ThrillHammer - Heavenly Spheres (Finely Tuned)

After rollicking singles for the likes of Hardkiss Music and Paper Recordings, San Francisco's ThrillHammer — AKA the duo of Duserock and Coltorious — confront the "Music of the Spheres." The tune is based on an ancient philosophical puzzle: why don't the heavenly bodies, such as stars and planets, make sounds as they travel through the sky? Aristotle believed that we hear it as infants, but as adults, we tune it out. How can we listen to the music of the spheres?

Duserock produced the track and handed it over to Coltorious for some of his lyrical flavor. The final song features rousing piano chords, a beefy four-on-the-floor rhythm, and Coltorious's distinctive voice joined by layers of harmonizing overdubs. Steve Cobby (Fila Brazillia) brings the tune into his shed to create a glorious lounge-inspired version with all-new instrumentation. Next up, Adam Warped (Whiskey Pickle) offers a dramatically uplifting instrumental re-rub that wouldn't be out of place floating over the Ibizan surf. And then Jason Peters (Roam Recordings) jostles a peak-time warehouse banger from the original, giving "Music of the Spheres" a shot at inspiring heavenly gyrations on the dance floor. Get into these galactic motions!

Rory Hoy (Howlin’ Records) – “The Cobby Mix is incredible. Love it!”
Redstickman (The Ambient Mafia) – “Love the deep and proggy elements on the Warped Remix. Good stuff.”
Jon Fugler (Fluke) - “I can honestly say that these tracks have made my day.”
Simon Kirk (Stag Beetle Radio Show) – “Heavenly indeed! Warped Remix is brimming with positive vibes. Love it.”
Shan Frenzie (2SER FM) – “Lovely deep dancefloor vibes.”
Jon Wesley (Music Goes On Radio Show) – “I like the original and the Jason Peters Remix. Great vocal too.”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Beatport, Juno Download, And Spotify.

Sleight of Hands - Lipstick Shades (Green Gorilla Lounge)

The Green Gorilla Lounge crew have been big movers and shakers on the San Francisco underground scene since the mid-'90s and Sleight Of Hands is the label's flagship combo. This collaboration between collaboration between DJ M3 and Phil Collis is responsible for singles on Smoke N' Mirrors, remixes for Om Records, and consistently working crowds on the club and festival circuit. Now Sleight Of Hands come at dancefloors with a potent collection of tracks from their Lipstick series. Behold: Lipstick Shades!

This beauty batch of beats is 10 cuts strong and explores a range of influences, from jungles of Tulum to old school electro to synthwave for late night drives, The vintage-meets-the-new vibe of "Yucatech" is pure nightclub bliss, as are the sleazy midtempo handclap strut of "Arpwave" and the ecstatic Chicago House homage "Are You With Me." Sleight Of Hands are also ready to deliver more pensive sounds, such as the dreamy techno of "Lone Driver" and the dubbed-out Balearic House Remix of "Thankful." Championed around the scene, heard round the block, now's the time to grab some shade.

Tyler Stadius (Deepen) – “So good! Every track stands out. Can’t wait to get playing these.”
Magnus Asberg (On The House Records) – “Yes yes! Full support on this.”
Spaceotter (SCOHM) – “Hey Hey has extraordinary levels of vibe.”
Brian Busto (Serious Soul) – “For me, it’s one of the best releases of the year. Excellent work!”
Simon Kirk (Stag Beetle Show) – “Awesome selection here – I can see featuring all of these in my sets.”
Leri Ahel (Mutant Disco Radio Show) – “Some brilliant tracks here. Already played on my show!”

Available Now From: Bandcamp, Beatport, Apple Music, And Spotify.

Anthony Mansfield - Bricks - (Green Gorilla Lounge)

Green Gorilla Lounge fills out its origin story with the re-introduction of founding member Anthony Mansfield to the release schedule. Since 2001, Anthony has been a part of the infamous GGL club night in San Francisco with DJ M3, his eternal partner in crime. His return is marked by the glorious “Bricks,” a groovy acid chugger that solidifies the sound Anthony sculpted with his cult-favorite Hector Works imprint. Hypnotic mid-tempo rhythms, psychedelic voice snippets, meaty synths, and big drum fills round out this dark-as-night DJ treat.

This single includes a chunky remix from Om Records staple Shiny Objects, adding bright synth lines, sparse percussive dubbiness, and spacey echo effects. And then, if that weren’t enough, another Hector Works veteran, Nick Chacona (Moodmusic, 20:20 Vision) joins Anthony for a surprise appearance with the wild dance floor sound experiment of “Pidgeon.” Trippy in all the right places, “Pidgeon” further defines the 3 AM sound of the Green Gorilla Lounge — that magic moment when things get simultaneously messy and marvelous. Sleazy disco warriors, unite.

Flash Atkins (Paper Recordings) – “Bricks original is doing it for me.”
ALTZ (DFA / Altzmusica) – “Green Gorilla Lounge is a groovy good time.”
Sean Johnston (A Love From Outer Space) – “It’s a YES from me!”
Sleazy McQueen (Whiskey Disco) – “Lovin’ the vibes.”
Felix Dickinson (Cynic Music) – “Very nice, as one would expect from Anthony.”
Shahrokh Dini (Compost Black Label) – “I like the orginal groove. The remix is good too.”
DJ Sabo (Sol Selectas) – “Perfectly weird and trip disco. Reminds me of NYC in the 2000’s.”
Black Mighty Wax (Irma Records) – “Sooooo Groovy!”
Robot84 (Paper Recordings) – “Bricks is sounding dope. Love that raw sound to it.”
Ulysses (Neurotic Drum Band) – “I love Pidgeon with Nick Chacona. Tell him to give me my hair clippers back.”

Available Now From: Beatport, Traxource, Apple Music, And Spotify.

ThrillHammer - Bohemian Berlin Disco (Hardkiss Music)

ThrillHammer is a musical hybrid created by the Silk Road Truckers' frontman, Coltorious, and DJ/producer Duserock.

After the tragic murder of Anthony "Bubbles" Torres, Coltorious approached Duserock about collaborating on a track that he and Bubbles were writing. This spawned the single "Bohemian Berlin Disco." ThrillHammer performed the song on the main stage at Gay Pride 2018 in San Francisco as a special tribute.

A San Francisco anthem in the making, there are remixes from a cross section of local dance music producers. The original version by Colton (Coltorious) and Ryan (Duserock) lunges forward with fury. Video and audio collagist Dtek offers up the delightful TheShoplifters Remix. Gavin Hardkiss and Ryan trick out TheShoplifters version in the G&R Dub. Gavin then takes an acid direction with his late night excursion. Manny Alfarez (Monarch and The Great Northern) and Phil Rene Collis (Bachelors of Science), in their Sleight of Hands guise, spawn the Sleight of Hands Remix.

Draw your own conclusions from the song’s lyrics, but there’s certainly enough to entertain the new, the old, and the fabulous from the Castro, the Tenderloin, and the Marina. There's something here for everyone.

Fondly remembered, Bubbles left skid marks and scandals everywhere he visited. His Facebook videos from Berlin, London, Santa Fe and festivals and nightclubs in California are testimony to his unabandoned quest for freedom. Although his murder is unsolved, and the perpetrator has not been caught, Bubbles’ music lives on in this release on Hardkiss Music.

Severino (HorseMeatDisco) – “This is fun!”
DJ Schugar (Whiskey Pickle) – “This is great! Love the vibes.”
Trotter (Royal Soul Records) – “Nice one guys. TheShoplifters Remix is really dope!”
Kirby (Nordic Trax) – “Cool remix by Gavin. Twisted Disco!”
Chris Udoh (Tigerhook) – “Awesome on so many levels. Love this.”
Jon Fugler (Fluke) – “An absolute cracking selection. A great original to work from here.”
Christian Homan (RTE Pulse show) – “Quirky, and all the better for it.”
Ken Liu (Broad Street Bait & Tackle) – “Been waiting on this for a second. Loving the whole thing, and I’ll probably play the Sleight of Hands Remix.”
Simon Kirk (Stag Beetle Radio Show) – “Another winner from Hardkiss … Powerful.”
Mikebee / Mike Battaglia (Vinyl Dreams) – “Thanks for this. Bubbles is missed by myself and everyone over here at Vinyl Dreams. Glad to see this finally see the light of day, and the remixes are great!”

Available Now From: Junodownload, Spotify, iTunes, And Amazon Music.