The Bay Area is currently exploding with new and interesting musical talent. We put together a list of 10 of our favorites: some you may have heard of, some you probably haven’t!
Vudajé
Photo Credit: Michael Rubio (@auxchordpapi)
Led by San Jose music veteran Mitchell Luján and a cast of accomplished musicians, Vudajé (a play on déjà vu) have nailed down a smooth and clean R&B sound in the 4-song EP, recorded primarily by Luján. It’s one of the best-produced albums to come out of San José in quite some time. Never ones to sleep on success, Vudajé has followed it up with two stellar singles, a power-pop throwback “Roleplay” and a sinewy, sultry number, “Nosedive.” Already in 2018, the band has been tearing it up in their hometown and beyond, with recent shows at Local Color in SJ and The Depot in SF, not to mention winning the Southwest Airlines – Coca Cola co-sponsored Eats & Beats contest! We were lucky enough to host Vudajé for our very first every Come Up show back in February, and we can’t wait to see what they’ll do next.
Boy Scouts
Photo Credit: Rachel McCord Creative (@rachelmccordcreative)
Boy Scouts is the performing moniker for SF-based singer-songwriter Taylor Vick, who has crafted beautiful and haunting bedroom-folk for the last several years. Vick’s first official boy scouts release was “Homeroom Breakfast” (see link above) in 2016. Having broken down traditional folk song structures and eschewed rhythm section in favor of vocal harmonies and samples, her songs are immediately captivating in their uniqueness. A follow-up 7-song release entitled “Hobby Limit” appeared in September 2017, and most recently a batch of 4 re-worked older songs, “Mood Rings.” Vick has a special talent for taking mundane subject matter: parks, fountains, her plants, etc. and injecting them with a palpable beauty. She will be an exciting artist to watch as boy scouts (now with a full live band) continues to pick up steam. See her at Silver Sprocket Bicycle Club on August 9th.
The Seshen
Photo Credit: Afropunk (@afropunk)
It’s almost impossible to call The Seshen up-and-coming at this point, but if you aren’t familiar with this powerhouse six-piece, you owe yourself the education. Led by singer/lyricist Lalin St. Juste and bassist/producer Akiyoshi Ehara, The Seshen carries on the bay area music tradition of building a sound that defies genre by fusing elements of R&B and synth-pop, among others. We got our first introduction to The Seshen at last summer’s San Jose Jazz Summerfest, with their rousing performance at Café Stritch. The group’s popularity has exploded since, having supported acts such as Thundercat, tUnE-yArDs, and Petite Noir, on their way to a headlining date at The Independent on September 1st. Buy a ticket, don’t look back.
Jay Som
Photo Credit: The Bay Bridged (@thebaybridged)
Walnut Creek-born Melina Duterte picked up her performing moniker, Jay Som, from the same Wu-Tang Name Generator that bestowed “Childish Gambino” on Donald Glover. While their music is considerably different, Jay Som and Gambino share one thing in common: they are busy as hell. Since first turning heads with 2016’s Turn Into (Polyvinly) the band has been on the road A LOT, playing major festivals (including this year’s Panorama in NYC) and supporting everyone from The National to Mitski. Jay Som’s 2017 release, Everybody Works (Polyvinyl), was one of the best of 2017. Period. Spanning intensely intimate (see “(BedHead)”) to youthfully bombastic, (“Everybody Works”), it’s a modern indie masterpiece. We at The Come Up were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Jay Som back in February. The proof was there: Jay Som is on their way to big things!
The Saxophones
Photo Credit: The Saxophones Bandcamp
Emerging from relative obscurity, this Oakland-based husband/wife duo (Alexi Erenkov and Alison Alderdice) put out a 3-song EP in early 2017, each song a dark slow-burn beauty, particularly the standout “If You’re On The Water” which explores a personal tragedy from Erenkov’s own life. It’s quite remarkable for a group to make such an impression in today’s age by crafting ballads. The duo quickly followed up on their first release with a series of singles, leading to their debut LP Songs of the Saxophones, a gorgeous and timeless collection, flush with woodwinds and Erenkov’s softly heartbreaking vocals front and center. The Saxophones play Peach House Presents’ Daydream Festival in Sacramento August 5th.
EaSWay
Photo Credit: EaSWay Twitter (@EaSWay)
Born in San Francisco, Easweh Harrison has been making music for an impressively long time considering he’s still only 23. After moving to Los Angeles to attend USC and grow his music career, Easweh became more involved in visual arts, crafting a distinctive style through digital painting and design. According to his self-written Spotify bio, EaSWay’s art, be it musical or visual, “attempts to spark constructive dialogue about about things that go on in the world that may not be discussed in such public spaces.” EaSWay is a socially-engaged emcee, displaying a fully-formed vision on 2017’s The Panther in the Room. In the very opening lines of “Blue Skies”, EaSWay proclaims, “this is a story about a boy, about a quest, for respect and nothing less.” EaSWay certainly has our respect, and our attention.
Dick Stusso
Photo Credit: Harldy Art Records (@hardlyartrecords)
Who would’ve guessed that such a swaggering, hot-blooded Americana sound would come out of Oakland? Even after his solid debut, “Nashville Dreams/Sings the Blues” on Vacant Stare Records, Stusso hadn’t received much notoriety outside of the Bay. But that is already starting to change, thanks in large part to his powerful and surprisingly moving LP, “In Heaven,” released this time around by Hardly Art Records. The album traipses over the darkened territory of disillusionment, and settling into adulthood, but maintains a half-drunken smirk the whole way through. As a songwriter and storyteller, Stusso now stands next to Sonny Smith as a fixture in the Bay Area scene, and is sauntering into a grander spotlight – catch him at Outside Lands 2018!
Spellling
Photo Credit: Spellling Bandcamp
Arguably one of the lesser-known artists on this list, Spellling (aka Oakland-based Chrystia Cabral) describes her sound as “Freak Faith Folk” and it could not be more accurate. We have a hard time describing Spellling without simply saying that they are different. Cabral’s first full-length release, Pantheon of Me, was written, performed and produced in her Berkeley apartment, and landed at #4 on Bandcamp’s top albums of 2017. Interestingly enough, Pantheon of Me reminds us of the #1 album from that list, Moses Sumney’s insta-classic Aromanticism. Not to box Cabral and Sumney together, as they each have plenty of distinguishing characteristics, but the music of both artists strikes directly to the listener’s soul thanks to their otherworldly voices and production. Legendary indie label Sacred Bones has noticed Cabral’s undeniable talents, and recently released her 7” Hard to Please b/w My Other Voice. We predict Spellling will soon be in the national music conversation, and we will be all the better for it.
Pardoner
Photo Credit: Bandcamp Daily
It wouldn’t be a Bay Area music list without the local post-punk band of the moment. And for our money, that is Pardoner. Formed shortly after a hardcore band called “Moms” burned out in 2014, the San Francisco four-piece have forged a remarkable messy-but-it-works sound bolstered by their natural chemistry and a certain jagged sense of humor. Pardoner had been at it for a couple years, playing shows out and around the Bay when they captured the attention of Father/Daughter Records, who released 2017’s Uncontrollable Salvation, cementing Pardoner as a real-deal Bay Area band and garnering them some national attention. See them play alongside Oakland DIY vets Club Night, and Vancouver, BC rockers Jo Passed at Oakland.Secret, September 6th.
Knowmadic
Photo Credit: Knowmadic Bandcamp
Prolific San Jose-based beatmaker Knowmadic rounds out our list, having quietly amassed himself quite the online following (his song “Fade” just cracked 8 million streams on Spotify.) A master of the lush lofi sound, Knowmadic has been uber-busy in 2018, with five releases only halfway through the year. This includes Spring Loops, which was produced entirely in one day, and Hydrangea EP, put out earlier this month. We can’t stop listening to the latter, a brilliantly crafted piece of work. We know that Knowmadic is not going to be slowing down anytime soon, so while we’re waiting for the next track or tape to come out, feel free to dive into his already impressive library.
Think we missed anybody? Of course we did, but that’s because there’s so much music in the Bay. Please feel free to share your favorite local artist with us via email (sanjosecomeup@gmail.com) or DM (@sjcomeup)
