we do.
As mentioned previously in this column, hip-hop is going through a moment right now.
In just eight days we’ve seen a new release from Jay Worthy and DāM-FunK featuring a DRAM called “Westside”…
and Madlib’s “REEKYOD,” which features Black Thought and Your Old Droog. This is his debut on his own label Madlib Invazion. Stream it live here.
Equally, both versions showcase some of the simplest beat and rhyme work possible. The ultimate connection between producer and emcee.
This is hip hop.
PORTOLA announces 2024 lineup
hold up. Is San Francisco’s Portola Music Festival better than all the other San Francisco summer outdoor music gatherings this year? Festival organizers announced a slate of crowd-charging talent on Monday, including EDM festival mainstays, up-and-coming disruptors and viral acts. The two-day Beats by the Bay event will take place at Pier 80 in San Francisco on September 28th and 29th. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 17 and are open to those 21 and over.
That’s despite complaints from Alameda residents last year about the noise.
Not to mention that the Portola Festival will once again coincide with Folsom Street Market weekend.
But who says leather, ruffled feathers and bass boxes can’t coexist?
Produced by Goldenvoice and conceived by Danny Bell, senior vice president of talent acquisition at Goldenvoice in San Francisco, the festival has managed to ensure diversity in the business despite a lack of local talent.
Headliners include Four Tet, MIA and Floating Points, all well-known acts in the electronic music scene. In San Francisco, however, the music scene runs much deeper.
Chase & Status, the acclaimed drum and bass band from the UK known for spearheading the resurgence of the breakbeat genre, are expected to perform. Disco revivalist Jessie Ware is also on the list, as is hard techno veteran Honey Dijon, who is sure to deliver an intense and lengthy set. In addition, high-profile DJs Seinfeld and Pee Wee (the alter ego of musician Anderson .Paak) will also be blessing these platforms.
Deltron 3030, a local act from the Bay Area featuring producer Dan the Automator, rapper Del the Funky Homosapien and DJ Kid Koala, will deliver a rare performance sure to thrill their hometown crowd.
The lineup also includes big names Justice and Gesaffelstein, who recently performed well at Coachella. Other famous bands include Peaches, Nia Archives, Boys Noize b2b VTTS, Shygirl, Soulwax, Rüfüs du Sol, Jamie xx and Brazilian house talent Mochakk, among others.
Grab your tickets here.
The joy brought by BATOV records continues to expand
Shrinkage and bloat being the thing, I traded in my White Claw for Frisco Instant Coffee.
This is also a thing, people.
So we wanted to do our first event under the stars. We’re going to serve two.
Money is tight and risks are high, and we feel the times.
With this initiative on our part, you can rest assured that your product remains stable.
legal.
Here’s the music fan, digging into the Khruangbin vibe that seems to be everywhere these days. Welp, Batov Records, launched by DJ Kobayashi and Bob Martyn, can be regarded as the guiding light of this type of funk music.
The brand’s roots remain strong, providing a platform for unique multi-bump hybrids from every corner of the globe, but they’re also getting attention. Take Lascaux, for example.
Rasco originated from Charlie Megira’s single “At the Rasco”, with the atmosphere of The Cramps, Beach Boys, Elvis, April March and other bands, Rasco was born, a quixotic hypnotic pop band with a A raw, sandy feel.
They claim it’s a unique sonic blueprint that sounds like something you’d dream of hearing in Twin Peaks’ infamous roadhouse.
Fair. Feeling dizzy here.
But let’s get back to that spinning groove, shall we?
Middle Eastern psychedelia, funk, disco, Japanese folk and pop are somehow twisted into sounding like a swath of summer. It’s a great fusion space, with band Sababa 5 and Japanese singer and belly dancer Yurika Hanashima joining forces to create their own funkiest journey full of psychedelic soul, with hints of Mediterranean coasts and deserts. “Kokoro,” the lead single from the upcoming album out in July, is beyond earworm and is nodding candy for the rhythm-impaired. Listen to Sparky, which Bartov Records has been crushing with authenticity for the past decade. Just ask fashion guru Gilles Peterson, he knows what’s going on. “Kokoro” retains this extension intact.
Order here.
LA LUZ, UNIVERSE NEWS (SUB POP)
On News of The Universe, their debut album for Sub Pop Records (half-owned by Warner Music Group), the band La Luz, led by Shana Cleveland, have put together a compelling set of Sharing space in otherworldly psychedelic pop styles and spanning heart-filled melancholy.
Drawing inspiration from difficult personal challenges, health battles, and the adaptation of Creed by science fiction author Octavia E. Butler, Cleveland joins drummer Audrey Johnson and longtime members bassist Lena Simone and keyboardist Together with Alice Sundar, we find symmetry in chaos.
Check out the rhythm instrumental “Close Your Eyes” and the guitar whirring of “Strange World.” Listeners will immediately understand why Bay Area-based producer Maryam Kudos (Spacemoth) is producing this ensemble.
As the album notes describe, the all-female environment allowed Cleveland to feel safe, explore difficult places, and express difficult emotions that women suppress in society. “Having that connection and comfort from the beginning allows us to go a long way,” she said. “We were not careful in the first half of the meeting to avoid offending people’s egos.”
“News from the Universe” is a bold and moving moment of symphonic rock that surely needs to be played multiple times, here or somewhere in the outer galaxy.
Get it here.
Aluminum, “on my lips”
Okay, Pops. Somehow, without warning, San Francisco shoegaze band Aluminum, starring Ryann Gonsalves, who also collaborated with Tori earlier this year, snuck up on me (Torrey) collaborated on a new record, “Slumberland.” But I can dig it. Their single “Behind My Mouth,” released in March, has a “Madrid” feel that’s reminiscent of “Happy Mondays” and “Soup Dragon.” The band also includes members of Marbled Eye and Wild Moth.
This is the Bay Area. Everyone wears many hats!
Their second single, “Beat,” is a more straightforward jagged riff with fuzzy textures and braggadocio rhythms. I’m excited to see them perform live and witness their combination of vintage and modern faded textures.
San Francisco continues to produce these high quality bands that will leave a lasting impression on your mind after the first listen.
Aluminum is worth adding to your local rotation.
The album will be released on May 24th and can be pre-ordered here .
Keep the lights on at Quarry Amphitheater, Santa Cruz, June 23
that’s right. REMAIN IN LIGHT, a special concert series produced by Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew and featuring former members of the Talking Heads touring band, will be held in Santa Cruz this summer.
They hit the Mill Valley Music Festival last year, opening with “Psycho Killer” and then performing the entire 1980s Talking Heads oeuvre, including “Life in Wartime,” “Once in a Lifetime” and “Take Me to the River.” ”.
It’s a perfect moment for this farce, since, with the exception of Harrison, the original band members — Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and David Byrne — have all been getting along as of late, Talking Heads’ 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense It will be replayed on the 40th anniversary.
There’s also an all-star covers album set to be released soon. well.
Didn’t the original members say “let’s get the band back together with a big bag of cash” tour?
shooting. Santa Cruz Quarry Amphitheater, that is!
Grab your tickets here.
Fred for everything, love, caring, kindness and hope (Lazy Days Recordings)
The title of Frédéric Blais’s fifth album comes from four words he wrote on a post-it note early in the global lockdown. Love, care, kindness and hope guide his projects like a Jedi Knight, seeing and moving objects that sonically don’t match the target.
At least that’s what it sounds like.
Fred Everything is from Montreal and has been very busy over the years helping, collaborating and just providing guidance and listening. I often see this name on early Jayda G releases.
Now we know why.
Take the House tracks performed by Robert Owens, the lead singer of Mr. House, as an example.
“Never,” the follow-up to their 2021 collaboration “I’ll Take You In,” was written during Robert’s final trip to Montreal. Always simple in the extras department, but as a complete chart: those keys, that bass line, and Mr. Owens’ superhuman, emotional delivery of the lyrics, I mean, that’s what he does Right? Fred had everything locked into this track. It’s suitable for any dance floor setting.
Class, elegance, concave and convex. Thanks.
Pre-order here.
PAUL BRYAN, “Family Man” from Western Power Company
Grammy Award-winning bassist, composer and producer Paul Bryan’s latest project, Western Electric, reflects the personality of its creator: an album made of eclectic ideas and diverse influences . Brian has collaborated with singer-songwriter Amy Mann, exchanged musical ideas with beat scientist and jazz chameleon Jeff Parker, or collaborated with Elvis Costello and added to his new mysticism The expertise of drummer Jay Bellerose and saxophonist Josh Johnson.
On the song “Family Man,” the trio opens with bass, fuzz-tone wizardry, and saxophone blues, drifting and delayed in a Weather Report -esque feel. While an abstract keyboard run appears in the middle, the entire track feels like it’s from another era and dimension while being firmly anchored in one. Bryan’s release was a success, becoming an “outside in” journey with star musicians taking the charts to other atmospheres.
Pick it up here.
