The fire last week in Oakland has been a huge shock to the artist community here in the Bay Area with ripples far beyond. Sadly, as is often the case, it took a tragedy of this magnitude to start a dialogue about the issues and conditions that precipitated it.
I first discovered electronic music in the ‘90s through the Bay Area warehouse party scene. Later I moved back to Sacramento where I started making music myself and playing my first shows at underground parties. I owe a lot to the community and history of this area and it’s disheartening to know that fewer and fewer artists have the opportunity to benefit from this richly diverse community.
This Wednesday I’ll be participating in the Oakland United event at the Fox Theater. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to Gray Area Foundation For The Arts Oakland Fire Relief Fund. Christopher Willits, whose Overlap Studio is based in Oakland, and I will be collaborating on a short DJ set and a lot of other local artists will be playing as well.
I’ve created this poster to promote the event and as a tribute to the victims of the fire. We will be selling prints at the show and online afterwards, proceeds of which will go to the Fire Relief Fund.
I hope you can support in whatever way you are able; more information about the event and the relief fund can be found at Oakland United.
If you haven’t heard yet (I heard via Rough Trades twitter) that the warehouse of PIAS UK distribution(music distributor to over 150 indie labels) burnt down during the London riots, the only info I have found is the statement below, I hope all the indie music lovers out there can chip in and help out during this huge loss.
“I have no doubt that if you’re here you’ll have heard the news that the PIAS distribution centre in Enfield has been burnt down during the London riots. What you may not be aware of is that the warehouse contained the physical stock for most of Britain’s Indie records labels. The subsequent loss of income and cash flow problems that this act of mindless vandalism will bring about may well be enough to push many of the smaller operators out of business.
Our aim is to try and rally the music industry, both on the artist and the audience sides, and see if we can raise some money to see those affected through the tough times ahead.
This is just a holding page at the moment but more details will be posted here as and when we have them. In the meantime, if you would like to get involved or contribute in any way please drop us an email to: piasfundraiser@gmail.com” – PIAS benefit
This distributor was home to many labels listed below
2020 Vision
Beggars
Border Community
Boysnoize
Def Jux
Domino
Drag City
FatCat
Full Time Hobby
Kitsune
Kompakt
Lex
Mute
Ninja Tune
Peacefrog
Rough Trade
Secretly Canadian / Jagjaguwar / Dead Oceans
Soma
Sonar Kollectiv
Soul Jazz
Subliminal
Thrill Jockey
Touch And Go
Vagrant
Vice
Warp
(and many many more)
This October, with the help of the Kickstarter community, a small group of filmmakers, photographers and musicians are setting out on a journey to explore the remote countryside of Iceland and document our experiences with the landscape, residents and traditions we encounter. The end result, a beautifully packaged box set of the film and companion soundtrack, will be released to backers of the project as a physical artifact of the unique and awe-inspiring experience. We can’t wait to share the results with you.
The project — anchored by internationally renowned photographers Tim Navis + Kim Høltermand and aided by film collective Scenic and composer Deru — will be unique in its improvisational spirit. The group will create a series of short films at various locations throughout the island, inspired by moments of discovery and chance occurrence. Tim’s sun-drenched SoCal landscapes and Kim’s cold, architectural abstractions provide the perfect visual foundation, and fans of their work can imagine how exciting a collaboration between the two will be.
We’ll be sharing our trip in inventive ways with supporters, providing a real-time window into an experience that the community helped to make reality. Upon our return, Scenic will edit a series of short films, featuring an original score by Deru and a full-length soundtrack featuring contributions from select musicians and contemporary composers. Tim + Kim will create an archival photo book and release a limited run of exclusive prints for the Kickstarter community.
Your donation will help provide travel and accommodations while our small crew films and photographs the trip, and will allow us to produce truly stunning physical artifacts that showcase the beauty and wonder of Iceland. We hope you’ll join us on our journey, and we thank you for your support.
About the Soundtrack
*** Download the first single here, FREE ***
Deru is curating a full-length soundtrack compilation of tracks contributed specifically for the film. Artists include:
• Shigeto
• Loscil
• Goldmund
• Asura
• Tycho
• Joby Talbot
• Ryuichi Sakamoto
• More to be announced
