Against my better judgment, I'm posting this ill jam by Levon Vincent. It's too bad that so many of the techno parties in San Francisco are full of shit people, but I guess this is true of any club...I think the last time that I had fun at a techno night was when Kendig did his last night at Honey Soundsystem's weekly party. But then again, I licked Beth Ditto's arm that night, so it had to be good.
Anyway, "Late Night Jam" makes me want to get much drunker than I am now. And slamdance. With you.
After a long weekend of music and merriment of all sorts, back to blogging.
Tonight in San Francisco, good friends Teengirl Fantasy are playing at the LiPo Lounge with two City-based groups: Partyeffects.biz and Bookworms. I've fallen in love with Bookworms' work- its samples, its rhythms, its synth burblings, its non-techno techno aesthetic. Definitely worth checking out the music on the myspace, and downloading the mellow piece featured below. And come out tonight! Should be an excellent party at an excellent location.
Last week, I had the privilege of meeting a pioneer of experimental electronic music whose work is receiving much belated recogniton. His name is Warner Jepson, and this partial chronology of works ought to be enough to convince anyone of the man's largesse.
His latest exhibition is "Metamorfaces," a collection of portrait images discovered at the National Center for Experiments in Telelvision, on display until August 16, 2009, at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art. Blending buchla synthesizer audio signals with those of one of the earliest video synthesizers, Jepson creates a series of self-portraits that mesmerize and terrorize the viewer, sometimes becoming so fractured as to evoke evisceration of the self, and often brightening to heights of synesthetic beauty. Humor is thrown into the mix, too, as can be seen below in his work, "Hot Pink Guys."
With more exhibitions and a Shinkoyo DVD release planned for the future, Jepson's work is being discovered, rediscovered and uncovered by a younger generation of electronic composers and video artists. Over at the Mutant Sounds blog, they're hosting Totentanz, a recording from a score to a ballet first performed in 1967 here in San Francisco. A real gem, well worth the time of anyone interested in what Kyle Gann has called 'American Music,' especially those interested in the unheralded composers of the new music and electronic era.
Apologies for yesterday-- was settling into the new apartment, getting some shelves for my records (finally), and drinking tequila with the friends.
Today, though, I'm giving you one of best disco tracks to ever come out of my new home-- Patrick Cowley's "Sea Hunt." If you don't know about Patrick Cowley, I would suggest you go here. "Sea Hunt" is shimmering, 121 bpm track that pretty much gives credence to Cowley's legend as one of the pioneers of electronic dance music. Along with this track and "Menergy," his work with Sylvester is also tops, as I'm sure you know. I can't say much more about this track, as it is so damn good that it speaks for itself. I will say, however, that it is truly sad that Cowley left us too early, not only because of his fantastic musical skills, but also because he was one fine-looking man.
Please respect the artists discussed in the blog by buying their releases, seeing them perform their craft, or finding your own way to support them. Any tracks posted here are for reviewing purposes only! If you would like a piece removed, email here.
If you would like to purchase mp3's, I urge you to go here or here. If you're addicted to that vinyl crack, then I'd go here or here.
