Oakland summertime sunsets and G-funk: New interview and playlist by Lonald J. Bandz
Private piano and voice recordings by SF disco legend Sylvester, blistering hardcore punk from the Losers, and a brassy world tour with Jazz Mafia
Featuring soul funk hip hop greats from Digital Underground and DJ Quik to George Clinton and Raphael Saadiq, this is one episode of White Crate’s show on Lower Grand Radio you don’t want to miss.
With deep connections to Oakland and the Bay, eclectic tastemaker, DJ, and visual artist Lonald J. Bandz takes us on a journey inspired by the web of hip hop, soul, and G funk that soundtracks summertime sunsets on the west coast.
Listen to the interview on Mixcloud →
Listen to the playlist on Apple Music →
— White Crate
BEYOND THE MIRROR BALL
Maybe it was the runner’s high, but by the time I got to the end of the first episode of Sound Barrier: Sylvester I was grinning from ear to ear. The documentary podcast closes with a live rendition of the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” transformed by the underground disco legend from a bittersweet guitar ballad into a piece imbued with exuberance.
Presenting more of this side of the artist, Private Recordings, August 1970 is a collection of songs recorded shortly after Sylvester’s arrival in San Francisco but well before “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” – the 1978 disco anthem that topped international charts (but not stateside), faded into obscurity, then was later brought back to life by dance music enthusiasts. The new collection from Dark Entries Records sounds a world away too, but far from flashy disco and hi-NRG studio production, it’s just piano and voice: all Great American Songbook classics like the ones your grandparents might have sung around the house.
The good-old-days charm of songs like “Stormy Weather” and “Happy Days Are Here Again” is counterweighted by a wistful loneliness, kind of like the way he turned the mellow and melancholy “Blackbird” into an expression of joy. I can’t presume to know if that’s what Sylvester was feeling when he recorded these, but that’s how they might hit for you. There’s no upbeat disco camp here; instead, you’ll discover Sylvester’s singular ability to wring every last drop of emotion out of a tune, even ones you’ve heard tons of times before.
— Jody Amable
BLISTERING SWEATY RAW
Blistering, sweaty, raw. What more do you need from hardcore punk? You Win We Lose is the pissed off debut full-length album by the Losers on Willow House Records (with cassettes and vinyl available through LA’s Water Under the Bridge Records), and it’s a stunning resurrection of classic hardcore sounds splattered across the perennial San Francisco doomscape. To complete the package, there’s even a dubbed out interlude (is that sarcasm?) on the intro to track “Hippy Sick.” The recording sounds incredible, but this is definitely we’ll one want to hear live.
— Ronny Kerr
BRASSY WORLD TOUR
“As we touch down in America, we find ourselves immersed in a rich musical tapestry that has evolved over centuries through the African Diaspora. Funk, Blues, and Soul lay the foundation, paving the way for innovative breakbeat, experimental sounds, and even the electrifying live Drum N Bass.”
Like life, music is a vast, interconnected web of styles, perspectives, and approaches. Sometimes the connections are hidden: How many people who listen to James Brown automatically connect the sound of funk to African rhythms and methods of music-making? And how many people who listen to Fela Kuti connect the sound of afrobeat directly to the funky revolution led by Brown?
Sometimes it’s good to be explicit, paying respect and homage to the music that influences us, and this is what Jazz Mafia continues to do in their “Un-Covered” series. On Un-Covered Vol. 5; Nigeria, Jamaica & Beyond, the eclectic Bay Area-based collective kicks things off with a cover of Kuti, flies to Jamaica to skank to the Skatalites, and then completes the journey by bringing it to the U.S. for a freestyle blend of breaks. Nothing like a bunch of brass to light up your spirits.
— Ronny Kerr
SHOW RECS
Our top show recommendations for the coming week:
[classical] Flower Piano — Sep 8-12 at the San Francisco Botanical Garden
[punk] Spiral Dub, Dippers, Unity, Katsy Pline — Sep 8 at Thee Stork Club
[hip hop] Vato Negro, Mars Kumari, Umamifunk, CTZN — Sep 8 at the Golden Bull
[rock] Yea-Ming and The Rumours, RIP Florence, Violent Change, Now — Sep 9 at Thee Stork Club
[rock] All Girl Summer Fun Band, Kids on a Crime Spree, Tony Jay (LP release) — Sep 9 at Bottom of the Hill
[rock] Stone Foxes — Sep 9 at Amoeba Music SF
[punk] Street Eaters, Noxeema, Croissant — Sep 9 at Stay Gold Deli
[hip hop] T-Venom, Detour, West-Wun, Juntao, A.K.Aye — Sep 9 at Adobe Books
[electronic] Al Lover DJ Party, Orchestra Gold — Sep 9 at Kilowatt
[club] Entropy Worship, Adra, Nihar Bhatt, Cherub420, Online Narcotics, Natural Selection — Sep 9 at Edinburgh Castle Pub
[r&b] Mare Island Dock of Bay Music Festival ft. The California Honeydrops, Fantastic Negrito — Sep 9-10 at Mare Island, Vallejo
[punk] The Losers, Pyrex, Violent Change — Sep 12 at the Knockout
[rock] Lunchbox, Whitney’s Playland — Sep 13 at Vesuvio Cafe
[hip hop] A-1 & Baghead, Isaiah Mostafa — Sep 14 at the California Academy of Sciences
[rock] Arts & Crafts, Uncle Chris, Secret Secret — Sep 14 at El Rio