LimeLight Radio Interview

Ever wanted to know more about what inspired the music on Here For Now? Tune in to LimeLight radio for the details! Big thanks to Chris (KMOS) Francisco for hooking this one up for me!

http://www.socialush.tv/Limelight/main.html

And yes, you heard right… i’m working hard on a bunch of exciting new material! shooting for an EP-release in the next month or so. Stay tuned!

Tags: downtempo, dubstep, glitch, Here For Now, interview, limelight, midtempo, music, Muti, present moment, radio, seventhswami, socialush, swami

SeventhSwami @ Temple SF this Sunday Night @ 9pm

How Weird @ Night

http://howweird.org/how-weird-night/

8pm to 2am

The fun doesn’t stop when the faire ends, it just moves indoors to three very nice locations right at the faire site.

This year’s after party is at: Temple Nightclub (540 Howard Street, San Francisco), and at 111 Minna Gallery, AND at Harlot. Go to any location and get a Magic Bracelet that will get you into all of the others. All for only $10 (or $2 off with the Magic Sticker).

The after parties are 21 and over with ID. Magic Stickers are only available at the gates during the faire. There will be ins and outs at all three clubs throughout the evening.

HOW WEIRD @ TEMPLE

(Electro, House, IDM, Dubstep)

Temple Nightclub – 540 Howard Street, San Francisco

FRONT ROOM:

8:00 – Irina Mikhailova
9:00 – Kenito (Bollywood house)
10:00 – Paul Hemming (Temple)
11:00 – Laird (Superhero Street Fair)
12:00 – Majitope (Symbiosis)
1:00 – Jaswho (Temple)

CATACOMBS:

8:00 – Outersect (Beats N Pieces)
9:00 – Seventh Swami (Muti/Ambient Mafia)
10:00 – Firelieber (Subwize/Mallabel)
11:00 – Dub Pirates (Subwize)
12:00 – SkullTrane (Mallabel)
1:00 – Heyoka (Muti)

DESTINY LOUNGE:

8:00 – Ivan Ruiz (Jazzid)
9:00 – Anon Day (LoveTech)
10:00 – Ribotto (Symbiosis/Flying Skulls)
11:00 – Nonagon (LoveTech)
12:00 – Chlorophil (Synchronos/Bayareafolks)
1:00 – The Genie (Scratch Guitar)

HOW WEIRD @ 111

(Global Electronica, World Beat, Psytrance)

111 Minna Gallery – 111 Minna Street, San Francisco

FRONT ROOM:

8:00 – Neal (CCC)
9:00 – Rich DDT (LoveTech)
10:00 – Janaka Selekta (Worldly)
11:00 – RadioHiro (Chicago)
12:00 – Bird of Prey (Vaporvent)
1:00 – Osiris Ishpa Palo (Tone of Orchid)

BACK ROOM:

8:00 – Tom (Koinonea)
9:00 – Mad Maxx (Spain)
10:00 – Kode IV (Ceiba)
11:00 – MegaDrop (Logical Light)
12:00 – Aphid Moon (Nano/Aphid – UK)
1:00 – Chromatone (Vaporvent)

Tags: dancing, downtempo, dubstep, electronica, glitch, how weird, midtempo, music, Muti, parties, seventhswami, swami, techno, temple sf

SeventhSwami @ Sol Collective (this friday)

More Info

If you have not seen the Polish Ambassador, it is time for you to see the Polish Ambassador. Also it is time for you to come buy me a beer. Meet me in my hometown this friday night for a night of sonic upheaval.

Sol Colective
2574 21st st
Sacramento, CA. 95818
All Ages :: Beer and Wine (21+)
8pm—12am
$5 =)

Tags: breakbeats, dancing, downtempo, dubstep, electronica, glitch, midtempo, music, Muti, parties, seventhswami, sol collective, stilldream, swami, techno

SeventhSwami @ LoveTech (02-27-10)

I am thrilled to announce that i will be playing at the LoveTech SF on February 27th!

The LoveTech peeps challenged me to bring my A-game to this one, so I’ll be delivering a a crafty selection of my latest productions, and serving it to you on a silver platter. And by that i mean “in full live-PA trim.” Seven channels of all-original material, mixed live, straight from my heart to yours…

If you catch one Swami set this year, this should be the one. Not only do you get an earful of whatever i got going, you get to experience Pance Party, Ample Mammal and Rich DDT (and celebrate Rich’s birthday!), enjoy some of Il Pirata’s great eats, and experience the LearnTech PlayShops … a chance to interact and discuss music  technology with the musicians and tech-artisans themselves.

Full Details are as follows:

$8, 21+

Join the LoveTech Mailing List to hear about future events: Sign Up Here
Join the LoveTech Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=105912651809
RSVP to the Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=304030786026

Our easily accessible Potrero location features both indoor and outdoor areas, yummy pizza and a full service bar. Close to 16th St BART and less than 1 block from the 9, 22, 33, and 53 bus stop (16th St & Potrero Ave)

Tags: breakbeats, dancing, downtempo, dubstep, electronica, glitch, LoveTech, midtempo, music, Muti, parties, seventhswami, swami, techno

Sacramento Electronica Music Festival

Heads up, Sacramento! It pleases me to announce that i am joining the opening night lineup for the Sacramento Electronica Muisc Festival! The festival stretches from Thursday the 28th – Saturday the 30th and will be held at the Townhouse  (1517 21st St. Sacramento, CA.)

Show some Sacramento love and come check out an IN-FREAKING-CREDIBLE lineup of  electronic musicians. I will be starting things off on Thursday night along with Mochipet and DJ Whores!

On top of all this… i will be celebrating my 33rd birthday! (that’s 23 in DJ years) so get your tickets (only $10 for a 3 day pass!) and head on down to help me celebrate good and proper-like. In return i will gift your ears and other body parts with new musak!

Artists throughout the week include:
Tycho
Dusty Brown
Mochi Pet
Tha Fruitbat
CityState
The New Humans
Sister Crayon
Paper Pistols
Night Night
Melee Beats
MothSpyEros
Homo Erectus
Vacant Persons
Lifeliner
Thriftcar
More TBA

More Info | Buy Tickets

Tags: breakbeats, dancing, downtempo, dubstep, electronica, festivals, glitch, hay maze, house, midtempo, music, Muti, parties, party, psyphy, psytrance, rave, seventhswami, swami, techno, townhouse

2nd Saturday, Tomorrow!

Sacramento peeps! 2nd Saturday is tomorrow night! Come enjoy art and libations (and a special LIVE SET from 7:30-9:00pm by yours truly) at the Sacramento News and Review…

1015 20th St. Sacramento, CA 95814.

Oh and did i mention it’s free?

Tags: 2nd saturday, downtempo, dubstep, flyers, glitch, midtempo, music, Muti, news and review, parties, party, seventhswami, snr, swami

Nexus Presents… Lost & Found

Alright. Here’s the latest info and latest lineup. Thanks for hanging in there with us

Nexus Presents a chance to be found… Saturday, November 7th

We almost lost you at the maze, but Nexus has organized a big bad place to party in San Francisco. Let’s do this. 10pm – 5am

LOCATION

Kelly’s Mission Rock
817 Terry Francois St
San Francisco, CA 94158
(Google Map)

Time: 10pm-5am

21 and over

DJ LINEUP

• The Martin Brothers (Justin & Christian) – Dirty Bird – SF (dirtybirdrecords.com)
• R/D – The Designed Disorder – LA (myspace.com/designeddisorder)
• Jphlip – Dirty Bird – SF (myspace.com/jphlipmusics)
• Monocle – Racecar Productions – SF (myspace.com/monoclemusik)
• Mozaic – Nexus – SF (myspace.com/mozaicmusic)
• Antacid – Jackalope Records – SF/SC (soundcloud.com/unsaturated)
• Mad Professor – Ariwa Records – UK (myspace.com/madprofessordub)
• Matty G – Argon, Dub Police – SC (myspace.com/mattygbeatz)
• EPROM – Surefire, Black Acre – SF (myspace.com/eprommusic)
• Ana Sia – Surefire, 3WS – SF (myspace.com/anasiamusic)
• Ghosts on Tape – Wireblock – SF (myspace.com/ghostsontapesf)
• Lotus Drops – Street Ritual – SF (myspace.com/lotusdrops)
• Little John (Raindance) – http://raindancepresents.com
• Redstickman with MC Leisurelee (FnF/Kitten Krew)
• Actual Rafiq (Famous Kids)
• Cubik y Origami – live (Dinner Party Records)
• Hickory (WaNP)
• MC Boomerang Fidget (HATFYR)
• Mo Corleone (Want It)
• Mino (Word of Mouth)
• Seventh Swami (Muti Music)
• The Captain (Chill Syndicate)

TICKETS

Tickets $20 at the door.
ALL MAZE PARTY TICKETS WILL BE HONORED

21 AND OVER ONLY! SORRY ABOUT THAT! REFUNDS ON PRESALES AVAILABLE AFTER THE EVENT.

Ambient Mafia timeslots:
10-10:45 the captain
10:45-11:30 mino
11:30-12:15 cubik y origami
12:15-12:45 redsticky
12:45-1:15 hickory
1:15-1:45 boomerang
1:45-2:30 mo corleone
2:30-3:15 seventh swami
3:15-4 actual rafiq

Tags: breakbeats, dancing, downtempo, dubstep, festivals, flyers, glitch, hay maze, house, midtempo, music, Muti, nexus, parties, party, psyphy, psytrance, rave, seventhswami, stilldream, swami, techno

Nexus Hay Maze Party has MOVED!

HEAD’S UP!…

The Maze Party has undergone some major changes in the last few days. There is a small faction of the local community who has taken it upon themselves to worry and fret about every conceivable aspect of the event and managed to generate serious concern from every imaginable corner of the authoritative infrastructure.  Much of the trouble has been initiated as a result of long standing family feud that has absolutely nothing to do with us, we just happen to have got stuck in the middle. We have jumped through hoops of all sizes and color this week and each morning a new pile of hoops has presented themselves.  We do not feel that we should subject our friends and family to the drama that is going on around that property this year.  It’s a long and complicated story that we really don’t need to get ourselves involved with.  Rubber bullets and handcuffs.

HOWEVER, IN TYPICAL NEXUS FASION WE HAVE DECIDED THAT THE SHOW MUST GO ON!!!

We have made some calls and found ourselves approximately 1200 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains entirely at our disposal and we are going to do it.  We will be setting up as much of the infrastructure of our Burning Man camp as possible on such short notice and everything we had planned for the original maze party on the property.  We’re keeping the lineup, extending the hours, adding DJ slots and making it into a campout.  The only catch is that we can’t announce the exact location on this thread because the spies might be watching.  So the MAZE is still happening, the focus of the maze has just changed.  Instead of wandering through the confines of 8-14 ft. high hay bail walls, now the maze becomes how to find the party.  Good Luck, get on the phone, get on the internet, send a twitter, release a pigeon, figure it out.  I love you, I know you can do it!

If we went through with the old plan we would be at the mercy of entirely too many authoritative powers who would more than likely put a huge damper on our fun.  This way, we can do what we want and all get together and have one of the most memorable weekends of the year.  Have no fear my fellow friends.  Nexus will prevail!

Please note that this event is for ages 18 and up.  If you would like to request a refund because you are underage, or for any of the reasons stated above, please contact Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006 before ticket sales end at 9am on Nov. 7th.

Tags: breakbeats, dancing, downtempo, dubstep, festivals, flyers, glitch, hay maze, house, midtempo, music, Muti, nexus, parties, party, psyphy, psytrance, rave, seventhswami, stilldream, swami, techno

Nexus Presents: The 4th Annual Maze Party

Look for me and the Ambient Mafia in the maze for a surprise treat! Also i will be droppin’ an extra-special live set from 3-4am!

Come get lost within the confines of a 2 acre hay bale labyrinth!

Saturday Nov. 7th 2009

Room 1:

The Martin Brothers (Justin & Christian) – Dirty Bird – SF (dirtybirdrecords.com)
Otto Von Schirach – Schematic – Miami (myspace.com/ottovonschirach)
R/D – The Designed Disorder – LA (myspace.com/designeddisorder)
Jphlip – Dirty Bird – SF (myspace.com/jphlipmusics)
Monacle – Hidden Shoal – LA (myspace.com/monoclemusic)
Mozaic – Nexus – SF (myspace.com/mozaicmusic)
Antacid – Jackalope Records – SF (soundcloud.com/unsaturated)

Room 2:

Mad Professor – Ariwa Records – UK (myspace.com/madprofessordub)
Matty G – Argon, Dub Police – SC (myspace.com/mattygbeatz)
EPROM – Surefire, Black Acre – SF (myspace.com/eprommusic)
Ana Sia – Surefire, 3WS – SF (myspace.com/anasiamusic)
Virtual Boy – 1320 Records – LA (myspace.com/wearevirtualboy)
Ghosts on Tape – Wireblock – SF (myspace.com/ghostsontapesf)
Lotus Drops – Street Ritual – SF (myspace.com/lotusdrops)

Main Rooms Visuals by:

:[dgraph]:
VJ-K4
Spongemonkey
Jean Shuman
DAX!

Room 3:

Downtempo Room Hosted by: The Ambient Mafia
Redstickman with MC Leisurelee (FnF/Kitten Krew)
Actual Rafiq (Famous Kids)
Cubik y Origami – live (Dinner Party Records)
Hickory (WaNP)
MC Boomerang Fidget (HATFYR)
Mo Corleone (Want It)
Mino (Word of Mouth)
Seventh Swami (Muti Music)
The Captain (Chill Syndicate)

Visuals by: Viberation and ocul8r

Also Featuring:

• Multiple interactive art installations throughout the maze
• ALL FUNKTION ONE SOUND!
• Breakfast served at 6 am with special morning set by Lil John of Raindance
• Experimental Sound Chamber “Avant Garde Electronic Music Petting Zoo” brought to you by UCSD Electronic Music Dept.

Tickets & Location:

$25-$35 Presale
$40 Door

Presale tickets available @ brownpapertickets.com/event/84767

PLEASE CARPOOL!
Parking is FREE for cars with 3 or more people. Cars with less than 3 people will be charged $10 for parking.

The Castle Maze
185 Verde Rd.
Half Moon Bay, CA

Tags: breakbeats, dancing, downtempo, dubstep, festivals, flyers, glitch, house, midtempo, music, Muti, parties, psyphy, psytrance, rave, seventhswami, stilldream, swami, techno

SeventhSwami Interview

As featured on Morpheus Music (link)

Q: First off can you give us a bit of background – how did you initially get into making your own music?

I have always been in love with electronic music. I used to make mix tapes of video game music in grade school. By high school, video game music was starting to get really good, and my friends and I would write these cover songs and remixes of them using live drums and cheap keyboards from costco. Then I scored a program called Songwriter for the family apple IIe and it had the same “piano-roll” view that most music software uses today. I loved writing music like that, visually, but I could tell that it would be a long time before a software program would allow me to make the sounds that I really wanted to make, so I drifted off again. The next time it occurred to me to see what was available, Reason v1 had come out… and that was the ticket. Basically I waited it out until a tool that fit my writing style came around.

Q: How did SeventhSwami come into being?

That’s a funny story, actually. I was at work one day, (I think it was 2002) and my friend, Rich found an anagram-maker online. He typed in my name “Steve Wishman” and the 1st thing that popped up was “Seventh Swami”. After that, people just started calling me Swami. I never thought it would make a great DJ name (just try shouting it to someone in a loud club… “no not Seven… SEVENTH… with a TH… no not the number… S-E-V-E… nevermind”) but somehow it stuck.

Q: For those as yet unfamiliar with your music – could you please describe your sound and style.

That’s always a tough one… as of right now, It’s evolved into “glitchy psychedelic downtempo”…  I tend to write a lot of 90-100bpm tracks with hip hop drum patterns… I use rhodes organ sounds pretty frequently… string instruments… chopped up vocals… It’s eclectic but definitely within the realm of glitch-hop, albeit on the slower end of the spectrum… for now at least.

Q: What are some of the music making techniques that you use to get that unique sound?

I like to take a loop of some melody or beat that I’ve written, pipe it through a kaoss pad and then route it back into the computer. That way I can make several variations on a sound very quickly, then cut those up and reassemble them in new ways…  I make a lot of my glitch sounds using kaoss pads… both in live situations and in the studio. There’s something about doing something tactile, in real-time with a piece of hardware, that always comes out sounding warmer and more human. I dig on imperfection… like wobbly bass sounds.  I tend to use un-synced LFOs or, in some cases I’ll manipulate the filter by hand instead of using an LFO at all.

Q: What would you say influences your writing?

I’ve given this a lot of thought actually. I go through these phases where I’m really unproductive for a month or more… like to the point that I can’t even stomach the idea of touching a keyboard… and then right when I start worrying that something is wrong, it comes back hard, and I’ll crank out 2 or 3 tracks in a week. There is an ebb and flow to my creativity, musically and otherwise, that I’ve finally learned to stop fighting. If I want to lay on a couch for a month, so be it. When I force this stuff, it never comes out right. I’m fond of a quote by Hunter Thompson; “All energies flow according to the whims of the great magnet… what a fool I was to defy him.”

Something else really important I’ve noticed about my creative process is that I get inspired by sad situations. For a long time this bothered me because I don’t want to have to choose between being happy and being creative… and I don’t, thankfully… I tend to be a happy person by default. but I’ve come to accept that sadness is one of my muses. This realization has actually been really uplifting to me, because when something comes along that gets me down, I get a little excited because I know great things are likely to come spilling out. Honestly, I think this may be why so many artistic types out there have so many skeletons in their closets. We don’t necessarily like the way they make us feel, but we like to keep our muses nearby. Because when we grapple with them, the dance that ensues is inspirational to us. It’s like the clash between light and darkness; there is no victor, but because of the conflict, the universe exists. What we experience as “reality” is the music that is created by this battle.

This is all stuff that I’m only beginning to really understand and come to grips with. It’s taken my whole life to get here but I’m very happy with this theory because it fits hand-in-glove with my spiritual and scientific beliefs.

Q: When you set about making Here For Now – what was it that you were trying to achieve?

For the first 2/3 of it, I was trying not to think of the end-goal. Instead of putting that kind of pressure on myself, I figured I’d just wait until I had about an hour of music I was happy with, and then think about it. Of course before long ideas started flowing anyway, and the Here For Now idea happened. And suddenly it became this homage to the temporariness of all things, which I think deserves to be shared. I was lucky to have Paul Villinski contribute such a beautiful piece of art for the cover also… He’s done a lot of other butterfly installations but this one, in the shape of a person, was just so perfectly aligned with the “Here For Now” theme… I’m still thrilled to look at it.

Q: How does the album now feel looking back at it as a completed entity?

It feels like a snapshot of part of my life. I notice different things now when I look at the album as a whole… there are stories in there that I did not plan… sounds that have become part of my “sound”… I definitely learned a lot. Also, it just feels good to finish an art project of this size.

Q: What do you find to be the most enjoyable part of your musical career and why?

Finding that “groove”. When you get that extra burst of energy and things seem to start happening on their own… When you start conducting the show from a higher level and all the lower-level functions seem to be running on auto pilot. Those moments kick ass.

Q: How important is live work for you as a musician?

I consider myself really lucky to have the opportunity. Playing in front of a crowd is addictive. It’s definitely the quickest way to find that groove. Plus part of me really wants to contribute something to this scene that I’ve been so lucky to be a part of. I’ve had some of the most transformative experiences of my life while listening to electronic music at parties out here. To be on the other side of that and help another person have that kind of experience is wonderful work.

Q: What does the future hold for your music – where are you heading next?

I think maybe an EP of some of my older stuff is in order. I have unfinished business with a few of those stories. I’d love to do more remixes too. I’ve been having a lot of fun with acapelas lately. I’d love to get another side-project going too, but between SeventhSwami and my graphics work, time is always in short supply. I don’t know how other people do it. If I make progress on any one path, the others suffer for it.

Q: Long term do you have any musical dreams?

I’m thinking something philanthropic. I would love to see this hobby grow into something greater than the sum of its parts. I’ve got an idea or two taking shape right now and hopefully we’ll see some of them start to bear fruit. I definitely didn’t get into this with dreams of making a career out of it, but I think SeventhSwami could easily be one foundational piece of a much bigger thing.

Tags: ambient mafia, downtempo, dubstep, glitch, Here For Now, midtempo, music, Muti, present moment, seventhswami, swami