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.

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.)

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

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!

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.

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.

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. 

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).

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!  

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. 

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!

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.  

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 

No plans on the 4th of July?  Hit up this local music showcase at El Rio.  Cool bands+cool people+free BBQ provided by Sneaky's=good times on the 4th of July. 

Birdmonster

Two Sheds

Finn Riggins

D Numbers

Writer

Murray the Theif

Low Red Land

Birds & Batteries

Details: 

1:30 pm-8:30 pm

+21

$8 (that's $1 per band AND you get free BBQ)

Pitch Black from New Zealand is in town this week for a show Friday night at Mission Rock, and tonight will share their technique at Pyramind studios, including showing their live touring rig, how they compose their music, how they incorporate visuals, as well as sharing production tips and techniques.

Check them out Tonight (Thursday) at Pyramind Studios in San Francisco's South of Market district.

Rusty just left Detroit Electronic Music Festival and sent us some photos from the event! Enjoy. 

RJD2

Sound guys repair speaker 30 ft. off the ground

Z-trip (left) and RJD2 (right)

Main Stage crowd during Carl Cox

Rusty is headed to Mutek Festival in Montreal next so keep an eye out for photos from Canada! 

Usually Mondays are nothing to look forward to.  Our jobs are great and everything but nobody loves a Monday.  Lucky for us, this Monday is an exception!  We get to attend SF MusicTech and hear folks from Pandora, EFF and RAIN talk about their cool jobs and their outlook on the music industry.  Check out a full schedule of events here. 

As if that weren't cool enough, the whole she-bang ends with a cocktail party!  Badges are on sale until tomorrow.  Hope to see you there!