We like Pam Grier, Red Stripe, the sound and the smell of records, mixtapes,the SF Giants, analog synths, McCovey Cove, Lanikai at night, and San Francisco's indian summer.
Congratulations to the homie Oliver who took home the top prize at the Lightsleepers Beat Root beat battle. I've known Oliver since he and Lotus Eater were fresh faced 15 year olds and coming out to all the shows, dj'ing, dancing, and collecting records. Ahh, the memories.
oliver
animal parts, lotus eater, oliver
That reminds me...I've been feeling nostalgic lately and meaning to post up some old pictures. Soon.
Don't forget to check out the Lightsleepers beat battle tonight! The winner is chosen by the crowd tonight, so it'll definitely be worth checking out to vote for your favorite. We want to wish Oliver the best of luck!
I am a sucker for a good story. And if you ask me, Jeremy Fish's work has always transcended some of the built in limitations of "street art" or "skateboard art," in that every painting seems to relate a story. In an age where most "art" is a remix of existing images (pop culture recycled). I can appreciate that. Beyond that though, dude gets the utmost respect for seeming to follow his own trends, staying grounded, and working hard. Incidentally, we were pretty lucky to have him do a shirt design for us a loong time ago.
Here is a video documenting what he's been up to. I think the Aesoprock collaboration coloring book he did is sold out, but I could be wrong. Check out Upper Playground for that. His latest work has improved by leaps and bounds, in the sheer output, diversity of mediums, and ideas. (See: shirts, toys, record covers, wood panels, dolls, hotel rooms, installations, boxers, Nikes, bunnyhats,hoodies, and more!) The studio visit link will inform you on his latest.
I need these Russian nesting dolls in my life. Someone told me the littlest one is Ray Potes! Ahaha.
An exciting discovery was made while wasting time scouring the for There is a documentary in the works reflecting on the life and music of Arthur Russell. For those unfamiliar, at the root of things Russell was an experimental cellist in NY. His music was an unorthodox mix of classical, dub, and even dance, all set to the glittering background the of NY in the 70's and 80's. When I say "dance" I don't mean the cheesy stuff we think of today, but rather more along the lines of "no wave," but with an disco back beat.
This is where the fascination began but hardly where it ended. The fact that he was also gay, originally from a small town in Iowa, that he was known for minimalist compositions ala John Cage, were also cause for intrigue. Sadly, like so many artists of his time, he was not fully recognized for his contributions until long after his death. Seek out his music. Soul Jazz released a nice collection of his work in handy compilation form.
"Arthur Russell died in obscurity of AIDS in 1992. Yet this New York composer was a true visionary, traversing dub, disco and Minimalism and anticipating the 90s obsession with musical hybrids. --David Toop, an A to Z of dub.
Arthur Russell was an avant-garde cellist active in the New York art scene of the late twentieth century. But next to his 'art music' activities, Russell was equally active in the New York club scene, writing dance music, after being introduced to it by Nicky Siano. As such he bridges the gap between art music and popular music. His tracks have been (re)mixed by such luminaries as Larry Levan, Walter Gibbons, Nicky Siano and Francois Kevorkian. His best tracks are Loose Joints 'Is It All Over My Face', Dinosaur L 'Go Bang!' and Lola 'Wax The Van'.
"If Nick Drake had lived long enough to make records with New Order, they might have sounded something like this" (Rolling Stone , 2004)"
Jack of all trades, Travis Jensen (a.k.a. the SF Masher), was recently spotted at the ASR/Agenda tradeshow with his "Minister of Information" cap on for Stereo Skateboards. Check out the visual evidence here
Here are some videos of DJ Day in action. The second one is a edit of the Nas - It Ain't Hard To Tell video, replayed to the remix he did. Catch him at SXSW this year with the Rub among others.
I take every opportunity I can to big up DJ Day, well, because he deserves it. He's one of those rare dj's/producers who are both technically skilled and blessed with a real talent for what feels and sounds good. At the end of the day, he makes people music. It sounds simple, but it's a rare quality these days.
Day's new one on Melting Pot entitled "Got To Get It Right" is a top-notch nod to the summery up tempo groove of the Mizell Brothers. His interpretations launch these tracks to new heights, with generous layers of warm keyboard and synth sounds. Not to be missed are the serious messages, he's ingeniously locked, just below the danceable soul of the record. Who said good music, and great messages can't peacefully co-exist?
Congrats also to Mike 2600 ( of Burlesque) who did the amazing cover art.
Unfortunately, at the time of this post, the only place in the US that I've seen with copies is Dusty Groove. (Note: and they are out of stock :( ) If anyone sees these anywhere else domestically please drop a comment for the rest of us.
Wow, talk about limited, rare as hen's teeth, this is next level! If my calculations are correct, in order to own one of these 7-inch platters you need to spend $130 in the HHV.de store. Offer is one copy, per person, per order. Get your charge card ready. Sound clips included.
