11 DJs and Producers Reviving San Francisco’s Scene
11-djs-and-producers-reviving-san-franciscos-scene
September 03, 2015
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# 11 DJs and Producers Reviving San Francisco’s Scene
The San Francisco Bay Area has played an important role in American
dance music since the 1990s, when its unique blend of hippie paganism,
liberal politics and high-tech futurism collided in a healthy rave scene
and famous parties like Wicked and Toon Town. After a few (of what we
perceived to be) somewhat-less-inspired years for local dance music
after the turn of the new millennium, the Bay has once again proved to
have fertile soil for house and techno producers. A growing number
of artists from the region have hit our radar in recent months, so we
thought it was time for a round-up of some of our favorites. With help
from fast-rising DJ and producer Matrixxman---who supplied us with a
[guide][1]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener"} to some of his favorite
synths, drum machines and music gear just last month---here are eleven
producers making waves in and around San Francisco.
## Matrixxman
Matrixxman is pretty ubiquitous throughout this guide, which is a
reflection of his success and his standing in the local scene. He has
risen through the ranks over the past year or so, turning out in-demand
12″s on labels like Spectral Sound, Unknown to the Unknown, and
Dekmantel, as well as a handful of remixes for many of the other artists
we've listed here. His debut album, *Homesick*, dealt in not-so-distant
technoid futures and was released on Ghostly International earlier this
summer.
[SoundCloud Track][2]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"}
## Vin Sol
Vin Sol has teamed up with Matrixxman on a number of projects: the Soo
Wavey record label, a string of
covetable white-label Sade edits, and a series of gear-hunting
expeditions around the Bay. Vin Sol's
solo endeavors specialize in stripped-back ghetto house, and his
contributions to Clone's Jack for Daze series and Unknown to the Unknown
display a modern take on the jacking sound of seminal Chicago label
Dance Mania.
[SoundCloud Track (181185885)][3]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener
noreferrer"}
## Adra
One of the San Francisco techno consortium's newest members is Adra (AKA
Alandria Sheffer), who's pictured in the cover photo above. The Nevada
native, who upped stakes to the Mission district eight years ago,
reportedly favors the mechanized techno of Nitzer Ebb, Kraftwerk and
Jeff Mills. Inspired by Frank Herbert's *Dune* series, her debut EP,
*Fear is the Mind Killer*, was issued via her own newly minted imprint
D.A.T. (Denied American Techno), and features an analog edit
from Matrixxman.
[SoundCloud Track (218085803)][4]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener
noreferrer"}
## Worker/Parasite
Oakland resident Ben Versluis moonlights as a mixing and mastering
engineer, which might help explain the high degree of technical acuity
evident in his productions as Worker/Parasite. He's also got a
particular knack for hardware, as evidenced on his *Proletariat* EP for
UK cassette outlet Opal Tapes. Check out his other projects, Headgear
and Diem, for more.
## Avalon Emerson
Although she no longer lives in the area, Avalon Emerson's involvement
in San Francisco's current scene seems undeniable. She has worked in
music engineering since she was a teenager recording her friends' high
school bands, and started to make dance floor-oriented edits and
originals when she moved to San Francisco in 2009. She threw regular
underground parties with her roomates at Club 380, a "big industrial
house" south of Market Street that housed 14 people. In 2014 she started
to gain attention outside the state when she released a trio of EPs
on San Francisco-based labels Icee Hot and Spring Theory. Emerson has
since decamped to Berlin, where she recently delivered a five-hour
closing for Leisure System at Panorama Bar, which testified to her
growing popularity because it inspired in the dancers a level of frenzy
the EB editors present hadn't seen there in quite some time. She has a
new record on the way for Uncanny Valley sublabel Shtum, which promises
punky, trippy dancefloor tools.
[SoundCloud Track (218024462)][5]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener
noreferrer"}
## Honey Soundsystem
Honey Soundsystem self-identifies as a queer DJ and arts collective that
formed around a shared appreciation for "pivotal gay underground parties
and dance music history \[that\] offered a take on dance music in direct
opposition to what was blaring on mainstream club speakers." Its members
include Jackie House, Robert Yang AKA Bézier, Jason Kendig and Josh
Cheon, who also fronts the excellent Dark Entries label. Recently, the
crew relaunched its eponymous imprint with a pair of EPs from Bézier and
Jackie House, with none other than Matrixxman assuming b-side remix
duties.
[SoundCloud Track (212143111)][6]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener
noreferrer"}
## Jack Murphy
Affectionately referred to as the "techno detective" by those in the
know, Jack Murphy puts out lean, clean techno cuts primed for maximum
dancefloor impact on Frozen Border sublabel Reference and Don't Be
Afraid. His productions are cool but his DJ sets---at the least the ones
he recorded for [The Trilogy Tapes][7]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener"}
and [Truants][8]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener"}---are extremely,
extremely good. Really good. Seriously. Listen to them. And by the way,
if anyone can ID the second track on the Truants mix, the first one with
a kick drum, lettuce know.
[SoundCloud Track (170249899)][9]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener
noreferrer"}
## Solar
Expect the unexpected from this longstanding California selector. Solar
founded the [Sunset Sound System ][10]{: target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}outdoor party series, which is credited with helping to
establish the Bay Area's dance music scene. Championed by Dutch
tastemakers Dekmantel, Solar's international visibility was also boosted
by Dixon, who invited him to tour Europe with the Innervisions crew
after catching one of his sets. Mixes for Resident Advisor and [Beats in
Space][11]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener"} offer a taste of his style,
which spans Italo, new wave and acid.
[SoundCloud Track (187934163)][12]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener
noreferrer"}
## Carlos Souffront
Carlos Souffront is a Detroit native and core member of Brendan Gillen's
Interdimensional Transmissions outfit, which hosts the legendary No Way
Back parties around [Movement Festival][13]{: target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} every year. Having earned the badge of "DJ's DJ" based
on standout sets for The Bunker and what's rumored to be an incredible
record collection, he's resettled in San Francisco where, according to
RA, he lives a double life as a cheesemonger---his daytime occupation
for the last 20 years.
[SoundCloud Track (210583768)][14]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener
noreferrer"}
## Earthen Sea
Jacob Long's earliest solo output under the guise Earthen Sea was
confined to obscure cassette releases, but these days, the San
Franciscan is most closely aligned with Ital's Lovers Rock imprint. The
two artists played together in a punk band, Mi Ami, and also produce
together as Sleeper Cell. Long's new solo album of textural, ambient
techno is on the way, plus a conceptual release, *[Imaginary
Feast][15]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener"}*, for Nicolas Jaar's Other
People imprint, which features [Holly Herndon][16]{: target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}, [Lorenzo Senni][17]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener"},
[Vaghe Stelle][18], William Basinski and more.
[SoundCloud Track (210822563)][19]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener
noreferrer"}
## Mozhgan
Mozhgan is one of our newest finds, and we still don't know much about
the San Francisco selector, save for the fact that she captains the [We
Are Monsters][20]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener"} party alongside
Solar and Greer. Her deep, dark guest mix for Honey Soundsystem,
however, is worth a listen.
[SoundCloud Track (197673174)][21]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener
noreferrer"}
[1]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/matrixxmans-guide-to-synths-drum-machines-and-music-gear/
[2]: https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/122706801
[3]: https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/181185885
[4]: https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/218085803
[5]: https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/218024462
[6]: https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/212143111
[7]: https://soundcloud.com/the-trilogy-tapes/jack-murphy
[8]: https://soundcloud.com/truants/truancy-volume-126-jack-murphy
[9]: https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/170249899
[10]: http://sunsetsoundsystem.com/
[11]: http://www.beatsinspace.net/playlists/721
[12]: https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/187934163
[13]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/ectomorphs-insiders-guide-to-movement-detroit-festival/
[14]: https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/210583768
[15]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/feed/nicolas-jaar-collabs-with-julia-holter-holly-herndon-more/
[16]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/interview-holly-herndon/
[17]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/unwinding-with-ctm-star-lorenzo-senni-after-untune/
[18]: http://www.electronicbeats.net/explore-italys-rising-experimental-electronics-scene/
[19]: https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/210822563
[20]: https://www.facebook.com/wearemonsterssf
[21]: https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/197673174
---
id: 20afdc5c-cd49-4aed-bbfa-a9bcffd62559
blueprint: article
title: '11 DJs and Producers Reviving San Francisco’s Scene'
date: 2015-09-03T14:40:54+02:00
wp_id: '99545'
slug: 11-djs-and-producers-reviving-san-franciscos-scene
teaser_image: legacy/11-djs-and-producers-reviving-san-franciscos-scene/Adra_Press_image6-e1441279784411.jpeg
contents:
-
type: text
text: '<p>The San Francisco Bay Area has played an important role in American dance music since the 1990s, when its unique blend of hippie paganism, liberal politics and high-tech futurism collided in a healthy rave scene and famous parties like Wicked and Toon Town. After a few (of what we perceived to be) somewhat-less-inspired years for local dance music after the turn of the new millennium, the Bay has once again proved to have fertile soil for house and techno producers. A growing number of artists from the region have hit our radar in recent months, so we thought it was time for a round-up of some of our favorites. With help from fast-rising DJ and producer Matrixxman—who supplied us with a <a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/matrixxmans-guide-to-synths-drum-machines-and-music-gear/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guide</a> to some of his favorite synths, drum machines and music gear just last month—here are eleven producers making waves in and around San Francisco.</p><h2>Matrixxman</h2><p>Matrixxman is pretty ubiquitous throughout this guide, which is a reflection of his success and his standing in the local scene. He has risen through the ranks over the past year or so, turning out in-demand 12″s on labels like Spectral Sound, Unknown to the Unknown, and Dekmantel, as well as a handful of remixes for many of the other artists we’ve listed here. His debut album, <i>Homesick</i>, dealt in not-so-distant technoid futures and was released on Ghostly International earlier this summer.</p><p><a href="https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/122706801" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SoundCloud Track</a></p><h2>Vin Sol</h2><p>Vin Sol has teamed up with Matrixxman on a number of projects: the Soo Wavey record label, a <span style="font-weight: 400;">string of covetable white-label Sade edits, and a series of</span> gear-hunting expeditions around the Bay<span style="font-weight: 400;">. Vin Sol’s solo endeavors specialize in stripped-back ghetto house, and his contributions to Clone’s Jack for Daze series and Unknown to the Unknown display a modern take on the jacking sound of seminal Chicago label Dance Mania.</span></p><p><a href="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/181185885" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SoundCloud Track (181185885)</a></p><h2>Adra</h2><p>One of the San Francisco techno consortium’s newest members is Adra (AKA Alandria Sheffer), who’s pictured in the cover photo above. The Nevada native, who upped stakes to the Mission district eight years ago, reportedly favors the mechanized techno of Nitzer Ebb, Kraftwerk and Jeff Mills. Inspired by Frank Herbert’s <i>Dune</i> series, her debut EP, <i>Fear is the Mind Killer</i>, was issued via her own newly minted imprint D.A.T. (Denied American Techno), and features an analog edit from Matrixxman.</p><p><a href="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/218085803" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SoundCloud Track (218085803)</a></p><h2>Worker/Parasite</h2><p>Oakland resident Ben Versluis moonlights as a mixing and mastering engineer, which might help explain the high degree of technical acuity evident in his productions as Worker/Parasite. He’s also got a particular knack for hardware, as evidenced on his <i>Proletariat</i> EP for UK cassette outlet Opal Tapes. Check out his other projects, Headgear and Diem, for more.</p><h2>Avalon Emerson</h2><p>Although she no longer lives in the area, Avalon Emerson’s involvement in San Francisco’s current scene seems undeniable. She has worked in music engineering since she was a teenager recording her friends’ high school bands, and started to make dance floor-oriented edits and originals when she moved to San Francisco in 2009. She threw regular underground parties with her roomates at Club 380, a “big industrial house” south of Market Street that housed 14 people. In 2014 she started to gain attention outside the state when she released a trio of EPs on San Francisco-based labels Icee Hot and Spring Theory. Emerson has since decamped to Berlin, where she recently delivered a five-hour closing for Leisure System at Panorama Bar, which testified to her growing popularity because it inspired in the dancers a level of frenzy the EB editors present hadn’t seen there in quite some time. She has a new record on the way for Uncanny Valley sublabel Shtum, which promises punky, trippy dancefloor tools.</p><p><a href="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/218024462" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SoundCloud Track (218024462)</a></p><h2>Honey Soundsystem</h2><p>Honey Soundsystem self-identifies as a queer DJ and arts collective that formed around a shared appreciation for “pivotal gay underground parties and dance music history [that] offered a take on dance music in direct opposition to what was blaring on mainstream club speakers.” Its members include Jackie House, Robert Yang AKA Bézier, Jason Kendig and Josh Cheon, who also fronts the excellent Dark Entries label. Recently, the crew relaunched its eponymous imprint with a pair of EPs from Bézier and Jackie House, with none other than Matrixxman assuming b-side remix duties.</p><p><a href="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/212143111" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SoundCloud Track (212143111)</a></p><h2>Jack Murphy</h2><p>Affectionately referred to as the “techno detective” by those in the know, Jack Murphy puts out lean, clean techno cuts primed for maximum dancefloor impact on Frozen Border sublabel Reference and Don’t Be Afraid. His productions are cool but his DJ sets—at the least the ones he recorded for <a href="https://soundcloud.com/the-trilogy-tapes/jack-murphy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Trilogy Tapes</a> and <a href="https://soundcloud.com/truants/truancy-volume-126-jack-murphy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Truants</a>—are extremely, extremely good. Really good. Seriously. Listen to them. And by the way, if anyone can ID the second track on the Truants mix, the first one with a kick drum, lettuce know.</p><p><a href="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/170249899" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SoundCloud Track (170249899)</a></p><h2>Solar</h2><p>Expect the unexpected from this longstanding California selector. Solar founded the <a href="http://sunsetsoundsystem.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunset Sound System </a>outdoor party series, which is credited with helping to establish the Bay Area’s dance music scene. Championed by Dutch tastemakers Dekmantel, Solar’s international visibility was also boosted by Dixon, who invited him to tour Europe with the Innervisions crew after catching one of his sets. Mixes for Resident Advisor and <a href="http://www.beatsinspace.net/playlists/721" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beats in Space</a> offer a taste of his style, which spans Italo, new wave and acid.</p><p><a href="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/187934163" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SoundCloud Track (187934163)</a></p><h2>Carlos Souffront</h2><p>Carlos Souffront is a Detroit native and core member of Brendan Gillen’s Interdimensional Transmissions outfit, which hosts the legendary No Way Back parties around <a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/ectomorphs-insiders-guide-to-movement-detroit-festival/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Movement Festival</a> every year. Having earned the badge of “DJ’s DJ” based on standout sets for The Bunker and what’s rumored to be an incredible record collection, he’s resettled in San Francisco where, according to RA, he lives a double life as a cheesemonger—his daytime occupation for the last 20 years.</p><p><a href="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/210583768" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SoundCloud Track (210583768)</a></p><h2>Earthen Sea</h2><p>Jacob Long’s earliest solo output under the guise Earthen Sea was confined to obscure cassette releases, but these days, the San Franciscan is most closely aligned with Ital’s Lovers Rock imprint. The two artists played together in a punk band, Mi Ami, and also produce together as Sleeper Cell. Long’s new solo album of textural, ambient techno is on the way, plus a conceptual release, <em><a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/feed/nicolas-jaar-collabs-with-julia-holter-holly-herndon-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Imaginary Feast</a></em>, for Nicolas Jaar’s Other People imprint, which features <a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/interview-holly-herndon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Holly Herndon</a>, <a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/unwinding-with-ctm-star-lorenzo-senni-after-untune/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lorenzo Senni</a>, <a href="http://www.electronicbeats.net/explore-italys-rising-experimental-electronics-scene/">Vaghe Stelle</a>, William Basinski and more.<b> </b></p><p><a href="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/210822563" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SoundCloud Track (210822563)</a></p><h2>Mozhgan</h2><p>Mozhgan is one of our newest finds, and we still don’t know much about the San Francisco selector, save for the fact that she captains the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wearemonsterssf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">We Are Monsters</a> party alongside Solar and Greer. Her deep, dark guest mix for Honey Soundsystem, however, is worth a listen.</p><p><a href="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/197673174" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SoundCloud Track (197673174)</a></p>'
---
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# 11 DJs and Producers Reviving San Francisco’s Scene The San Francisco Bay Area has played an important role in American dance music since the 1990s, when its unique blend of hippie paganism, liberal politics and high-tech futurism collided in a healthy rave scene and famous parties like Wicked...
Chunk #2 (Position: 1)
A growing number of artists from the region have hit our radar in recent months, so we thought it was time for a round-up of some of our favorites. With help from fast-rising DJ and producer Matrixxman---who supplied us with a [guide][1]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener"} to some of...
Chunk #3 (Position: 2)
His debut album, *Homesick*, dealt in not-so-distant technoid futures and was released on Ghostly International earlier this summer. [SoundCloud Track][2]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"} . ## Vin Sol Vin Sol has teamed up with Matrixxman on a number of projects: the Soo W...
Chunk #4 (Position: 3)
Vin Sol's solo endeavors specialize in stripped-back ghetto house, and his contributions to Clone's Jack for Daze series and Unknown to the Unknown display a modern take on the jacking sound of seminal Chicago label Dance Mania. [SoundCloud Track (181185885)][3]{: target="_blank" rel="n...
Chunk #5 (Position: 4)
(Denied American Techno), and features an analog edit from Matrixxman. [SoundCloud Track (218085803)][4]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"} . ## Worker/Parasite Oakland resident Ben Versluis moonlights as a mixing and mastering engineer, which might help explain the high degree o...
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He's also got a particular knack for hardware, as evidenced on his *Proletariat* EP for UK cassette outlet Opal Tapes. Check out his other projects, Headgear and Diem, for more. ## Avalon Emerson Although she no longer lives in the area, Avalon Emerson's involvement in San Francisco's current sc...
Chunk #7 (Position: 6)
She has a new record on the way for Uncanny Valley sublabel Shtum, which promises punky, trippy dancefloor tools. [SoundCloud Track (218024462)][5]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"} . ## Honey Soundsystem Honey Soundsystem self-identifies as a queer DJ and arts collective that formed...
Chunk #8 (Position: 7)
Recently, the crew relaunched its eponymous imprint with a pair of EPs from Bézier and Jackie House, with none other than Matrixxman assuming b-side remix duties. [SoundCloud Track (212143111)][6]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"} . ## Jack Murphy Affectionately referred to as the "t...
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And by the way, if anyone can ID the second track on the Truants mix, the first one with a kick drum, lettuce know. [SoundCloud Track (170249899)][9]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"} . ## Solar Expect the unexpected from this longstanding California selector. Solar founded the ...
Chunk #10 (Position: 9)
Mixes for Resident Advisor and [Beats in Space][11]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener"} offer a taste of his style, which spans Italo, new wave and acid. [SoundCloud Track (187934163)][12]{: target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"} . ## Carlos Souffront Carlos Souffront is a Detroit native...
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