Under the Stars: Deep-cut Californians Slope114 bring big, booming house love

It’s a very fertile time for music festivals in the Bay Area. Outside Lands is knocking at our door (take a look at its schedule), and the Portola Music Fest is just a few of weeks away—and those set times have also been released. You can see them here.

But we have rising electronic music artists, right here in the 415, who make music 12 months out of the year under the watchful eye of Karl The Fog, that we think are just as worthy of being on those festival stages, too.

Did I mention? We are still Under The Stars, a quasi-weekly column still getting trampled by five million concertgoers attending several music festivals in Golden Gate Park.

We stay on message with strong-ass opinions, presenting new music releases, upcoming shows, and other adjacent items. We keep it moving, hustling with the changes, thinking outside the margins. We’ve been doing this for five years… Spend some time with us…

SLOPE114, “NOTES”

Sometimes you hear a track, and it swells up in your soul so big that you get that dusty fingers-tingling sensation. Like, you’ve been searching for that one piece of wax, in record bins, on your crinkly knees for about six months, and then, BAM! It makes itself available to you.

“Notes,” the new single from the San Francisco-based live house music duo Slope114, comprised of Elise Gargalikis and Dmitri SFC, did just that to me. But before we dive into the sounds, these two have such a San Francisco story—one that used to be common but nowadays, seems rare.

Gargalikis has been singing in competitions around California since she was six years old; she’s the product of a generations-long line of singers and became known for singing house music at Bay Area underground venues in the early 2000s. Very Ess Eff.

Now, producer Dmitri is known nationwide for playing the guy holding the disco ball in Groove the movie, but folks, he goes far deeper than that snapshot in time. He’s been DJing in San Francisco clubs with someone else’s ID he found before he was legally old enough to be inside. THAT is some Ess Eff business right there, for sure.

He released records as The Sexicanz & COA recordings before joining forces with Elise to create Slope114, which has performed in Detroit, Berlin, Lisbon, Tallinn, Montreal, San Francisco, Portland, Anchorage, Sacramento, San Jose, Los Angeles, Stroud, and London, including that city’s Ministry of Sound.

But what stands out most of all, which you can’t read about in a bio or get a sense of via social media, is that this duo has that thing. “Notes”, as they tell it, is “a whole lot of attitude from Elise. Declaring her independence with pure sass. Delivered with technique, style and passion. No Autotune, just the real. And that production, original West Coast House Music. Dmitri creates all the sounds himself using his self-built modular synthesizer, microphones and percussion instruments.”

All of that, folks? That is spirit. Heart. That life, in their music. It’s big, moving house, drum machines used for movement, not a gimmicky flex or a played-out trend. A vocalist who is in complete control of their pristine instrument, and Dimitri just dialing up the modular synths that make you want to buy a dance floor sound system for your own home.

I’m serious, people—Slope114 has that soul, that big, booming house music warmth that many electronic music artists these days often lack or just have no idea about. They don’t know the history, the legacy, or where this music comes from, and what it’s about as we battle for our creative lives in 2025.

I was so happy to speak with the duo’s Dmitri SFC.

48HILLS How did the name Slope 114 come about?

DMITRI SFC The Serge modular was a synthesizer that was built on Haight Street in the 1970s. I was fixing one for a friend in 2011, saw a PCB inside that said Slope114, and thought to myself that since SF was going “all techno,” Slope114 would be a cool techno-ish sounding name. (We still make house, though) I can’t help it, I guess.

48HILLS What are the benefits of producing an arrangement that feels organically alive?

DMITRI SFC When we’re not making our music, we’re always listening to old R&B from the ’70s and ’80s. We collect records, study artists. It’s what we do together as a couple. Some people talk about celebs or TV, and Elise and I talk about singers and musicians from the past. Also, my uncle had a salsa band in the Bay for decades. Those are our biggest inspirations, so if our arrangements sound alive, it’s because we’re getting better at making music.

48HILLS What would you both like to see in the current SF electronic music community?

DMITRI SFC Authenticity, inclusivity, real skills over clickbait. Continue the Bay Area legacy of strong independent artists. Long live Vinyl Dreams record store on Haight!

Buy “Notes” here.

YUKA YU

We have been following this film and sound artist, DJ, and producer who originally hails from Taipei, Taiwan ever since she started playing engagements at the Lions Den in North Beach. The founder of the artist exchange program Nu Tekno (女樂) started DJing in London’s Camden Town, trained at the London Sound Academy, and became a DJ to connect people through music. After playing at the Asian Art Museum and Noise Pop festival, both in 2025, we were able to grab a quick word with one of San Francisco’s busiest DJs.

48HILLS We’ve been following your career over the past few years, and my goodness, how things have moved quite fast. How does it feel to witness this in real-time?

YUKA YU Feeling humbled watching my musical journey unfold, and simultaneously, realizing how much more I want to refine my craft. Lately, life feels like it’s coming full circle. I went to a film school in college and started off directing indie shorts, dreaming of being a director (or maybe even an actor lol). For a while, I’d joke that I was just another “film school student failure,” especially since I went to the same school as Ang Lee, a major inspiration for me growing up in Taiwan.

But this year changed something. I was invited to perform a hybrid visual and DJ set at the Asian Art Museum for Everyday War, a show by Taiwan’s leading video artist, Yuan Goang-Ming. Alongside that, I got to present my bold visual work. In that moment, I realized, this is what film school trained me for. I’m finally blending all the things I love: storytelling, music, and visuals.

Another full-circle moment? Here’s a little secret: I hated traditional Asia music growing up. As a kid, I thought my family was playing the weirdest stuff. One of my childhood dreams is to play piano or conduct a choir, because that felt cooler to me as a kid. But now? I’m sampling and mixing those very same sounds into my DJ sets. Wild how life loops back. The music I once ran from is now a core part of my creative voice.

Catch Yuka Yu at Mr. Mahjong’s on August 16 at Chinatown After Dark; at The Lions Den on September 10; and at the Ranch Water Bar in downtown San Rafael on September 19. Pick up her latest release here.

RHUCLE, NO WIND (CONSTELLATION TATSU)

There’s a simple way to distinguish between trend followers and free thinkers: one tries to persuade you of their hypothesis, while the other simply encourages you to breathe. At least that’s the formula I use when weighing in on all the new forms of “ambient music” that have flooded all genres of music since the pandemic.

“Airship,” along with several other tracks from the No Wind release by Rhucle—a Japanese artist currently living in Tokyo who records with the Oakland-based imprint Constellation Tatsu—is the third installment of a three-part summer 2025 release. It offers a mental pause amid the chaos occurring in many parts of our busy, technology-driven lives.

“Airship” serves as a sonic palate cleanser, providing the calm our senses desperately need each day. The synths, keyboards, and cloudless soundscapes put the kibosh on the heaviness of our surroundings, creating a clearer mindset and helping us rise above confusion. Incorporate this release into your daily routine and find your moment of peace. Namaste.

Grab it here.

FIVE YEARS OF NO BIAS AT UNDERGROUND SF, FRI/8

What would you do for a funky beat, a fly groove, and some of the most dangerous breaks this side of Lower Haight? You need to make it down to the faretheewell adieu for the nasty-funk NO BIAS party featuring Bored Lord, Soeneido B2B Soulox, Varsha, Ray Reck, and Rental VHS. It’s their last night of a three-year residency at UGSF. In celebration of the five years, you can expect genres beyond the typical house and jungle business. Come equipped and ready to receive bass music, vocals coming out of left field, snares snapping, and the “Damn, I had a great time” feeling.

Grab tix here.

ASHKENAZ COULD USE YOUR HELP!

This Berkeley dance and community center is looking for a few amazing volunteers to help bring two exciting community events to life. Whether you’re a longtime supporter or new to the Ashkenaz family, this is a great way to get involved, meet folks, and support local music and culture.

At the Very Jerry event taking place August 27, the annual fundraiser honoring the spirit and legacy of Jerry Garcia returns, and the venue is looking for volunteers who will help out with silent auctions and merch sales, provide hospitality support for the green room, artist area, and help venue setup and breakdown. Shifts are two to three hours, and you’ll get free entry to the show plus Ashkenaz’s eternal gratitude. Tie-dye is optional but encouraged.

For the East Bay’s biggest street festival, Solano Stroll, on September 14 on Solano Avenue, Ashkenaz is hosting a fun, interactive booth. You can also volunteer there, helping to spread the word about the venue’s fall programming, classes, and shows.

Volunteer for a two-hour shift to greet festival-goers, share flyers and schedules, help with mini-activities like a raffle. You’ll be in the mix of great music, community vibes, sunshine, and receive a free ticket to one of Ashkenaz’s September shows.

Be the change you want to see and help a community venue out!

Email ashkenaz@ashkenaz.com to take the first step.