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Featured Label: Ghostly International
Ghostly International is a label that prides itself on the juxtaposition of music and art branding. Created by Sam Valenti IV when he was 19 yrs old, the label was realized through Valenti’s experience as a DJ, interest in live performances, and art history background. With the incorporation of art, and expression, the label encouraged exploration. In the beginning, Tadd Mullinix, best known as Dabrye, comprised 50% of the label’s ro…
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Featured Label: Numero Group
Amongst the growth of repackaged soul (Lee Fields & Sharon Jones) and revitalized reissues, is a record label doing its own thing: Numero Group. Numero Group is not a record label signing artists, it’s a crate diggers’ dream occupation of reissuing lost gems. I stumbled upon a write up of the label at Aquarium Drunkard, where they were highlighting a group called 24-Carat Black. At the Numero Group website they have a smattering …
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Featured Label: Warp Records
Warp Records has become a staple of good electronic, artistic, experimental, and new wave music since the early 90s. This is not Arista, or Def Jam with pop hit, one time wonders. While some of their artists have topped charts, most of their music remains known by DJs and music collectors. Like most hustlers in the music industry, the label’s first two releases by LFO (not “Summertime Girls” LFO) and Nightmares on Wax were sold…
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Featured Label: Tres Records
p hop, which is both mind stimulating as it is eardrum palpable. C.R.A.C. Knuckles: “Buy Me Lunch” Big ToneBig Tone, born Anthony Jackson, a Detroit rapper with LA lyrical realism. Having worked with some of the best, like J Dilla, Big Tone came out with his sophomore album The Art of Ink, which is filled with a blend of soulful and funky beats. Giant PandaGiant Panda, still a symbol of remembering traditions without forgetting pr…
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Sila & The Afrofunk Experience Interview: Starting with a Dream
…name. As I walked up behind her on the red carpet, nobody took my picture. It was like tumbleweeds and crickets, man. One of the photographers shouted, “Who are you?” I was like “Hey! I’m Sila from Kenya and I’m nominated for best international album!” (SFC): Oh man that’s rough. [laugh] (SM): That’s the beginning of my night, so I have no expectations what-so-ever. When I hear “Black President,” the way they announced it was kind of backwards. …
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Best Albums (Shows and Songs) of 2011: Patrick Kelly’s Picks
For the best albums in 2011, SF Critic will highlight each of our staff’s picks, rather than an accumulative 25, 50, 1,000 best album list. About: Patrick Kelly has been photographing and writing since almost the beginning of SF Critic. If you ever meet Patrick, which if you’re ever at a show in San Francisco you likely will, he always has this big grin across his face. One of the wonderful things about Patrick, besides his photogra…
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Best Albums of 2011: Will’s Picks
For the best albums in 2011, SF Critic will highlight each of our staff’s picks, rather than an accumulative 25, 50, 1,000 best album list. About William Clarke: Will has written for SF Critic for just over a year now. We met at college. Will and I have always shared our tastes in music. Well, actually, I always asked Will what he was listening to, to which he replied “Some indie stuff you’ve probably never heard.” At t…
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Best Albums of 2011: Angela Bacca’s Picks
For the best albums in 2011, SF Critic will highlight each of our staff’s picks, rather than an accumulative 25, 50, 1,000 best album list. About: I met Angela Bacca at a publishing company last year. Actually that’s not completely telling: I met Angela Bacca at a publishing company that specialized in marijuana literature. Don’t let that misguide you, Angela is one of the most driven, determined, and self-starters I’ve …
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[Noise Pop 2011] Wavves & Best Coast @ The Regency
Photographs by Victoria Smith Written by Erik Thybony Wavves and Best Coast are headlining Noise Pop 2011, and the show is sold out. This is bad news for me because it means I have to show up on time to get in. And by on time, I mean inappropriately early. Believe me, 7:45 is far too early to be stuffing a flask down the front of your pants. I make it past security and through check-in and realize I still have an hour to kill. I’m wearing m…
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Free Download: The Very Best Album at Green Owl
…usic, particularly African. With the success of Vampire Weekend’s debut album, African music became re-popularized in Western culture in a way unseen since Paul Simon’s, Graceland. Along these lines comes The Very Best, a group formed with Esau Mwamwaya born in Mzuzu in Malawi, East Africa, and Radioclit. Their recent mixtape, Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit are The Very Best was rated by Pitchfork Magazine as one of the top albums in 200…
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