In honor of Mother’s Day (and to leave you with a recent something spectacular from our favorite video guru Sabina Fowler), I proudly present Craig “Komega” Doerty’s newest video Perceive This Music:

The track and HD Video are available on his website. Here’s the press release:

Music: Komega
Co-Directors: Sabina Fowler & Komega (Craig Dorety)
Producer & Editor: Sabina Fowler
Spaceman: kc! Bradshaw

Special Thanks to: Veronica Gordon, Jim Campbell, Jodie Marko, Juilan Giardinelli, and David Luu

Electronic musician / LED artist Craig Dorety produced the music for this piece. Craig has been composing music for over 12 years and performing live for the last 7 years. He designs and builds his own custom controllers and utilizes them in his live performances. His most recent creations include creating custom audio-controlled LED artwork, some of which are featured in this video.

Video Producer Sabina Fowler conceived and shot the spaceman portion of the project, providing inspiration for this piece. She also sorted the nuts and bolts to get the project done.

This video also features over 3,000 LEDs in artwork borrowed from Jim Campbell (jimcampbell.tv/). Jim Campbell has been creating artwork for over 20 years and has has been featured in international museums and galleries.

Special thanks to Veronica for “having the technology” and to kc! Bradshaw for wearing a thirty pound spacesuit for several hours. And thanks go Jodie Marko for kindly allowing us the use of the spacesuit. Final thanks to Julian Giardinelli who help sort some technical bits and to David Luu who was the final eye and feedback for the piece.

Without their help and the help of others, this video would have not been able to be made.

Full disclosure: I play the part of the spaceman in the video… but that shouldn’t distract from the fact that the video is badass. Enjoy!

WORLD PREMIERE VIDEO: “Perceive This Music” by World-Renowned Audio/Visual Artist Komega is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

Related posts:

1. Give More Love! This Well-Crafted, LoveFest Documentary ‘Brings the Love to San Francisco’.
2. Talib and Madlib – Come on now!
3. LoveTech SF Performers Show Proof… DJs Aren’t The Only Ones Who Can Rock Electronic Music Circuits

This was recorded a couple of days ago as part of a continuous set, straight from the vinyl. I was at the tail end of a flu spell, and I was just starting to feel better. The weather was absolutely gorgeous here in SF, so I opened all the windows and blew the (bad) sickness out with some serious (good) illness. You’ll hear Whitefield Brothers, Tommy Guerrero, Marcus Belgrave, The Clonious, Madlib, Jimi Tenor, The Lions and Bronx River Parkway, though not in that order. I made a cut at the 40-minute mark, and the set moves on from there. I may post that next bit later on in a future installment.

“Clones and Colors” is perfect for a backyard BBQ. Or maybe the hour around sunset, spent on the couch sipping African rooibos tea. Or late at night when the haze has descended and the heads are nodding. It’s yours now, do with it what you will.

Clones & Colors: Now playing at VeggieBurritos.com is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

Related posts:

1. Parkway Theater Closing: Oakland losing a landmark
2. Playing for changes gets the exposure they deserve while giving us the message we need.
3. QuISP Like Me: the Queer-Identified Straight Person

What the 4 One Funk DJs have done with their 4 One Funktion party is nothing short of phenomenal. Where turntablism left off these Bay Area djs have picked up and introduced music theory, live production, and interpolated live analogue instrumentation. Not to worry, there’s a lot of blending and scratching going down too. 2003 SF DMC Champion Teeko Shimon, Max Kane,  and Malaguti put it down this Saturday at the Elbo Room with LA’s funky worm Exile, best known for work with Aloe Blacc (Emanon), Blu (Blu & Exile), and his solo release Exile : Radio. He’ll be doing what he does best, slaying the MPC (see below). San Francisco’s DJ Sake 1 will also be letting go on the 1s and 2s for your listening pleasure. This will be an outrageous show. Instead of boring you with more words, let’s get into these videos so you can get an idea of what’s really going down at the 4OneFunktion this Saturday. And here’s a dope zip of instrumentals from F.A.M.E. – Truthpics >> Download

Exile – A Milli Live

F.A.M.E = Fresh Analog Music Experience

Out & About – Fresh Analogue Music Experience (F.A.M.E.) with Exile is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

Related posts:

1. Come Join LoveTech SF and help celebrate their 1 year anniversary in style!! (video)
2. Buy fresh, buy local….a CA guide to finding fresh food at farmers markets
3. This Saturday LoveTech SF Brings A Special Blend of Live Electronic Music to San Francisco!

On The Download: LEGENDmag x Unitedstate x Slugworth Chocolate = Soul By The Pound ~ California Winter Mix is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

Related posts:

1. On the download: nicolay and phonte, crown city rockers, The Beatdown Mix series, and deep rooted (mp3)
2. Soul by the Pound: Windimoto
3. LEGENDmag: Soul By The Pound!

Hello LEGENDmag Family

My name is Seth Bailey. I love music. And when I say music, I mean the real stuff that comes from the heart of an artist, and not from a boardroom on the 99th floor of a skyscraper somewhere in Manhattan. Major labels give us so little variety these days it’s sad.

However, inside studios right now, in San Francisco, Atlanta, London, Los Angeles, and all over the world, artists are collaborating on new works of art with a new outlook on how they will be seen and heard. That’s actually what I love about the digital age. People are making music for fun, and putting it out themselves. Independently! Releasing music to be heard, to remain relevent, to BE.

Creating real movements where money once made crews. We lost many artists who couldn’t crossover to the digital age, but the new breed of artist has adapted and they must be heard!! Our future legends are here…today.

I was recently asked by Rai-mon to join the LEGENDmag family to keep it fresh on the music tip. I love the tenacity Rai-mon has for putting the spotlight on those people working from the ground up for what they believe in. I’ll be be dropping things on the blog and doing a few reviews in the months to come. I hope you all enjoy what I do. If not, let me know. I’m open to any and all criticism. I also have a blog you can check out. SO SO SEF Feel free to hit the RSS feed. I’ll keep it funky.

All the best.

~Seth aka Sef Diggy

I N D E P E N D E N T (yes, I know what that means…) is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

Related posts:

1. Friend or Foe: Zune Originals artist series
2. What did he say?
3. On the download: Dj Psol, Dj Shred One, Céu (mp3)

I used to have a love hate relationship with Oakland. You see my formative years (birth through elementary) were all in Oakland. All the family I know, even if they weren’t from there I met in Oakland. We didnt’ move around too much and like alot of other kids who didn’t live in the best neighborhoods I spent alot of time and Grandmoms so I could go to a better school. While I experienced death early in my childhood it wasn’t because of gun shots and it had nothing to do with drugs. I never say anything too bad during my childhood and the worst thing to ever happen to me was having my bike stolen on Christmas Day.
See the video and keep reading after the jump…
Once I moved away to Stockton, where I would stay until after high school I found out what other people thought of Oakland. It always seemed like people were describing a different place then the one that taught me so much as a kid. As an adult and seeing what the city did do to my siblings who didn’t get out of the city at a young age or at all, I learned what some of the streets of Oakland can do.

Over time though, I’ve also learned what Oakland was and I’m able to contrast that with what it’s becoming and having been able to live there as an adult, how that city along with most of the bay area will always be home for me. This is but a piece of my story and I share it with others in the hope that Oakland does not continue to conjure up feelings of fear for others, but love as it does for me.

My life in Oakland and a song called “Oakland” by Raashan Ahmad (video) is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

Related posts:

1. Finding your "Soul Power" with Raashan Ahmad, of the Crown City Rockers (video)
2. Live the dream
3. In Oakland kids are learning about themselves, life, and juggling.

When I first heard your new material, I immediately thought of Early Prince and 80’s funk, yet there are clearly modern influences as well, like Justin Timberlake/D’Angelo, and even some references to your work with Funkstörung. Were you thinking of any of these specific musical styles while creating “DOS”?
I actually just wanted to try out new things… didn’t want to do another Funkstörung-like record. For me it’s important not to repeat myself! The main concept for “DOS” was doing a rough funk record with loads of electronics in it. Initially I wanted the album to have a few instrumentals, a few vocal tracks with different singers, and even a few hip-hop songs (I recorded two songs with High Priest from Anti Pop Consortium); but then the songs with Taprikk came out so great, I decided to do the whole album with him and throw all other ideas overboard.

What do you call your style of music?
Hmmm… high tech funk? I don’t know… isn’t it up to you journalists to invent names for music styles? ;-)

Who do you hope will pick up your album and groove to it?
Anyone… I like loads of different music styles, so I hope our fans do too.

I notice a lot of very progressive design styles in the projects you participate in. How does design play a part of your music-making process? Do you have any artists work in mind while conceptualizing the album?
Design has always been very important for me. I can’t understand other musicians putting loads of time and effort into producing their songs, but not taking any care of a good design. I think good artwork is really important, even in the times of downloading mp3’s.

On “DOS” my friend, Sebastian Onufszak (In Graphics We Trust), started designing the sleeve at almost the same moment we started producing the album, so he developed the artwork in parallel to the music. By the way, we are almost finished with our DVD ‘videos’ featuring videos for all the album tracks…

Are you planning on touring the US?
Not yet, but we will see…

Who would you love to tour with? Why?
Anyone we get along well with, it’s much more important touring with nice people than having a famous pop star to support. Ok, ok, you want names: Jamie Lidell, Cristian Vogel, Chromeo, Hey Willpower, Kid Acne, Depth Charge, and Emperor Machine

How much does fashion play a part of your stage performances?
Fashion doesn’t play any role, we are not George Clinton in the early 80’s ;-)…I know fashion and funk belong together somehow, but we think that’s a concept not fitting to “DOS”’.

Since you live in Germany, do you also have German-language versions of your songs?
Ha-ha… no, German sounds awful I think ;-) …although it would be funny.

It seems that almost all of your songs could translate to other genres, are you planning any club remixes, or alternate versions?
I am not really planning any alternative versions, but I am open for anything. Yeah, you are right; most of the songs could work as acoustic versions, rock versions, techno versions, or whatever, “DOS” has many influences, so you could definitely interpret the songs from different views.

Who are the people who influence you the most?
My wife and my kid ;-) Musically, I am really inspired by Taprikk Sweezee… honestly! I also like DC Recordings, Lex, Big Dada, Warp, Old Plug Research, Hefty, Ghostly,…even a few Timbaland productions or Neptunes. I know Taprikk is really into Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, very old Prince stuff, Ed Banger and even hardcore, as his first bands were hardcore. Anyway, there is too much good stuff out there.

Do you buy it at all or snatch it off the internet?
Of course I get a lot of promos, but all the rest I buy as mp3’s from www.bleep.com

How does your style as a person influence your music?
Clothes or the way I talk doesn’t influence my music, but of course the way I think has some effect on music. I think a lot, so my music is very detailed, but I am also quite balanced (I love doing mad music, but I am also a family guy), so you will always find a balance in my songs (maybe: cold detailed electronics vs. beautiful melodies or soulful voices).

Soul by the Pound: Micheal Fakesh is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

Related posts:

1. Beat Seeker: featuring Mike Monday
2. On the download: Andrew Dost's album COLUMBUS
3. RJD2 and IMEEM invented the Pre-mix!

You have to love a great colab and when it’s two of your favs it’s even better. DJ Platurn and Kat have outdone themselves with this remix of  Midnight Star’s “Midas Touch”, which will be released on vinyl through the BSTRD BOOTS label on November 24th. You can pre-order your copies (yes, purchase multiples) through AccessHipHop.com

In the mean time this should hold you over!

DJ Platurn (Oakland Faders) and Kat 0l0 (Crown City Rockers) release a classic is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

Related posts:

1. Crown City Rockers are the Bay Area Hip Hop Soul Sound on "The Day After Tomrrow" (mp3)
2. The west coast hip hop indie band is back
3. Finding your "Soul Power" with Raashan Ahmad, of the Crown City Rockers (video)

ON FINDING AND SELECTING MUSIC

Recording your vinyl is really a big part of keeping your sound original. When I made the switch to DJing digitally (Serato), I realized I was DJing differently than I did when I spun with vinyl. I always think to include a lot of my “special treats” that I always played out on vinyl from when I was picking up a lot of music while traveling. Whether I was in San Francisco—going to Groove Merchant, Open Mind, Amoeba, Tweaking; or shopping in Japan; or hitting up Beat Street or Turntable Lab in New York—it’s all been collected over time.

J Boogie—I try to have a music meeting with myself once a week. A lot of radio stations have music meetings every week and categorize their music in the same way. I still have tons of stacks [of music] on my desk, man. I’m sure it’s the same with Sake.

Sake 1—Yeah, I rely more and more on other DJ’s opinions. With the increased access to music, I talk more to people like J Boogie or DJ Eleven in New York. We all get a lot of the same music, there’s a 75% overlap and some things may float by me or maybe I’ll listen to it on my computer, not listen all the way through and my friends will say ‘have you been playing that so and so record it’s really dope’ and I’ll give it more of a serious listen and I do the same for them. Especially with the stuff that’s not getting the bigger push by corporations, like a lot of the independent records, which I think is philosophically and musically important to support.

ON INDIE VS. MAINSTREAM MUSIC

J Boogie—I think it doesn’t really matter where it’s coming from, as much as what it sounds like and how it makes people react. It doesn’t matter what label a record is on, you know certain labels are gonna give you a certain sound so I’ll dig for certain labels knowing that it is quality stuff. It doesn’t matter to me where it comes from; it just matters if it can rock.

J Boogie—You do have to ride that line, if I were to go out and play my favorite tunes I’d probably clear the dance floor.

Sake 1—DJing-wise I feel the same as J, in other areas of being a DJ and making music, I try to seek out independent music through mix tapes. With our “Leftism CD”, I feel like we specifically tried to bring the focus back to the West Coast, which outside of LA, you’re not really going to find a lot of the big record labels out there. You’re going to find more of the independent grind.

Sake 1—I think our approach with mix tapes is to not “big up” music just because it’s independent, but as an independent record that isn’t being mass marketed it has that instant appeal like “oh where did you dig that up?” it’s stuff we might have equal access to, but by keeping on that independent edge we’re keeping on the theme of a new West Coast movement that draws from all over. It even draws from outside of America, where there’s even less national and international distribution and promo. In terms of rocking parties, I think your sound is what’s key. In terms of building your brand as a DJ; your products, the songs you decide to remix, the things you decide to support in your email or blog all say “hey I like this you should check it out.” Philosophically, I’m more inclined to do that for an independent record.

ON THE BAY AREA SOUND AND FLAVOR

J Boogie—I think it’s the ability to mix a lot of different styles together and everything has a soulful funky vibe to it. Every time I go DJ somewhere else, they say, “You’re not from here, where’re you from? You’re kinda different.” A lot of the DJs in other cities get pigeon-holed. If you’re in Chicago, you have to play juke or whatever hot hip hop stuff is out now. In Baltimore and New York, they all have [their own] sound. But San Francisco never really had a sound or trend. There’s mob music and there’s Bay Area music for sure, but other than that I think the SF sound is really eclectic.

Sake 1—I think that’s a product of the independent aspect of the Bay Area. In New York, there’s a marketing company two blocks down from the club that’s going to say, “That’s the new shit, let’s get it in the a magazine; let’s make a t-shirt label around that.” Whereas in the Bay, people have always said that there are a lot of creative people here, but we do it as a hobby versus LA and NY, where people are talented, but they’re doing it as a business. That’s been a frustration, that’s why a lot people have left the Bay; because they want to do this as their full time job.

The flip side of that is there’s a little bit more room for oxygen and eclectic-ness. There isn’t that artificial push from the outside to make it a scene. I think the closest we’ve seen to that has been the Hyphy movement. Though we’ve seen the limitations of that in the last year-and-a-half with how major labels have decided to push it or not push it. The perception from the outside of the Bay, is that Hyphy is over because there aren’t platinum records coming out of the area.

Being a native, I’m really proud to rep the Bay Area. And for the first time in my life I don’t feel self conscious about going to a place like New York or LA and saying I’m from the Bay. Five or six years ago if you weren’t from New York or LA you were seen as a second class citizen especially to be a tastemaker DJ. NY has earned that right, NY has set the trend in nightclubs cause that’s where it all started. But now I feel confident when J and I go to Atlanta, Miami, or NY to rock we say, “Yup, I’m from the Bay!” as I’m poppin’ my collar. I think now, more then ever before, people are looking away from New York and some of the other traditional markets, looking for something new because there is so much stagnation.

J Boogie—People don’t understand that we can go to Missoula, Montana and rock a party. A reggae party, a hip hop party, a funk party whatever. We can go to NY and rock, I think a lot of DJ’s in NY wouldn’t have the ability or the openness to say yea “I’m going to go to bum-fuck where ever and rock a party”. Their focused on that one thing, we’re a little bit more open.

ON MOVING AWAY FROM THE BAY

J Boogie—It’s frustrating watching all the people you’ve worked with or grew up with in the past, move to another city and blow up. Stones Throw for instance was a Bay Area Group. We supported them at KUSF and were really trying to help them do their thing. There are a lot of companies like them that have started here and then hit that ceiling. And then when they move to LA they blew up, blew out of the sky. And I love to see that but it’s hard to know they had to move to LA or NY to do that. I think a lot of times they come back and that makes it better. And I’ve thought about it, could I make a better living in LA or NY? Yeah of course, but I’d have to hustle twice as hard and it wouldn’t be as beautiful. I just have a love for the city, I’ve seen a lot of cities especially in the US and nothing compares to SF. Even though it’s a love-hate thing, still nothing compares.

Sake 1—I agree. I think the people that stay here can see how we present ourselves, in the music we make and the parties we rock, that we’re not necessarily in this to be as big as we possibly can be. We’re guided by other things. My crew, Local 1200’s, and I have always been guided by the political ideals that are represented here in the Bay. So in a lot of ways it wouldn’t make since for us to leave here. There’s a mission and purpose, and I think that’s something that’s attracting other DJs. A lot of LA DJs are starting to move up here. Because now it’s like if you’re not trying to do something in the established record industry which is kind of caving in, there’s a lot more opportunities with the internet and circulation of data at higher speeds. You don’t need to be at the center of music unless you’re trying to get on a major label. And for a lot of DJ’s and producers that’s no longer a viable option. Because record labels aren’t throwing record deals around [anymore].

J Boogie—And the Bay Area is on the cutting edge of newer technology like digital distribution. A couple of the biggest digital music distribution companies are here in SF, like iTunes and imeem. As the music industry changes from traditional distribution to digital, the Bay will be a central part of that. We’ve always been on the cutting edge of technology.

Sake 1—I know a bunch of hip hop culture people that moved out here to work with Current TV and I think a similar thing is happening with iTunes and imeem, so I agree with Justin. I don’t think people are moving here to get signed to iTunes, but because of digital distribution I think people are moving hear to get jobs and to work. And it’s also fueling a side industry of things like MacWorld which fuels the nightlife, which fuels the DJs, so for a city like SF which is only a 750,000 person city it has a damn good nightlife scene. As much as I complain about it, when I travel to other cities that are bigger I think we don’t have it bad at all.

WHAT THE BAY HAS THE OTHER CITIES DON’T

Sake 1—New York has always been the main intersection of the advertising universe and underground culture. After my recent experiences in NY, I’ve noticed it’s changed a lot and it’s missing that edge. Manhattan has become more like Vegas, with bunches of ultra lounges popping up. An ultralounge owner will have like 10 per borough. Since they’re all owned by the same person, they’re run the same way as Clear Channel’s network of radio stations. This cookie cutter approach is really killing the scene in NY.

J Boogie—Smaller more funky spots in NY, like Triple Crown or Kudo, are struggling to compete and I think the same things are happening in SF.

Sake 1—It’s definitely happening in SF, as we do this interview at the Temple Ultra Lounge that used to be DV8, again it’s the struggle and the opportunity.

Some evil dark forces comes down from up top and imposes this cookie cutter approach to nightlife and it’s going to absorb 80% of the people and 20% of the people are going to realize what they want in a nightlife experience by that forced attraction to the other approach. I think what we’ve experiencing this kind of defection with people in SF. They’ve stopped going out, they’re getting old, or have families and the nightclubs are recycling all these young folks through.

As we start to build a more viable underground and viable alternative to corporate nightlife, then we’ll win some of those people back and we’ll have something that’s more like a real scene. I see SF being ahead of the curve in that, where I see NY not even realizing it’s happening in some ways. I mean there’s still dope shit in NY, and there always will be for DJ culture, but in terms of Manhattan, though, it’s pretty indistinguishable from Las Vegas or any place else where someone has invested a lot of money into a nightlife experience and because of that they require a certain kind of clientele with a certain amount of money that will buy a certain amount of drinks, dress a certain way and then go home.

J boogie—And they want to hear the new
Britney Spears… badly!

Sake 1 and J Boogie discuss life, the Bay Area, and what else… music! is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

Related posts:

1. Music Review: Boys Noize “Oi Oi Oi”
2. What is indie?
3. Music Review: We Are Wolves “Total Magique”

At this point the Crown City Rockers have been doing their thing as Boston transients in the Bay Area for years. They are a welcome addition to the rich deejay scene that has long exemplified the bay and a cog that helps the resurgent soul sound in the Bay lead by artist like Goaple, Ledisi, J Boogie, Lyrics Born, Sake 1, Dj Mpenzi, Oakland Faders, D Sharp, Kev Choice, The Park , Adam Theis’s Realistic Orchestra and a slew of other acts and deejays.

What Crown City has managed to do is something that has proven illusive to so many acts over the years, save one…..The Roots. While early comparisons were many, now days Crown City has carved a niche all their own and for a MC lead band that has no intention of leaving hop hop behind, that’s not easy to do.

The Crown City Rockers are Raashan Ahmad – MC, Woodstock – MPC, Max MacVeety – Drums, Headnodic – Bass/Producer, Kat O1O – Keys. To say that Crown City stays busy is and understatement considering Kat O1O has release her debut cd (Natural Phenomena),  Headnodic has partnered on some this years best Bay Area music (Mighty Underdogs, MegaBjork), Raashan has not one, but two albums out (The Push, Soul Power),  Max (toured with Big D and the Kids Table) and Woodstock has been making beats for most of the albums listed above and more.

When you here this album you will be engaged with the glorious sounds that are soul, funk, electronica, breaks, jazz and it wouldn’t be a Crown City album unless all of these genres weren’t infused with a heavy dos of hop hop themes, lyrics, instrumentation and feeling.

There isn’t much we could say about this album to let you know it’s one of the best of the year, so listen to the album and cop it for yourself.

2 free tracks for now

Crown City Rockers are the Bay Area Hip Hop Soul Sound on "The Day After Tomrrow" (mp3) is a post from: LEGENDmag.net

Related posts:

1. The west coast hip hop indie band is back
2. Finding your "Soul Power" with Raashan Ahmad, of the Crown City Rockers (video)
3. On the download: nicolay and phonte, crown city rockers, The Beatdown Mix series, and deep rooted (mp3)