Well hello, lovers of music and culture. We are Under the Stars, a quasi-weekly column that stays on message with strong-ass opinions, presenting new music releases and upcoming shows. We are puzzled to report The Phoenix Hotel didn’t actually close…
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.
RIP WILLIE COLÓN
The song “Che Che Cole”, which would later be reworked by Brooklyn group Antibalas, was first done by not just the late-great salsa artist, but one of the greatest artists of our time: Mr. Willie Colón.
Born and raised in the heart of the Bronx’s vibrant Latin community, the incomparable Colón shall forever be known as a legendary trombonist, revolutionary composer, master arranger, powerful singer, brave producer, fearless director, tireless innovator, and, dare I say, culture maker. “Che Che Colé”, his 1969 self-produced Hector Lavoie-sung invitation to dance, off of Colón’s Borinquen salsa album Cosa Nuestra, got flipped by Antibalas into a 12-inch banger of a tune, using a style inspired by Fela’s Nigerian Afrobeat and stinging vocals by Mayra Vega.
The remix, by Bosco Mann and Antibalas’ keyboardist Victor “Ticklah” Axelrod, recasts the arrangement in the Makossa style of early-’70s Cameroon, by way of Jamaican dub.
Colón had created a vehicle whose rhythm all could drive.
He was a foundational contributor to the canonical imprint Fania Records, often referred to as the Motown of salsa. Dominican-born musician-bandleader Johnny Pacheco and American attorney-entrepreneur Jerry Masucci founded Fania, but it was Colón, along with Celia Cruz and Héctor Lavoe, who made the imprint internationally undeniable.
If you had the opportunity to ride the subway system in New York City during the ’70’s and ’80s, you had the privilege, and I mean that with all sincerity, to hear the Fania Records catalogue played loudly from boomboxes out on the platform as much as you heard disco in the ’70s and hip-hop, electro, freestyle and boogie in the ’80s.
Make no mistake, Fania was turning heads and making moves in the streets first, which eventually drove record sales. Back in those days, the subway platform was your social media feed. The streets determined what spilled out to discerning listeners, and Fania Records was always in the selection.
RIP, Mr. Willie Colón.
SATYA, “YELLOW HOUSE”
Of course it would be after performing in four sold-out SFJAZZ shows spanning across two nights at the end of January that the Oakland native Satya would make tracks for the bigger musical digs of Los Angeles.
“Yellow House,” a compassionate and somber ballad recounting hardscrabble instances from her childhood home through intricate lyricism, shall remind folks here in The Bay just exactly what talents we will be missing out on. It has the kind of soul, alt-R&B, and dreamy textures that found her sharing stages with the likes of Macy Gray, Madison McFerrin, Masego, and Jason Isbell at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. This is far from an adios—take this single, Bay-Areans, as a see-you-down-the-road gesture.
Grab it here.
THE KITCHENETTES AT 4 STAR THEATER, MARCH 20
Making even the smallest of decisions can be exhausting these days. So, when attempting to navigate the local musical landscape, you want to cover your bases with bands and artists who are constantly trying new combinations, different lineups that give them a burst of new energy. Can I make a suggestion? The Kitchenettes (great name by the way) are three friends from our ridiculously high-yield indie scene who have been quietly making noise, wooing local music heads with their folksy arrangements for a couple of years now.
Formed by Morgan of The Umbrellas and Telephone Numbers fame, plus Emily and Sequoia of The Snogs, the group delivers mostly pop songs that are inventive and lovable, harkening back to the bygone era of girlbands from the ’80s and ’90s. The Kitchenettes will play a record release show on March 20 at 4 Star Theater, and their three-song seven-inch Sunday Best will be co-released by Slumberland, Galaxy Train, and Meritorio on March 27.
Pre-order here.
JOHN TEJADA, NIGHTSHIFT/THE INNOCENTS (PALETTE RECORDINGS)
When an artist has had a career as flush as John Tejada’s, it makes it difficult to sum up their relevancy in a mere blurb. His trajectory spans 30 years, making the Austrian-born, U.S.-based electronic music producer a house and techno legend. He’s amassed a rich arsenal of sound.
Well, he’s kinda made the last couple of years quite easy to define. Let’s go with “exploratory”. I don’t know what’s happened, but the vaults have been open and flowing for Mr. Tejada. The ideas, the collaborations, minor tweaks, and major flexes—it’s all working. His output from this era has ranged from collaborative projects with Roxanne, a veteran of the LA drum and bass scene, to vintage drum machine-driven boulevards of romantic synths with March Adstrum positioning hardware creations as the get.
From a listener’s perspective, it’s been downright thrilling trying to figure out what the next curveball will be. Last year’s solo record The Watchline continued that journey of reinvention, this time infusing shoegaze and guitar elements into those bass lines and moving chords.
On his new two-track Nightshift / The Innocents EP on the Palette imprint, Tejada’s interlocking rhythms are billed as “forward motion and a more physical kind of energy, while still keeping things slightly left of center,” and that does track. But on “Nightshift”—a mover for sure—he’s gone subtle, microdosing with splash melodies that burst over that zooming kick drum. “The Innocents” feels a bit more sci-fi, with the minor chord colorings, shuffling beat, and squiggly bass line. That is, until we hit pay dirt with the song’s melodic bridge. After 30 years in the game, Tejada’s fresh ears and innovative ideas are still guiding the way.
Grab it here.
MARIA BC AT 4 STAR THEATER, THU/12
There’s a reason why some place their trust in a “vibes-only” approach to art, especially music. How many fake bands got busted on Spotify last year? You can check the numbers; a lot. All that deception, gunning for your dang digital coins.
But when you make art, specifically music, that may come off austere—or let’s just say it, weird—it won’t be mistaken for a fake. It may take a beat to figure out what’s happening, but authenticity catches your ear instead of boring you to bits.
Oakland’s own Maric BC is on just such a sonic run, making folks think, ponder, or just be puzzled.
BC is using the in-vogue sonic textures of the moment: folk music, shoegaze, and ambient. This all figures to be some of the most moving and bizarre arrangements in 21st century indie-alt spaces.
Their third full-length Marathon, released by Sacred Bones, polishes up and evolves this modern trinity of sonic shapes, fusing those Zoomer go-to genres into a modernistic symmetry of refined ennui. On the track “Rare,” Maria proudly dubs the chaotic arrangement, “the discordant twang of my ancient zither.” Right there is where you figure out why Maria BC is and up-and-comer: the ability to possess multitudes within the most humble of arrangements.
