Inspired by Sun Ra, SMARTBOMB and Lower Grand Radio release futurist mixtape "LIGHT BEINGS #3"
Inspired by Sun Ra, SMARTBOMB and Lower Grand Radio release futurist mixtape "LIGHT BEINGS #3"
Public Works and As You Like It celebrate a decade of dance and community in SF; Metallica celebrates 30 years of the Black Album; and a salsa bomb by La Misa Negra
Cerrone. Detroit techno pioneers Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson. James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem. Carl Craig and Moodymann. ESG. Todd Terje.
Over the past decade, I’ve seen all of these legends perform—and I’ve seen all of them play at a single venue in San Francisco: Public Works.
I didn’t know it then—I didn’t know much then—but Public Works was as new to the city as I was when I moved out of my hometown of Daly City in 2011. Sitting a couple hundred feet off Mission St and adjacent to a freeway on-ramp, the club has always been beautiful in its simplicity. Its heart: a square-shaped dancefloor framed by a Funktion One soundsystem.
Its soul: All those special moments we’ve shared there. Running into friends we didn’t expect to see. Taking a smoke break in the patio. Smiling at a stranger, dancing with someone new. Those you-had-to-be-there moments: James Murphy dropping “Love Hangover” by Diana Ross as the climax to an epic all-vinyl set. Todd Terje dropping “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston. Juan Atkins dropping “Do Ya Wanna Funk” by Patrick Cowley and Sylvester, a tribute to the city. I’ll even give a shoutout to that one door guy who, after skeptically comparing the ID photo of my 16-year-old self and the 26-year-old person standing in front of him, declared, “Slow down the aging process!” That ruined me for a couple years, but I’ve moved on.
To celebrate its 10-year anniversary tomorrow, the club is throwing a party headlined by German techno producer and DJ Robag Wruhme with support from SF artists David Harness, Rachel Torro, and Elz. Read more on SF Station.
Peace,
ronny
THAT NEW NEW
“I’m not part of history. I’m more a part of the mystery, which is my story.”
— Sun Ra
This is a special one. LIGHT BEINGS #3 is the third installment of a SMARTBOMB mixtape series in collaboration with Lower Grand Radio. A bunch of new artists are featured (Imogen TV, Raven, A TE H, PeopleMover, glia) as well as previous contributors Salami Rose Joe Louis, Cheflee, W.A.L.A., RITCHRD, IDHAZ, and Ashtrejinkins. Once again, it’s a diverse but cohesive mix of sounds, seamlessly blending slurred hip hop beats, experimental tape loops, lofi house, and breakbeat. Tying into the vision of LIGHT BEINGS as “a multidisciplinary art capsule project of audio, visual and wearable artifacts carrying futurist messages from the outermost realms of imagination,” the release is available in digital form and limited edition cassette along with a shirt and tote bag hand-printed and dyed in Oakland.
Oakland black metal group Abstracter premiered “Abyss Above,” the second single from their upcoming album Abominion. Out October 1 on Sentient Ruin Laboratories.
On to the next for Oakland’s super prolific rave master: Bored Lord will be releasing four-track breakbeat EP The Last Illusion on T4T LUV NRG, a New Hampshire label co-created by Eris Drew and Octo Octa.
Nicaraguan-American rapper Deuce Eclipse joins fellow SF artist Spirit Drive on the new track “Ease Up.”
“I’m a pretty complex, nuanced person. I mean, growing up in the Bay, being exposed to all different types of culture, music, art forms and growing into the person I have become, it’s not like you can fit all that into 3 minutes and 30 seconds.” Oakland rapper G-Eazy dropped his fourth album These Things Happen Too, including features by Lil Wayne, YG, E-40, Demi Lovato, and Ty Dolla $ign. Read more on Datebook.
Inspired by both funk god George Clinton and electronic music tinkerer Raymond Scott, Digital Digital Analog is the second full-length from HEADBOGGLE, an experimental project of prolific SF artist Derek Gedalecia—just released on Oakland-based Ratskin Records.
There are enough songs about SF. How about some love for the North Bay? “Santa Rosa” is the name of one of the tracks on Lindsey Buckingham’s new self-titled solo album—the one that got him kicked out of Fleetwood Mac.
I must be asleep at the wheel because I totally forgot this one a couple weeks ago. Metallica released a remastered deluxe box set and 53-song covers album to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their self-titled album, commonly known as the “Black Album.” Of course, since the original album only had a dozen tracks, there are many repeats of “Enter Sandman” and “Nothing Else Matters.” Featured artists include Miley Cyrus, St. Vincent, Juanes, Weezer, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Mexican Institute of Sound, OFF!, Cage the Elephant, J Balvin, The Neptunes, Portugal. The Man, Phoebe Bridgers, Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan, My Morning Jacket, Idles, Kamasi Washington, and Rodrigo y Gabriela. Remarkably, the reissue has placed the album in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, but it seems to have peaked at #9—the olds don’t have quite enough steam to overtake Drake, Kanye West, Kacey Musgraves, Olivia Rodrigo, Baby Keem, Doja Cat, the Kid LAROI, or Morgan Wallen.
Let the remixes roll in: “OUT OUT,” last month’s new EDM single from UK producers Joel Corry and Jax Jones features Charli XCX and Bay Area-born-and-raised Saweetie, and Corry himself just released the VIP mix.
Alameda’s Bad Time Records released Make Yourself at Home by Brazilian ska punk band Abraskadabra.
Declaring it the first-ever vinyl compilation of Mexican New Wave and post-punk, SF’s Dark Entries Records released Back Up: Mexican Tecno Pop 1980-1989, a compilation of 10 electronic tracks by Mexican artists from the 80s.
In addition to Abstracter above, Oakland metal label Sentient Ruin Laboratories released Eternal Flesh Ripping Chaos by Canadian/American band Bestial Putrefaction as well as a limited edition cassette tape box set of Backwater (2017) and Obsidian Katabasis (2021) by Italy’s Fuoco Fatuo.
MAYBE MISSED
Hijole!
Released about a year ago, “Pistola” is salsa-inspired fire by Oakland seven-piece band La Misa Negra, expanded to a 14-piece for this track featuring Shae Fiol and Mireya Ramos of all-female mariachi group Flor de Toloache. The song originally appeared on the group’s self-titled second album in 2017, bringing together cumbia, Afro-Cuban, and salsa in an energetic and uniquely Californian medley. La Misa Negra was supposed to reunite last month at the Independent for their first live show in forever, but it’s been postponed to February 25. Get tickets.
@MENTION
I’ll look for you in old Honolulu
San Francisco or Ashtabula
You're gonna have to leave me now, I know
But I’ll see you in the sky above
In the tall grass, in the ones I love
You're gonna make me lonesome when you go
Caught this cute little nod to SF (between one to Hawaii and another to Ohio) while listening to Bob Dylan’s classic 1975 album Blood on the Tracks. Cute but sad because the Genius sleuths—citing a book on the making of the album—say it’s a reference to past and present homes of Ellen Bernstein, an A&R executive at Columbia Records with whom Dylan was having an affair.
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!