In the Bay, it’s “up to people who really care.” Interview with Daria Lourd aka Bored Lord
In the Bay, it’s “up to people who really care.” Interview with Daria Lourd aka Bored Lord
Listen to BART, an epic new techno and club compilation by No Bias, plus a wide variety of genres represented in new releases by NugLife, Ghoul, and Lara Downes
Daria Lourd (aka Bored Lord) is easily one of Oakland’s most acclaimed producers and DJs today. With special features in Crack Magazine, Mixmag, and Resident Advisor over the past few months, the Memphis-raised artist has captivated global audiences with her finely honed productions and heart-forward love for the ravers.
We’re honored that, before heading out on tours in Brazil and the UK, Bored Lord will be co-headlining alongside Baalti for White Crate’s next party at Mothership on Saturday, February 17.
Read the interview, and hear Lourd’s thoughts on the Bay Area underground.
— White Crate
POTENT BAY AREA CLUB
No Bias is a nexus of the Bay Area electronic music underground. A little over three years, a single called “IN TUNE” by RITCHRD (aka Tal Robinson) made it to Bandcamp, marking the label’s very first release. More than 40 singles and EPs later, the label run by Robinson has given platform to dozens of producers, from critically acclaimed creators like Bored Lord and Tomu DJ to all the lesser known but no less talented artists with ties to the Bay.
Bay Area Renegade Trax, the label’s latest release, celebrates that inspiring, interconnected community with a compilation of 23 tracks by 24 artists. Arranged in alphabetical order by artist name, the collection kicks off with Agropol’s “Waiver,” a 145+ BPM techno piece signaling what’s to come: Most of the compilation is hard and fast. Sometimes there’s an ear worm, sometimes it’s just gritty. Here it’s unrelenting, pounding four on the floor; there it’s jittery and breaking apart, a juke two-stepper, or something rhythmically harder to identify. Everywhere, it’s high-quality taste, pushing forward the potency of club music—and that’s exactly representative of No Bias.
— Ronny Kerr
LA TO SF, CALI LOVE
“I love my city because I get love in this bitch.”
LA beats, SF bars, California love: Puffed up by the warm wavy beats of Koreatown producer NugLife, Frisco Flowers is a three-track EP highlighting some of the Bay’s best rap talent. Kaly Jay, Ozer, Rocky G, and Billy Lo open up the proceedings on “Feeling Today,” weighing their everyday ruminations against tranquil jazz flute, guitar, and harp. On “No Doubtn'”, Stunnaman02 goes solo on a G-funk-style analysis of love and relationship when beginning from an unhealthy mental state: “If you wanna attract somebody good from the heart, inside is the first place that you should start.” It closes out with Grand-O and Young Roddy on “Down to Roll,” which pretty much sums up the whole thing—and then the instrumentals keep it rolling.
— Ronny Kerr
PRECISION GORE METAL
“Being around for so long, it’s just crippling pain all the time. I have gout, because all I eat is human flesh.” — Cremator, bassist for Ghoul
Like most truly Eldritch horrors, Ghoul has been around for a while: The Bay Area thrash band has been dishing out crushing riffs and pummeling drums for most of the 21st century. Noxious Concoctions, a five-song EP from the quartet’s bloody home in Creepsylvania, growls with otherworldly malevolence, offering up vital motivation to get you off your ass and prowling the moors in search of fresh kills. Galloping double-time blast beats propel frenzied power chords as they chug with chaotic evil, while larynx-lacerating vocals speak of bloody misfortunes. But the gore and mayhem operate musically with the precision of James Hetfield’s right hand, back when it still hungered for the flesh of the undead and a Coors.
Order the 12″ vinyl or CD from Tankcrimes →
— David Gill
THIS IS AMERICA
“I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness.” — George Gershwin
Nearly two years after “reconsidering” the works of quintessential ragtime composer Scott Joplin, acclaimed classical pianist Lara Downes returns with Rhapsody in Blue Reimagined, a nearly half hour suite revisiting the most famous of Gershwin pieces. Downes, who serves as Resident Artist for Classical KDFC, commissioned a new arrangement of “Rhapsody in Blue” from Puerto Rican composer Edmar Colón, who took the spirit and inspiration of the original piece (referenced by Gershwin above) and updated it for today’s America. Performing the piece with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra and conductor Edwin Outwater (the SFCM’s music director), Downes cycles through not just jazz and classical but sounds that could have come from diverse Arabic, Chinese, and Latin worlds—and beyond—reflecting the richly complex, endlessly multifaceted fact of life in this sometimes teetering, but hopefully evolving nation.
If you can find a ticket to the sold out show, you can see Lara Downes perform with Miró Quartet at the Bowes Performing Arts Building on Thursday, February 29.
— Ronny Kerr
SHOW RECS
Our top show recommendations for the coming week:
[rock] Fantastic Negrito, Dame Drummer — Feb 9 at the Chapel
[experimental] Amirtha Kidambi, Luke Stewart, Beast Nest — Feb 9 at the Lab
[rock] Fake Fruit, Katsy Pline, DJ Three6sashia — Feb 9 at Thee Stork Club
[indie] Pure Bathing Culture, Meernaa — Feb 9 at Cafe du Nord
[hip hop] Lil Kayla, Nef the Pharaoh, KE, Mally Bo — Feb 9 at Regency Ballroom
[club] David Harness — Feb 10 at Cafe du Nord
[club] Qaotiq ft. Carlos Souffront b2b Mozhgan, Stōned Früit b2b Chuck Gunn — Feb 10 at CounterPULSE
[electronic] Godgifu, Running With Scissors, Under Ego — Feb 12 at Neck of the Woods
[rock] Provoker, Riki, Still Ruins, DJ Omar — Feb 14 at Rickshaw Stop
[club] DJs Who Kiss, Cone Shape Top, and more — Feb 14 at Mothership
[jazz] Mae Powell Sextet, Baby Steps, Coexist — Feb 15 at Thee Stork Club
[rock] Geographer (album release party) — Feb 15 at Rickshaw Stop
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