Words With Orchestroll: Montreal, Milan, Ghosts in the Machine
Jesse Osborne-Lanthier and Asaël Robitaille discuss collaboration, hybridization, soundsystem ambient, and "Corrosiv," their new album on 29 Speedway.
Chris Zaldua
Writer, music liker, sometimes event producer. Bay Area-based.
-
recordsNow Listening: Introspective Dance Music, Crab-Walk Rhythms, Diasporic Drum'n'Bass
Records by Mineral Stunting, Plumes of Enceladus, Lara Sarkissian, Yetsuby, and Cahl Sel.
essaySilicon Valley Hates You
The Silicon Valley death drive is the resoundingly anti-human, anti-creative conceit at the root of generative AI development.
interviewWords With Jefre Cantu-Ledesma: Root Strata, the San Francisco Scene, and Music as Gift
The roots of Root Strata and its S.F. scene; the genesis of "Gift Songs"; ambient music as phenomenon; the creative process.
recordsNow Listening: Deep Drone, New Industrial, Downtempo Freak Rippers
New records from Grand River, Civilistjävel!, Rivet, Torn Hawk, and Enxin/Onyx.
Words With: TRjj, TRii, TRii Group
Conversations with a mysterious German artist on authorship, the intimacy of music, sharing art as a means of sharing oneself, graphic design, and more.
recordsNow Listening: Cosmic Ambience with a Side of Jazz Drumming
New records from Reed Michaels, Freivogel / Sinclaire, DOVS, ASC, and Raven.
essayTechno and the Chinese Century: 'The Last Year of Darkness' in review
This 2023 film about club culture and queer nightlife in Chengdu, China, is a compelling watch—and an eye-opening one.
interviewWords With: James Whipple (Hesaitix, M.E.S.H.)
Musical hiatuses, production flow, artistic growth, connecting with listeners, doing your own thing.
recordsNine Records I Loved in 2024
Hesaitix; Thomas Bush; Daria Lourd; V/Z; Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance; Young Echo; TRii Group; Danny Daze; Dregs.
recordsLook Back: Icee Hot, a Bay Area Club Culture Moment
An interview with San Francisco club organizers Icee Hot, originally published in 2015.
interviewWords With: Kiernan Laveaux
Growing up queer and trans in Ohio; DJing as an artform; music as a communal force and conduit for love and joy.