Dregs One drops hyphy verses from the heart of the Tenderloin on "Corner Store Poetry"
Dregs One drops hyphy verses from the heart of the Tenderloin on "Corner Store Poetry"
A 50-min DJ set from Vallejo juke producer SELA., Dax Pierson and more East Bay artists getting well-deserved recognition, and the bestselling album from Too $hort
Happy Bandcamp Friday!
Today my favorite online music marketplace (which happens to be based in Oakland) is waiving its revenue share to help support artists. Bandcamp started holding these promotional days at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns to generate additional revenue for artists, who had lost the opportunity to make money touring. Thankfully, the site has recognized the pandemic is far from over, and so they will continue to host Bandcamp Fridays today and on the first Friday of every month through the end of 2021.
Below I’ve linked many Bandcamp pages for local Bay Area artists you can support!
Peace,
ronny
THAT NEW NEW
“Keep it lit like a jack o’ lantern / San Francisco no bammer.” For the most Bay album out today, look no further than Corner Store Poetry by Dregs One. From the first moment to the last, it’s got that characteristic slapping hyphy beat and the casual poetry you might hear someone spitting on the grimy sidewalks around Geary and Larkin in SF’s Tenderloin district. Featuring beats produced by Adeyemi, Polye$ter, DJONTHETRACK, Okeefe, DJ Rek, and DJ.Fresh.
Oakland black metal group Abstracter announced upcoming album Abominion with the opening track “Eclipse Born.” Out October 1 on Sentient Ruin Laboratories.
“written with a rd-6, a td-3, and a gemini ds-1224.” Oakland rave boss Bored Lord released three-song EP Acid Girl Vol. 2.
Oakland rapper C5 released “True Colors”, a song of heartbreak made less painful by the headbopping backing beat.
Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and recording producer Bo Ramsey appears on “Insomnia” as the latest collaborator in Funkwrench Blues’ “Need to Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series.”
Prolific SF producer Brycon—who this year alone has offered up beats on 6locks (by South Bay artist KHAN), Jeweler’s Loop (collab with Lightbulb), Music for Indoor Cats (with iLL Sugi), and Don’t Forget You’re Welcome (with the Watershed)—released two songs recorded and produced in the early 2000s with Murs and Scienz of Life.
SF-based DJ and design collective Amor Digital released clubby reggaeton track “CALENTARTE” by JUANNY DEPP. Until September 15, proceeds from the release will be doubled and donated to people affected by Hurricane Ida in New Orleans.
Four months after his exceptional self-titled debut, Oakland producer Nate Manic dropped a single release featuring remixes of “You Will Not Ruin Me” by Justin Cudmore (NY), Mike Dearborn (Chicago), and fellow Oakland artist Bored Lord.
Vallejo producer SELA. released a live set from an underground rave that shared the date of the 10th anniversary of their first release. 50 minutes of excellent ghetto house, juke, and footwork.
“Filled with slow-motion synthesizer jams that luxuriate in atmosphere.” Polynators by SF producer Suryummy, one of the new releases on Oakland ambient tape label Constellation Tatsu, was featured on The Acid Test, August 2021, Bandcamp’s latest curation of “psychedelia, experimental club, noise, vaporwave, and the wholly uncategorizable.”
Six months after being featured on Bandcamp’s “New & Notable” for his soundtrack to the film Freeland, Oakland-based composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer William Ryan Fritch announced upcoming double album Built Upon a Fearful Void. Out November 19 on Wisconsin label Lost Tribe Sound.
SF’s Dark Entries Records announced Back Up: Mexican Tecno Pop 1980-1989, a compilation of 10 electronic tracks by Mexican artists from the 80s. Out September 24.
In addition to Abstracter above, Oakland metal label Sentient Ruin Laboratories announced two more upcoming albums: Eternal Flesh Ripping Chaos (Sep 24) by Canadian/American band Bestial Putrefaction and Anarchic Rapture of Withering (Sep 17) by Dutch band Zaqqoem. Today, the label released Decrepit Collection, featuring remastered versions of the 2017 self-titled debut demo tape and 2019 20-minute, single track “Vestigal” by Dutch experimental death metal duo Cryptae.
SF label Tompkins Square released Hurried Life : Lost Recordings 1965-1971, a collection of previously unreleased demos, home recordings, and lost songs by Ruthann Friedman, the singer and guitarist best known for writing “Windy,” a 1967 hit song for folk-pop group the Association.
EXTRA EXTRA
“I’m a music fan first, and a music producer second.”
Living rhythms. UK publication Crack Magazine published a new interview with Oakland experimental electronic musician Dax Pierson, who this year dropped his debut solo album Nerve Bumps (A Queer Divine Disappointment). Released by local labels Dark Entries Records and Ratskin Records, the album has been well-received by fans and critics alike for its seamless mixing of a wide variety of styles, from house and techno to electro and darkwave. (Hat tip to First Floor for sharing the article.)
The new Homeroom soundtrack is a celebration of Oakland talent. Oaklandside explores all the East Bay music included on the soundtrack to Homeroom, a new feature film on Hulu that follows the life of Oakland high school seniors in the time of COVID. Featured artists include Dame D.O.L.L.A., DJ D Sharp, Basi & Drew Banga, White Dave, Elena (aka Elena Pinderhughes), Goapele, and Rexx Life Raj.
CLASSICS
Released over 30 years ago, Life Is...Too Short was the fifth studio album by Oakland rapper Too $hort. It’s also his highest-selling album to date, being certified double platinum by the RIAA for sales of over two million copies. It’s also one of the best Bay Area hip hop albums of all time.
I revisited it a few weeks back, and then was reminded of it again with the news that Stern Grove Festival had to cancel its last summer show (featuring Too $hort and Tower of Power) due to 700,000 gallons of water flooding the venue.
Like so much classic 80s hip hop, Life Is...Too Short sounds raw and stripped down to the bare essentials—usually nothing more than a simple, heavy beat and the MC either weaving through a verse or repeating a hook. In contrast to the hit-it-and-quit-it short tracks common today, Too $hort doesn’t seem in any rush here. Half the songs are 5-8 minutes long, and they don’t change much mid-song. They just let the beat roll. Life is too short to always be moving fast, so sit back, put on “Oakland”, and rock to it.
SHUFFLE ON
If you ever want to press play on the growing list of artists covered on White Crate, follow this Spotify playlist. Shuffle and crossfade recommended!