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The Federation
Comprising rappers Goldie Gold, Stresmatic, and Doonie Baby, Fairfield's favorite sons the Federation have been credited with being the inventors of the hyphy sound — thanks in no small part to producer Rick Rock, the "king of slaps." Rock took the Bay Area's venerable "mobb music" template, injected it with steroids, enhanced its flavorfulness, added more widespread appeal, and unleashed it on the world. On their just-released second album, It's Whateva, the Feds take hyphy's infectious energy into the realms of metal, crunk, techno, and gospel and still come out shinier than the grill on a just-polished Cadillac.
Electronic/DJ
Sponsored by Jetset Energy Drink
Miguel Migs
A Santa Cruz native who cut his teeth in reggae bands, Migs has spent the past decade at the forefront of deep house music with his sassy blend of funk, soul, and dub textures and wholly seductive beats. He made a name for himself in the late '90s with a batch of acclaimed releases on Naked Music; his songs were heard on Sex in the City and Six Feet Under, and he's remixed tracks for the likes of Britney Spears and Macy Gray. Migs' latest dancefloor opus, Those Things, was released this year on his own Salted Music.
Christopher Willits
Prolific, tech-savvy multi-instrumentalist Willits has almost too many new projects to mention, but highlights include Listening Garden (a series of sound fragments recorded at an arts center in Japan), Plants and Hearts (a "pure droning guitar piece," in Willits' own words) and Ocean Fire (a guitar and piano ode to the sea recorded with Ryuichi Sakamoto). They come on the heels of last year's Surf Boundaries, which was recorded with ex-girlfriend Latrice Barnett and focused on the disintegration of a relationship. Though Willits is primarily known for his technical innovation and ambient, otherworldly sound, his compositions satisfy because they feel personal and emotionally affected.
Tussle
With two drummers and a fierce rhythmic devotion, it comes as no surprise that Tussle's main objective is "to make a motherfucker dance." Indeed, on the group's latest album, Telescope Mind, Tussle collaborated with original New York No-Wave group Liquid Liquid, and also featured a 10-minute Hot Chip remix of their song "Warning." The quartet is weird and wonderful live, as recent shows at the Bicycle Film Festival and Bottom of the Hill will attest — its set is full of slinky basslines, throbbing synths, and endless percussion. A little polyrhythmic stew, anyone?
Eat Tapes
Omnipresent party band Eats Tapes gets MIDIval on our asses, conducting an evil orchestra of vintage synths, rusty sequencers, a hacked Nintendo, and some jerry-rigged analogue thingies in order to inspire goofy, sweat-drenched meltdowns. The lady-and-gent duo released the full-length Dos Mutantes on Tigerbeat6 earlier this year to wide acclaim from dance music's fringes; the band draws inspiration and fans equally from electronica, punk, noise, and rock. Their podcasts on www.eatstapes.com reliably provide brain-twisting bangers and weirdo sound collages, while their live show is an insanely hi-NRG parade of radioactive jams. To paraphrase Orwell, it's like a robotic glam boot, stomping on a happy human face — forever.
International
Sponsored by The Futon Shop
Sila and the AfroFunk Experience
After seeing Senegalese artist Baaba Maal perform in his native tongue at the Fillmore a few years a go, Kenyan-born vocalist Victor Sila was inspired to hang up his previous musical guise as a R&B pop singer and pursue the worldly rhythms of his current group, Sila and the AfroFunk Experience. Mixing the legendary sounds of Fela Kuti with some tricks gleaned from James Brown and P-Funk, Sila (who sings in Swahili and English) and company create a dancefloor-ready throb guaranteed to move you.
Cheb i Sabbah
When it comes to Cheb i Sabbah, the titan of transglobal, outernational sound, Algeria's loss is San Francisco's gain. The native North African DJ has been blending East and West (and north and south) since his early days spinning American soul records in Paris in the '60s. A S.F. resident since '86, he pioneered the world music scene via the now-defunct 1002 Nights parties and his ongoing Tuesday night club at Nickie's. Sabbah has earned a dedicated following by weaving Indian, African, and Arabian sounds with jazz, poetry, and anything else that might enhance his trancey dancefloor groove.
Bayonics
Anyone who's ever caught a Bayonics show at the Elbo Room, 12 Galaxies, or El Rincon can testify that this ten-piece Latin hip-hop band is no joke when it comes to producing sweaty exuberance among audiences. Mixing urban elements with traditional rhythms, they're equally comfortable playing mariachi, salsa, or reggaeton, often with a jazzy, brassy, and superpercussive feel. Based in the Mission, Bayonics have become as vital to that neighborhood's live music scene as avocado-infused salsa verde is to the area's taquerias.
Saoco
Bay Area instrumental Latin hip-hop outfit Saoco combines Cuban rhythms and aspects of popular reggaeton and timba. Led by energetic Cuban national Leyder "Dos Four" Chapman, Saoco deploys an upbeat sound that's drawing increasing attention from fans of the aforementioned musical genres and beyond. Chapman's breathless raps — sung mostly in Spanish — ride jaunty keyboards, staccato drumbeats, live turntablism, and taut backing vocals to create the sort of music that lends itself to dancing. Chapman's stage presence only further stirs up a fervent musical party. Salsa lessons and a dance partner are highly recommended at Saoco shows.
Soul/R&B/Funk
Sponsored by Papalote
The Martin Luther Experience
Martin Luther isn't shy about paying tribute to influences like Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Prince, and Sly & the Family Stone in his heartfelt, meandering-yet-insistent ballads and funk jams. Though the Roots affiliate doesn't perform live or release albums as often as many would like (other than a 2006 live album, he hasn't had a record since 2004's well-regarded Rebel Soul Music), he remains committed to the activist messages of his music via his MySpace blog. Luther even has a lead role in Julie Taymor's Beatles-themed film Across the Universe, which seems consistent with his throwback, idealistic charms.
