SomaFM Blog

Röyksopp and Jon Hopkins in San Francisco

2009-11-13T13:15:00.001-08:00

This Thursday, November 19, Röyksopp and Jon Hopkins will be playing at The Grand at the Regency Center. You've heard Röyksopp on Groove Salad, Secret Agent, and Poptron, and how you have chance to experience the Norwegian duo's unique blend of atmospheric ambient and electropop live. British artist Jon Hopkins' sound ranges from complex melodies to bold bass and the depths in between, and is frequently played on Groove Salad, Cliqhop, Space Station Soma, Drone Zone, and Mission Control. More Information

Not in San Francisco? You can catch them together again in L.A. at Club Nokia on November 18th, and Royksopp will be playing Webster Hall in New York on November 23rd and 24th.

Cool Listener Mail!

2009-11-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

We got this really neat note in the mail the other day and I'd like to thank the sender.

Thanks for your support and your kind words, Linn! And tell the French-speaking whale we said "de rien".

Listener of the Month for November!

2009-11-09T12:55:00.000-08:00

Our listener of the month is Alex van Dijk. Alex has been listening for several years and currently favors Secret Agent. In particular, he loves the bits of dialogue in between songs. His favorite is below.

Mr. Newberry: What have you been doing with your life?
Marty: Uh... professional killer.
Mr. Newberry: Oh! Good for you, it's a... growth industry.

(from Grosse Pointe Blank)

[Alex at NASA]

Alex most frequently listens to SomaFM while he's working at his cool job at NASA. Thanks for your support, Alex!

Múm at the Independent!

2009-11-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

Icelandic, electronic and experimental are three of our favorite adjectives at SomaFM. In case that's in doubt, check out any of our coverage of Iceland Airwaves, which you can find here, here and even here.

A band that fully embodies those three adjectives, Múm, will be at the Independent this evening. Múm is widely appreciated here and is played across 7 different channels, a true testament to the diversity of their work.

Go see Múm at the Independent tonight! Show starts at 8. Tickets are $23. 21+. Sin Fang Bous will be opening.

Special Halloween Programming on Doomed

2009-10-30T12:52:00.001-07:00

We've got special programming on Doomed for Halloween night, and it will be a great soundtrack for your Halloween events. The same great dark music you've come to expect with additional scary ambient sounds mixed in to make it more like Halloween should be: Extra Scary!

So tune into our commercial-free, special Halloween programming on Doomed all weekend long and set the mood for a chilling celebration or just a night ~~scaring the wits out of~~ giving out candy to the neighborhood kids.

Halloween Spider Ball

2009-10-26T13:04:00.001-07:00

With the abundance of Halloween parties large and small happening in San Francisco this weekend, but the one that captures the essence of the underground of San Francisco will be Spider Ball, offering a truly unique Halloween experience. Hosted by the Burning Man collective Playa Love and happening at the historic Bentley Reserve across from Embarcedero Center. Two stages and six full bars, with beds for seating and a separate chill room. The festivities begin at 10 pm Halloween night with performances going until the early morning. Headlining the event are ambient electronic music artist Random Rab, diverse world beats from Oakland group Beats Antique, and bass-heavy dance music from VibeSquaD.

Proceeds from the event will go towards the Black Rock Arts Foundation whose mission is to support and promote community-based interactive art.Tickets are available online with general admission for $55 and VIP tickets (drinks included) for $120. (Imagine Castro Halloween bash meets Burningman Decompression and you get the drift of the party.)

Please help support night-time entertainment in San Francisco

2009-10-23T22:20:00.001-07:00

San Francisco Police Department Commander of Field Operations of the City of San Francisco James Dudley is trying to put an end to nightlife in San Francisco. He is proposing that bars and nightclubs be closed at midnight.

Dudley is best known for his continuous and relentless crackdown on night life in North Beach, turning the Broadway corridor into a virtual police state. He is responsible for the large presence of police officers, including those with riot helmets. He was responsible for the actual closing of Broadway Street so that taxis were unable to pick up fares when the clubs closed.

Now he wants to expand these tactics city-wide as par of the war on fun.

Members of the San Francisco night life community including clubs, bands and customers, will be rallying their support for the Entertainment Commission on Monday Oct 26th 1PM before the Board of Supervisors.
The Entertainment Commission has come under attack of late by those groups who seek to limit the variety of entertainment venues in this world class city. The night life industry is a significant economic engine driving the San Francisco economy and that industry along with its talent and customers are rallying to show support for the Commission.

The legislation before the Board will empower the Entertainment Commission to enforce its own permits. The industry feels strongly about the Commission that regulates them and intends to demonstrate to the board of supervisors and the police that they too have a voice.

Performing on the steps of City Hall will be the Jazz Mafia, an acoustical jazz group. Performing inside City Hall will be the night life industry and their customers who too are citizens of this great urban metropolis.

For more information: supportentertainment.com

Sonic Oddities Live at Oddball Films

2009-10-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

This Friday, October 23, is a chance to experience the wonderful cinematic weirdness that is Oddball Films. Director Stephen Parr will be hosting his Sonic Oddities Live program, exploring the relationship between sight and sound with a combination of film shorts and clips accompanied by live music. The visuals promise to be unique, featuring claymation, bizarre commercials, religious propaganda, surreal animation, and offbeat classic footage experimenting with the "science of sound", among others.

Percussionist Jordan Glenn, woodwind player Cory Wright, and guitarist Andrew Conklin will make up a trio performing improvised tunes along with the scenes on the screen. Sonic Oddities Live will highlight the connection between the visual and the auditory, enhancing perception through a one-of-a-kind event. The program will be held at Oddball Films headquarters at 275 Capp Street in San Francisco. Admission is $10 and you can learn more or make reservations by calling (415)558-8117 or contacting info@oddballfilm.com. Enjoy the show!

Listener of the Month: October!

2009-10-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

Our listener of the month is Jean Michel. You might recognize him from that video clip of a Russian talk show we posted earlier, where he speaks about SomaFM.

For our non-Russian-speaking listeners, the video translates as follows:

The host says "Most of our [Russian] top managers, when asked, like to read serious newspapers but Jean-Michel likes to listen to music."

Jean-Michel goes on to say that SomaFM is "sweet" electronic music. He explains that SomaFM has 14 channels and his favorite is Lush because of the female vocals. Thanks for the shout out Jean-Michel!

Starfucker @ Bottom of the Hill

2009-10-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes in the middle of a hectic week, good live music is a must. Head over to Bottom of the Hill this Wednesday, October 7th, to catch the upbeat tunes of three groups from Portland, Oregon that fuse pop and electronica with an indie sensibility. Starfucker blends catchy beats with melodic harmonies and samples and are frequently played on Indie Pop Rocks and Poptron!

Listen to Meghan's interview with the group. Their touring partners Deelay and Ceelay are a powerful duo that combine percussive pyschedelic pop and synched projected visuals for a full sensory experience. Completing the lineup is Strength, known for their disco-influenced dance beats. The show starts at 9 pm, and tickets are available for $10.

World Space Week

2009-10-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

Few people often take time to contemplate the wonders of space. On it’s 10th birthday, World Space Week aims to change that. With synchronized events from Australia to Zambia throughout the week of October 4th, World Space Week rallies schools and universities, the aerospace industry, astronomy clubs and science museums in order to bring space to the forefront of our awareness.

This year’s theme, Space for Education, seeks to motivate students everywhere through exposure to the cosmos. But World Space Week is about more than just students. Highlights such as Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté's address from space and the opportunity to send a digital message into space can appeal to everyone.

SomaFM loves space, so we're excited to be involved with World Space Week. With special programming on Mission Control all week and coverage of NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) search for water on the moon and "impact event" on October 8th and 9th.

If you’d like to attend, organize or volunteer for a World Space Week event, you can visit them here or contact them here.

Digital Bliss vol 2 Release Party!

2009-09-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

The lovely ladies of Digital Bliss, vol. 2 (one of SomaFM's favorite new compilations!) are celebrating their record release this Friday at 111 Minna in San Francisco. The album - which features exclusively female electronic artists - is being hailed as the Downtempo release of the year.

Weather Pending, Celeste Lear, Divasonic and Return to Mono - all musicians featured on Digital Bliss - will be playing sets. Show starts at 9. 21+. $10.

For LA listeners, Digital Bliss will also be hosting a record release at Zanzibar in Santa Monica. Performers are Auradrone, Divasonic and Celeste Lear.

A portion of the proceeds of Digital Bliss volumes 1 and 2 is donated to NextAid, an LA-based non-profit aiming to help African children.

An Evening of Chillout Music in San Francisco

2009-09-29T10:46:00.001-07:00

Our friends from local ambient DJ crew Ambisonic, along with AL Kal present an evening dedicated to
chillout music, at Shine (Mission between 9th and 10th, San Francisco), Wednesday, September 30th, from 9PM until 2am. Featuring Ambisonic DJs DF Tram, Traffic and a Live PA by Al Kal and Nonagon.

There aren’t that many venues for chill music in San Francisco, so we want to give a big thanks to Shine for letting Ambisonic take over the space for the evening.
There will be a combination of DJ and Live PA sets. Ambisonic is trying to make this a regular monthly happening so if you live in the San Francisco area we encourage you to come out for this. ($3 before 10; $5 after).

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

2009-09-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

If you're a fan of the Americana and alt-country music found on our channel Boot Liquor, you should definitely head over to Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park this weekend for the FREE Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival. The concert will be held this Friday-Sunday (October 2, 3, & 4) and will span six different stages across the park.

[Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women]

Boot Liquor listeners will recognize acts like Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women (who also played at last years HSB), vocalist Neko Case, and influential songwriter John Prine, among others. Big names in bluegrass such as Lyle Lovett & His Large Band, Steve Earle & The Bluegrass Dukes, Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris, and famed New Orleans songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint will also grace the stages and surely draw the crowds.

Hope to see you there!

Trying to get some work done?

2009-09-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

While we have heard from many listeners that the beats found on our stations provide them with an aurally pleasant atmosphere while working, SomaFM has been named among the "best sounds for getting work done" by Lifehacker.

Citing studies that have shown that minimally engaging music increases productivity, author Kevin Purdy notes that while classical music such as Mozart have long been touted as enhancing the brain, ambient music has often been chosen for the same purpose. Several of our channels— Groove Salad, Secret Agent, and Drone Zone— are named as favorites to achieve this state of musical stimulation while performing tedious tasks. We want to thank Lifehacker for bringing attention to one of the many ways our station can bring enjoyment to listeners anywhere.

Gearing up for Iceland Airwaves

2009-09-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

Iceland Airwaves is a yearly music festival based in Reykjavík, Iceland. Airwaves' line up is a veritable smorgasbord of artists from far and wide. Genres from garage punk to re-imagined Motown pop are represented. And it all takes place in the beautiful back-drop that is Reykjavík, a city small enough to hit up four venues in one night before heading to the after party.

For years, SomaFM has been sending staff out to Iceland Airwaves to report back about the happenings and get the lowdown on up and coming bands. Sadly, due to budgetary restrictions, we won't be attending the festival this year. But that doesn't mean you can't reap the benefits of our hard work!

We've put together a collection of articles about our time at the festival in 2007 and 2008. Wondering where to grab a bite or a drink once you're in the area? Check out our guide to eating and drinking on the cheap in Reykjavík.

If you'd just like to get a better feel for what the festival is all about, check out Rusty's observations here, here, here or even here.

Are you going to Iceland Airwaves? Tell us about it! Email us at dj [at] somafm [dot] com and tell us who you're planning to see and which set you're most looking forward to.

The SomaFM Music Library

2009-09-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

As SomaFM’s first intern in January of 2008, Meghan Logue began the overwhelming task of organizing SomaFM's immense CD collection into a cohesive library of music. Assembling and sorting the approximately 7,000 titles of diverse music genres became an interesting, albeit challenging, endeavor. It was finally completed a year and a half later, and now stands as a structured assortment of music, cataloguing the growth of various genres. Initially built on station founder Rusty Hodge’s CD collection started in the mid ‘80s, the collection formed the musical basis for the launch of SomaFM in 1999.

Our music library is now an impressive store of sounds that provides the diverse selection of tracks played on SomaFM, on favorite channels such as Groove Salad, Secret Agent, Drone Zone, and more. With everything from ambient to classic rock to worldbeat to jazz among many others from independent and major labels, there is plenty to choose from when looking to the CD library to program a particular channel’s playlist. The library also includes a large number of now extremely-rare, out-of-print electronica CDs from the 90s.

Organized alphabetically and then separated into single musicians/bands and then compilations, it has become much simpler to look for a particular artist, song, or type of music. Although the library is vast in terms of musical style, the common thread is the unique qualities of each CD featured. Scanning the shelves is a veritable demonstration of the diversity of music that is part of the SomaFM experience. The collection includes such mainstream staples as the groundbreaking album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band from The Beatles, the legendary Miles Davis recording Some Kind of Blue, and many titles from seminal English electronic duo Everything But the Girl, to name a few. The visceral rock of Led Zeppelin sits close to the dance punk project LCD Soundsystem, while the classic crooner Henry Mancini lives a few shelves below.

Different discs evoke different musical spaces in time, with Blondie from the ‘80s, Ice Cube emerging in the early ‘90s, and recent ambience from Icelandic band Sigur Ros. Different areas of the world are represented with electronic artist and producer Coppe from Japan, Algerian dj Cheb I Sabbah, and vintage tunes from French musician Serge Gainsbourg, for example. The many compilation sets also encompass a wide range of musical madness, including Dr. Demento’s collection of novelty songs, sets showcasing a particular genre such as United States of Ambience, hits separated by decade, and world music samplers from different regions like Desert Grooves. The vast array of Christmas music speaks much to the popularity of SomaFM’s holiday stations, with a Raffi Christmas album alongside Christmas Rap and Christmas with the Rat Pack.

One of the best things about the newly ordered musical landscape of the CD library is the accessibility. Being able to easily handpick from this broad spectrum of music is beneficial to SomaFM and its listeners. People tune into the station because virtually any musical thirst can be satisfied while perusing through the various channels, from Boot Liquor to Cliqhop. The variety of genres displayed by the CD library is a symbol of the diversity being played on SomaFM everyday. This range of sounds contributes to exciting radio that plays listeners’ favorites as well as introduces them to new artists. The CD library contributes to SomaFM never compromising its intention to play what is outside of expected radio programming.

San Francisco Electronic Music Festival

2009-09-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

The annual San Francisco Electronic Music Festival (SFEMF) provides an opportunity for the pioneers of these soundscapes to share their work with other Bay Area electronic artists, to engage in discussion of new technologies, to collaborate in creating new music, and for fans to come and witness the beats unfolding. SMEMF is being held this year at the Brava Theater from September 16th- 19th. Attendees will get to experience a vast array of musical styles and techniques, from contemporary classical to free improvisation to glitch. The equipment used will range from classic synthesizers to inventive displays of acoustic and electronic instruments sharing the stage.

Performers for the evening include long-time festival performers Miya Masaoka, Pamela Z, Donald Swearingen - and musicians new to the event - Lukas Ligeti, Maria Chavez.

For more information or to purchase tickets visit the SFEMF website.

Septembers Listener of the Month

2009-09-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

Don got in touch with us recently to extoll the virtues of our freshly launched station, Mission Control. While we got a lot of nice compliments about that launch, Don's stood out because of his career: he works in astronomy and planetary exploration!

Don has been a fan of Secret Agent for several years. He is currently working from the 200" Hale telescope on Palomar Mountain and Mission Control is providing the background music. Thanks for your support, Don!

Emiliana Torrini's Euro Tour

2009-08-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

For fans of Lush: Check out Lush favorite, Emiliana Torrini, on her upcoming European tour.

SomaFM got the lucky chance to see her at the San Francisco venue, Great American Music Hall, and were thoroughly impressed. While many of Emiliana's tracks have a very structured, pop sensibility, her live set is markedly less rigid.

Part of this is due to the bluesy nature of her accompanying band but it's also due in part to her adorable stage banter. One would never expect a writer of sweet, sublime love songs like Emiliana's to make Spinal Tap references, but she does.

Of course, the woman isn't all giggles and chuckles. Her raw vocals and insistent side-to-side head shaking lend a heart wrenching vulnerability rare to an artist as seasoned as she.

Check Emiliana's website for tour dates. She is a must-see!

Listener of the Month: August

2009-08-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Miro, our Listener of the Month in August!

Miro is 19 years old, living in Finland and has just finished his photography degree. He's been listening to SomaFM since the tender young age of 12. Miro practically grew up with Drone Zone and according to his friend Harri, isn't shy about spreading the word.

"When he told me about Drone Zone the first time, I was skeptic... but he kept telling us it's the best channel to listen to while sleeping, while eating, while ... living" - Harri

Cheers Miro!

Listener Mail!

2009-07-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of my job is getting to answer mail. We get all kinds of cool CDs and notes from our listeners. Sometimes they even send us money!

This listener (who prefers to remain unnamed) has sent us an array of nifty decorated envelopes. They always brighten my day.

Thanks for your continuing support and mail art!

Friday Fun Day!

2009-07-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

Our buddies (and neighbors!) at The Bay Bridged are hosting an incredible sampler of Bay Area tunes, art and food this Friday.

The line-up includes Indie Pop Rocks! favorites French Miami and Adam Stephens of Two Gallants fame. John Vanderslice and Josh from Maus Haus will also be spinning in between acts.

The night will be a veritable smorgasbord of all things SF. And the proceeds go to the Bay Bridged who in turn support local musicians and Bay Area culture. Money well spent!

Doors open at 7:30. Happy hour/art show prior to band sets. 21+. Tickets are $15-$30.

Cool Shows Tonight/Saturday!

2009-07-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

You know that SomaFM loves nothing better than a good music festival. Thankfully, our HQ is located in an urban location with an awesome music scene. Mission Creek Music Festival is filling the fun-music bill this weekend with a pair of awesome shows.

If you're a fan of Indie Pop Rocks! or just a fan of great local tunes, check out these shows:

Tonight at Cafe du Nord!

Geographer

The Old-Fashioned Way

White Cloud

100 Swans

Saturday at Bottom of the Hill

Maus Haus (really cool band we interviewed at Noise Pop 09!)

Rainbow Arabia

Pierre le Robot

DJ Gatsby

Listener Focus: Martin

2009-07-18T14:28:00.001-07:00

SomaFM listener and supporter Martin found himself in trouble last week. He contracted a serious viral infection and had to go to the emergency room, where they did a bunch of tests and told him he had nothing seriously wrong with him and gave him some pain medication and told him to go home and let the sickness run its course. But since he doesn't have health insurance, he ended up with a $13,000 bill for this single visit.

Read about his hospital experience (which has some really interesting observations about how hospitals and insurance work) and learn how you can help Martin