White Crate — June 11, 2021
Reminisce on early 90s underground raves in the Bay, space out to dub techno love by Experimental Housewife, and rock with Rick Ross, Guapdad 4000, and !llmind
I was but a wee child at the time, but maybe you remember:
If you were looking for an underground, all-night party in the Bay Area in the early 1990s, your night likely started with a call to an anonymously run phone number called the BuzzLine.
That’s the opener to the history of the Bay Area's most notorious '90s rave warehouse, a piece published by Dianne de Guzman in SFGATE this week. Delving into the underground space formally known as the Oakland International Trade Center but better known as Home Base, the piece is a beautiful and nostalgic exploration (including photos!) of one influential rave that brought together art, drugs, and a community centered on dance music. Hat tip to First Floor for sharing the article!
Peace,
ronny
THAT NEW NEW
Chicago jazz collective Resavoir covered/remixed “Henny” from Dougie Stu’s Familiar Future, which had previously been featured on KQED’s 10 Best Bay Area Albums of 2020.
Grid, the new EP by Aaron Space & his Terrestrial Underlings, was featured on Bandcamp’s New & Notable: “The Berkeley drummer and composer navigates paranoia through intricately layered experimental jazz songs, sweetened by a touch of soul.”
Guitarist Peter Stroud plays on “Window To Your Plimsoul” as the next collaborator featured on Funkwrench Blues’ “Need to Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series.”
Sebastopol rapper J.Lately released “Rotate”, a poppy rap single produced by West Coast Trey and featuring Dizzy Wright.
SF musician Glenn Donaldson’s prolific folk pop project the Reds, Pinks & Purples released new single “Dull Panic & Sunday Gloom” b/w “I Almost Changed.”
Oakland rapper Sin Q released “On Me”, produced by Kev B.
“There’s always good music in San Francisco, you just never hear about it till someone somewhere else finally pays attention.” So opens the promotion for The Ballad of Doug by the Telephone Numbers, an upcoming jangling power pop album to be released by Paisley Shirt Records on June 25.
Local label releases:
Alameda’s Bad Time Records announced Wavebreaker #1, a 7” with “Need Some Shaking” by ska punk band Less Than Jake and “Going Under” by Kill Lincoln. Due out June 18.
Dark Entries Records announced the next offering from the archives of SF disco legend Patrick Cowley. In partnership with the Stud, the label is releasing rehearsal tapes by White Trash Boom-Boom, a Haight-Ashbury all-female avant-garde performance troupe whose kooky, theatrical singing is backed by Cowley’s synth productions. Also in Dark Entries news, the label’s recent reissue of deep house track “Essence of a Dream” by Chicago’s Risqué III was featured in The Best Dance 12” Singles on Bandcamp: April/May 2021.
Oakland’s Ruff Tapes dropped 300% N.R.G, a previously unreleased NRG and bubblegum techno mix by Dj Canada, originally recorded in 1996.
Oakland’s Sentient Ruin Laboratories announced Desecration, the upcoming album by Portuguese atmospheric metal band Concilium. Due out July 2.
MAYBE MISSED
I know I’d heard the name Experimental Housewife before, but I hadn’t really listened until the first track on Virgo Remixes by Jerod S. Rivera gripped me. As a DJ, drummer, and producer for more than 20 years, the artist has toured internationally and is now based in San Francisco (though in the process of moving to Sonoma County). While her earlier works tend to dub techno in the vein of Wolfgang Voigt and Basic Channel, the new remix of Rivera’s “Wheaties” moves away from being strictly a headphone trip to something that could cast a spell of hypnotic light on the late night dance floor.
Read a recent interview with Experimental Housewife and a hear a mix she did for Cone Shape Top.
ONE TO WATCH
“!llmind and I made way too many songs.” West Oakland rapper Guapdad 4000 and !llmind released the deluxe version of their album 1176, including six new songs and a remix of “How Many” featuring Rick Ross.
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!