Submit your music to Bay Beats, the SF Library's free music streaming platform
Country lovers, tune into Noelle & the Deserters performing live on Lower Grand Radio this Tuesday, March 11 at 8:30 PM PT
Bay Beats is open for submissions! From March 1 to May 31, the San Francisco Public Library is accepting new submitted recordings for its free streaming music platform. Not only does Bay Beats pay artists exponentially more ($250 honorarium) than the usual streaming suspects Apple Music and Spotify, but it also provides artists with a new audience of Bay Area music lovers.
— White Crate
NOURISHING DUBBY SOUL
“So finally, my eyes gaze inward
I think I can see the light”
It’s 2025: All the best love albums are about self-love, right?
The Look of Adoration is the gorgeous latest album by Samplelov, featuring a dozen pieces of dubbed out samples and finely sung soul all woven together by brief verses meditating on the nature of storytelling, darkness, light, and sight. It is a sonically and semantically cohesive work, and one could imagine denizens of enchanting Tokyo cafes and cozy Parisian wine bars hearing this in its entirety, and wondering: Who is this? It’s the Oakland underground, simultaneously nourishing and intoxicating, served up through vintage crackling beats and charming harmonies.
Featured on two separate tracks are local artists Kahj and Versâam, who were joined by Samplelov for their elevated performance for SMARTBOMB at SFJAZZ earlier this year. Versâam also mastered The Look of Adoration. Which is all to say: We look forward to more collaborations from this crew.
— Ronny Kerr
PLUSH & EASY LOVE RAPS
“Are You Lonely Or Alone? Sometimes it’s hard to tell…”
Obviously “Gypsy Woman” by Crystal Waters has been an interminably sampled house classic since forever, but doesn’t it seem to be especially ubiquitous lately?
The latest great use of that classic sample: “La Da Di,” the closing track by EaSWay off his latest album Love in the Streets, with the LA-via-the-Bay producer Baghead slowing those addictive piano chords way, way down. There are brief uptempo moments, like the breaks on “Convince Me” and the juke on “Way Low,” but for the most part it’s sexy, midtempo club grooves with only a tasteful hint of big splashing hyphy sounds. EaSWay, a member of the 17-deep local collective Family Not A Group, bounces, swings, and sing-raps his autotuned way through the album, all plush and easy.
It’s EaSWay’s first solo album in almost three years, but of course the features abound: On “Sober,” he links up with Ozer, a pairing we loved on their OutKast-inspired EP Slaponia. Stunnaman02 flips on “Lights Off” in pure Stunnaman02 style, all unshakeable confidence luxuriating in the daily wins. And “the Snack Sensei” Grand-O appears on two tracks, including the title track, which opens with a cutting intro verse by SundaY. If you believe that romance blooms in the springtime, then Love in the Streets could be your soundtrack for the season.
— Ronny Kerr
LISTEN TO NOELLE & THE DESERTERS LIVE ON LOWER GRAND RADIO!
“For fans of classic country like early 70s Loretta Lynn or Glen Campbell tackling woes both modern and timeless, Noelle & the Deserters has you covered.” — Ben Einstein
Tune into our monthly Lower Grand Radio show this Tuesday, March 11 at 8:30 PM PT, and hear the glorious country sounds of Noelle & the Deserters, one of our favorite artists from the Speakeasy Studios SF roster. They’ll be performing a live set and then also be sitting down with us for an interview. See you there!
SHOW RECS
Our top show recommendations for the coming week:
[rock] B. Hamilton, Low Plateau, DJ Foodcourt — March 6 at Makeout Room
[rock] The Fricks (EP release), The Troubs, Spurts, Loser Soup — March 6 at Kilowatt
[rock] Blue Indeed, Cup Cup, Pilár, DJ N0be — March 6 at the Knockout
[metal] Dawn of Ouroboros (album release), Wolf King, Archaeologist — March 7 at Thee Parkside
[rock] Brother M (album release), New Not Shameful, Meadow — March 8 at the Knockout
[club] CST CLOSING PARTY ft. redbeans, Tom Marsi x Tomu DJ, Matt Sussman x In Bloom, Do While, Lonald J. Bandz x NFS, Jeremy Castillo x Izaak S, Infinite Jess x Matthew Paul, Very Much Romance, Oso Feo x Banal, Obstac x Faited — March 8 at Cone Shape Top
[techno] ENDZEIT ft. Mike Parker, .VRIL, Neel, Mary Yuzovskaya, Kudeki, monosym, Sentient — March 8 at Public Works
[experimental] Tessellations, Corsick / Pontac, The Musele Project — March 9 at Beauty Supply Arts
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