Sayonara Saturday - August 2021

Sojourn Series 07 - Reconciliation

Sunday Soundz - Episode 7

this is how i remember the first hour of moontime music under the stars and with ocean waves nearby during the magical 2014 every day i dream of dancing on the beach experience 

little prickly pears

The collaboration between Alex Blackstock and Dan Sherman was born out of salty, sultry Playa dust. Both resident DJs in San Francisco, and best friends to boot, it wasn't until something happened over that silt-covered mixer in the burning desert that their styles coalesced into unforgettable sunrise sessions, and delicate afternoons on the Esplanade. 

Mixed live on 1200s after a few intense late nights of brainstorming and storyboarding, this set is the debut release of Alex and Dan's collaborative identity. Playing as the symbiotic duo Solomon & Sadao, we want to share some of that dusty magic with the Desert Hearts community. If you enjoy what you hear, give us a LIKE to help us win an opportunity to do what we love and play out some positive vibes at this fall's festival.

Alex and Dan are co-founders of Concept (https://www.facebook.com/ConceptSF), an experiment in musical communication, and Sui Generis, an intimate underground event series in San Francisco that brings electronic music artists who've never been to San Francisco, to San Francisco (first Lake People, then Canson, next, on Halloween, DoubtingThomas).  

Lots and lots of love and heartfelt thanks to all of you. See you in the desert!

- alex + dan

p.s. to check out the other mixes in the competition, go here: https://soundcloud.com/groups/desert-hearts-fall-mixtape-contest-2014

TRACKLIST
uP & pG - Follow You feat. David Kareyan (Asaga Remix)
Dance Spirit - Jardin
Matthias Meyer - Levant
Quenum - 5AM (Mathew Jonson Remix)
Fur Coat - Fall's Away feat. Mel Blatt (Just Be Remix)
Bedouin - Empire State
TVA - Pauseless
Tiefschwarz - Legends (Maher Daniel Remix)
Jinjé - Amya
Avatism, Federico Rizzo - Laments (DeWalta Remix)
VIMES - Celestial (Gardens Of God Remix)

alex: https://soundcloud.com/asblackstock
solomon & sadao: https://soundcloud.com/solomon-sadao

*recorded live at The SUB
*image credit: the Curiosity rover that's driving around on Mars. Alex helped write the code that stitches together big panoramic photos that Curiosity captures, like this one. 

Solomon & Sadao - "White Sage" - Desert Hearts 2 Year Anniversary Mixtape Contest 2014

Two months ago, I decided I’d get back into creating monthly mixes. Among other reasons, one reason for making this decision was that it’s interesting, perhaps mostly for myself, to study how what I’ve created represents what I’ve been feeling over the past month. It’s like having twelve paintings at the end of the year that show you some of what that year of your life was like, except these paintings are made with sound, not images, so you get to hear your feelings, rather than see them. 

In December, through the process of creating Canoe, my friend Will Spencer was on my mind quite a bit. I’d made it a point that month to carefully listen to five of Will’s most treasured mixes, picked by Will and given to me. That experiment resulted in my affinity for more energy and dynamism reemerging after well over a few years of gravitating towards slower, softer and probably more melancholic music. This shift felt great, in large part because I felt like I was reconnecting with my roots, and I felt grateful to Will for having catalyzed that reunion. As a nod to Will, I named the mix Canoe, an inside reference to a most fantastic moonlit capsizing of a canoe (with us in it) along the Russian River. 

This month, I had a bit of trouble making much headway on a new mix, one I’d feel as good about as I do about Canoe. I went through a handful of iterations during the first three weeks of January, to no avail. None of the mixes were clicking. None had a spark. And it was within this context that I began thinking about the concept of waiting, or if you like, patience, not only in relation to waiting for the right creative inspiration to hit you, but in relation to life and nature in general. Lots of thoughts popped about as I ruminated, one of which was that things happen when they happen in part because the decisions involved are to some extent made based upon an idea that there’s a “right” time for something, and discovering what that “right” time is involves knowing how long to wait and why you’re waiting. Musically, in regard to mixes, I think these ideas related to knowing how long to wait or hold back before beginning to execute the next act of shapeshifting sounds.

Anyhow, there’s more to it and perhaps I’ll add to this description later on, but for now that’s it and I hope you enjoy the mix!


waiting (january 2015)

Tracklist: https://www.beatport.com/chart/sunday-soundz-episode-59/824673

Sunday Soundz - Episode 59

Tracklist: https://www.beatport.com/chart/sunday-soundz-episode-60/824753

Sunday Soundz - Episode 60

Tracklist: https://www.beatport.com/chart/sunday-soundz-episode-64/840094

Sunday Soundz - Episode 64

Tracklist: https://www.beatport.com/chart/sunday-soundz-episode-73/845795

Sunday Soundz - Episode 73

Here is the full length version of Goreme, one of the five tracks from my Places EP, which is now available on Loöq Records: http://classic.beatport.com/release/places-ep/1526120

Goreme

Tracklist: https://www.beatport.com/chart/sunday-soundz-episode-75/847341

Sunday Soundz - Episode 75

Sunday Soundz - Episode 79

Sunday Soundz - Episode 82

Sunday Soundz - Episode 83

Sunday Soundz - Episode 84

Sunday Soundz - Episode 85

Sunday Soundz - Episode 86

Sunday Soundz - Episode 87

Sunday Soundz - Episode 88

Sunday Soundz - Episode 89

Sunday Soundz - Episode 90

Sunday Soundz - Episode 91

Sunday Soundz - Episode 92

Sunday Soundz - Episode 93

Sunday Soundz - Episode 94

Sunday Soundz - Episode 95

Here is Northward, the first episode of my new show, Hinterland, which broadcasts on Proton Radio at 3PM PST on the second Saturday of each month. 

Hinterland on Proton: www.protonradio.com/show.php?showid=724

TRACKLIST
(01) The Zars - Mars 2024 [Seven Villas]
(02) Information Ghetto - Polymi [Seven Villas]
(03) Genius Of Time - Djungel Jam [Running Back]
(04) Nu - Geno (Bedouin Remix)[Sprinkler]
(05) Frivolous - Allen Town Jail [Cadenza]
(06) Trashlagoon - Prophets Like Us [Traum]
(07) Tornike Feat Dimitri Debaka - Hidden Sound [Time Has Changed]
(08) Gunjah And Nicone - Peaz, Luv & Harmonium [Crosstown Rebels]
(09) Christopher Rau - A Line [Smallville]
(10) L_cio - Celular (Featuring Andre Nardi)[Archipel]
(11) Nicone - Heroine [Stil Vor Talent]

Hinterland - Episode 1: Northward (November 2015)

A track for my friend, Will Spencer, for the outset of his adventure. Godspeed, brother. 

a brother of mine

First vinyl drum & bass mix, put together on two 1200's and recorded live in a straight shot. Not perfect, but as such, an exercise in letting go and laying back, enjoying each stumble along the way. Hope you enjoy.

Lay Back

DJ, producer & musical experience curator and creator since 1998. Half of the DJ duo Solomon & Sadao, former resident/producer of Concept, Qoöl & Sui Generis event series in San Francisco. Host of Sunday Soundz, a weekly mix of fresh and eclectic choons, every Sunday @ 9pm pacific on Twitch.

dan sherman

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