Tarnation’s ‘What Is and Was’ is a year old. Now’s a good time to listen.
All too often in this age of music journalism centering on the newest and hottest, gems sometimes slip through the cracks and unfortunately miss that magic window of coverage when it's "new." Paula Frazer and Tarnation's What is and Was turned a year old last month, and it's a gem I don't want to let slip through the cracks any longer. I'm not entirely sure why we missed it when it was "new," but luckily our coverage of Jacob Aranda's debut led me back to it. Throughout What Is and Was, Tarnation sets up a world where Paula Frazer's soaring [...]
Listen to Oakland artist Baeilou’s beautiful “Eleanora”
The cello isn't something you hear a lot in pop music. Enter Oakland's Baeilou, a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music taking the cello to new and exciting places, and her new track "Eleanora." "Eleanora," as you might be able to tell from high school English class, is based on the Edgar Allan Poe poem of the same name. I hate using the word "haunting," but if you can come up with a better word for this song then I'd like to hear it. Baeilou has performed with off-Broadway casts, Fantastic Negrito, and in several film scores (she [...]
Fat Tony releases “Put It Back” featuring producer Bobby Renz
Nigerian-American rapper Fat Tony, AKA Anthony Lawson Jude Ifeanyichukwu Obiawunaotu, recently dropped his single "Put It Back" featuring Text Me writer and producer Bobby Renz. Fat Tony, who now resides in Los Angeles, has played a huge part in shaping the Houston rap scene. Meanwhile, Renz has been a producer and songwriter that has been with Text Me since day one, but is now working to release new music under his name — thus shifting the focus at Text Me from label to production. Together, they joined forces for this latest track enforcing the idea of two people in a [...]
Listen to this twinkling new track from New Spell
San Francisco's New Spell have released a delicate new song called "Of Time," a slowly-rotating single that contemplates our very existence. New Spell is Leanne Kelly and Jacob Frautschi, a singer-songwriter and drummer, respectively. Kelly, in her daily life, is also training to become a therapist. Find out more about them in last fall's Bands In Portrait. New Spell play Bottom of the Hill this Thursday, May 31. They have lots more local dates lined up over the summer, from Oakland to Petaluma to Santa Cruz. Moon Ensemble, Date Nite, New Spell Bottom of the Hill May 31, 2018 9pm, [...]
Julia Lewis releases new song “Pink and Blue”
Producer/songwriter/beatmaker Benjamin Falik is Julia Lewis. Yes, they're one and the same. Falik is ambivalent about the idea of personal fame, so that's why he has a pseudonym: "It's little bit of smoke and mirrors," admits Falik, a Berkeley native. "I like playing with people's expectations." Lately, huge things have been going in Ben's favor. He recently won a competition, selected from among 3,000 people to write with Babyface through his publishing company Good Vibes Music Group. He'll be participating in Spotify's Secret Genius session. And, he's working on his first producer album, set to release late summer/early fall. Today, [...]
Mall Walk releases final single, plays final show tonight!
After several years, an EP, an LP, and a pair of singles, Oakland's Mall Walk is calling it quits. On their way out, the post punk trio is releasing a 7" single on lead singer Rob Miller's Vacant Stare Records and will play their final show at the Knockout tonight. And although Mall Walk is finished, we don't need to get too down, as we're sure to see members of the band in some of their many other projects, including Dick Stusso and Blues Lawyer. Listen to the latest single followed by some of their older material and their live [...]
Loco Tranquilo drop “Wind Song,” tease upcoming EP
San Francisco's Loco Tranquilo, fresh off their inclusion on our "Highlights in Bay Area Latin Music" mixtape have released "Wind Song," the first single from an EP set for a summer release. Loco Tranquilo combine elements of jazz, psych-rock, shoegaze, and more while Julian Gervasi sings in a unique tenor in both English and Spanish in across their catalog. Listen to the swaying "Wind Song" below (along with their previous EP, In the Sunshine. Loco Tranquilo celebrates the release of "Wind Song" Thursday night at the Rickshaw Stop. WIND SONG by Loco Tranquilo IN THE SUNSHINE by Loco Tranquilo Loco [...]
Marin native Feiler releases hushed new song, “God Knows”
The Marin-bred artist Feiler has released his debut single, "God Knows." Listen to it below. The project of musician Austin Smith, Feiler is a dark electronic act that works within familiar melodies. His forthcoming debut record, which features the track, was written in an old house in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia, in a makeshift studio he assembled out of duct tape and blankets. He's now based in LA, but grew up here in Marin. "God Knows" is a classic acoustic ballad occasionally pierced by electronically-enhanced percussion and instrumentation. Stay tuned for more details about the EP that will [...]
Fantastic Negrito announces new album ‘Please Don’t Be Dead’
Grammy-winning blues artist Fantastic Negrito has announced his latest album, Please Don't Be Dead, out June 15. The Oakland-based musician's newest album comes at a time when discussions of race and the safety of Black and Brown people are not only urgently needed, but, in Xavier Dphrepaulezz's hands, sure to be poignant. “I wrote this album because I fear for the life of my black son,” said the arist. “I fear for the lives of my daughters. I am uncertain about what kind of future they will face." Fantstic Negrito's music spans multiple genres, parallel to his own multicultural experiences. [...]
Duckwrth affiliate BayBoogy spends it all on new single, “LOTTO”
Fans of Duckwrth, 1-O.A.K., IAMSU!, andRayana Jay already know BayBoogy. The 24-year-old San Francisco native has acted as the backing guitarist for several local hip-hop and R&B acts, but is now building the foundation for himself as a solo artist. His self-produced 2017 EP, "Jameson" earned him a spot as the opener on back-to-back Eric Bellinger shows and a recently sold out Adrian Marcel show at the New Parish. His newest track, "LOTTO," produced by 1-O.A.K and Drew Banga, proves BayBoogy is equally smooth on the mic as he is on the guitar. A tune for the hyphy wifey's, "LOTTO"'s [...]