Come wild out to KOKOKO! with support from Only Now and DJ Sep at Public Works
Come wild out to KOKOKO! with support from Only Now and DJ Sep at Public Works
Plus a raucous little head bopper from Toner, 11 tracks of slap from ALLBLACK, sparse and hypnotic minimal techno from solotape, and our weekly show recs
Big news! We’re beyond excited to announce that we are teaming up with Public Works to present KOKOKO! with support from Only Now and DJ Sep.
Expect amps smoking, wires melting, and frenetic energy emanating from KOKOKO!, one of the wildest bands hailing from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kush Arora brings an unremitting emission of razor cut rhythms, primitive channelings, and ritualistic electronics. DJ Sep, founder of Dub Mission—one of the longest running reggae clubs in the world—brings a heady mix of dub, reggae, and electronic. Get your tickets here.
— White Crate
RAUCOUS LITTLE HEAD BOPPER
With a name like “God’s Hammer”, you’d think you were getting yourself into some epic viking metal with a stupid number of cymbals and guitar shreds. But Toner keeps it down to earth with an upbeat pop punk piece composed of straight ahead rhythm and riffs. Accompanied by a grainy music video shot in what looks like the Sunset, it’s a raucous little head bopper.
Pick up a limited edition cassette of the single from Smoking Room.
— Ronny Kerr
JUST KEEP SCORING
“I don’t look at numbers , streams , views . I just score .”
East Oakland rapper ALLBLACK is back with Born to Score, 11 tracks of slap. From the night cruise gangsta funk of “Literally” to the moody noir on “Pelicans” to the triumphant chill out track “End Zone,” it’s easy flowing, DGAF bars backed by fat, addicting beats—all wrapped up in football references. Released by EMPIRE, the new album has far less features than ALLBLACK’s 2021 full-length TY4FWM, but it has a few great ones: Cash Kidd, Curren$y, Bfb Da Packman, BabyTron, Jay Worthy, and DUSTY LOCANE. The best hip hop from the Bay this week.
— Ronny Kerr
SPARSE, HYPNOTIC TECHNO
Lose yourself in the sparseness and hypnotism of solotape’s Days on End (pt.1). Released on Silva Electronics this week, the album enters the 2023 sonic landscape with a treasure trove of funky, minimal techno repertoire. The tracks were captured on a whim via tape, with playful variations of texture left to ferment long after the initial recording sessions during the early days of the pandemic. Resampling and reimagining the work several months later, solotape whips up a result that “provid[es] an honest snapshot into the artist’s internal world.” Ominous at times, the album maintains a steady groove and pulsing focus throughout, throbbing amidst the (dis)comfort in repetition and routine that many have easily acclimatized to over the last few years, for better or worse.
— Elise Mills
LIVE
Our top show recommendations for the coming week:
[jazz] Idris Ackamoor — March 3 at Bandcamp Oakland
[club] A Club Called Rhonda ft. Zara Larsson, Adam Kraft, Bezier, Polyglamorous — March 3 at the Great Northern
[club] Farsight, Suade, Bonitababy, Golem, Natural Selection — March 3 at EZ5 Bar
[club] The Magician, 3kelves, Dylan C. Greene — March 3 at Audio SF
[club] DJ Caro, Digital Kitkat b2b Freaky Emo, Discnogirl — March 4 at Mothership
[punk] Fake Fruit, Sissyfit, Chime School — March 4 at Bandcamp Oakland
[punk] Abacadabra, Warp, Vivian Panache — March 4 at Thee Stork Club
[rock] Blue Ocean, Coral Grief, Wanda What — March 8 at Thee Stork Club
[punk] Shutups, Juicebumps, Aluminum, Corey Duffel — March 9 at Stay Gold Deli
[rock] Credit Electric, Katsy Pline, Flamingos, Silverware — March 9 at Rickshaw Stop
Want even more? Join our Patreon to get access to the full Bay Area concert calendar, featuring specially curated recommendations for upcoming Bay Area shows.
