Icee Hot presents Seven Davis Jr., Pender Street Steppers and Roche at Public Works, 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 13. $10-15;
publicsf.com
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Claire Cichy
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Pender Street Steppers (middle and right) join Seven Davis Jr. at Public Works on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Since its inception, Icee Hot has focused on being ahead of the curve — bringing the freshest upcoming talent to San Francisco. And while it's a bit too early to call it, 2014 may very well end up being the Year of Mood Hut.
Mood Hut is the collective name of a group of young Canadian producers — just how many are involved is difficult to pin down (because of a predilection for pseudonyms and the general facelessness common to many underground house and techno producers), but the primary actors seem to be Pender Street Steppers, aka Jack Jutson and Liam Butler, and the memorably named Hashman Deejay, aka Tanner Matt, who may or may not also moonlight as Bluntman Deejay.
Since 2012, they have been releasing a steady stream of cassettes and vinyl, offering up their unique take on house music, in which the cheesy-yet-evocative New Age vibes of your parents' record collection (I'm looking at you,
Deep Breakfast) is reconfigured with thumping, disco-flavored minimal house rhythms. If this sounds a bit silly, that's because it does indeed come across that way at first. But the grooves are infectious, and subsequent listens reveal that these guys aren't messing around: They're seriously talented, crafting smart, languid tracks (few Mood Hut tracks are faster than 120 bpm) that sound like they could just as easily been produced in 1992 as 2014.
Joining the Pender Street crew is Seven Davis Jr., a new producer whose funky, soul-infused house music sounds like a modern, fresh take on vintage Moodymann. Local producer Roche, who crafts melodic, sunny house music with an array of hardware, will be playing a live set to celebrate his new record, just released on Icee Hot's eponymous record label. As always, resident DJs Shawn Reynaldo, Ghosts on Tape, and DJ Will provide support throughout the night.
