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May 14, 2024
Blue Ocean’s Cosmic Sea of Sound
Blue Ocean’s debut album, Fertile State, is comprised of 12 densely packed tunes that combine elements of shoegaze, punk rock and experimental electronic music....
May 7, 2024
Amoeba Music is More Than a Record Store
Amoeba Music opened its iconic store on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley on Nov. 17, 1990. A crowd of customers had already gathered on the...
Apr 23, 2024
Soul Searching on Mahawam’s ‘Hot Pressed’
The songs on Hot Pressed, the new EP from Oakland’s Malik Mays—who records and performs under their musical identity, Mahawam—continue to explore the intersection...
Apr 9, 2024
The Quiet Irony of Tony Jay
Michael Ramos lets the music take him wherever it wants to go. He’s been playing in bands since he was in high school and...
Mar 19, 2024
Frances8 Music as Therapy
The songs Nicole Laby writes for her band, Frances8, deal with real-life situations in a literary manner that’s one step removed from the usual...
Mar 12, 2024
Little Oil’s Music Without Limits
Victor Mitrani, who records his music as Little Oil, says, “I don’t know how people wrote songs before they could record themselves.” Sitting at...
Mar 5, 2024
‘Mental Implosion’ Turned Redemptive Release
Although she grew up writing songs and singing in bands, Tess Stevens said she wasn’t sure she wanted to continue making music as she...
Feb 20, 2024
Noise Pop’s 31st Year Celebrates Bay Area Music Scene
The first Noise Pop Festival was a one-night stand that took place at the Kennel Club—now The Independent—on Divisadero Street in 1993. It featured...