This week's first update is online now at Primalrecords.com, and this time around we've got three brand new and exclusive pre-release white labels--all of which are coming from local labels. Maybe we don't say it too often because we're old and jaded, but San Francisco rocks. For as long as most of us can remember, the Bay Area has been a hotbed of quality house music, and with a new guard of DJs, artists, labels, and quality club nights popping up all the time, that seems unlikely to change.

With that in mind, this week's shortlist will be quite consciously SF-based--with one UK bit that I couldn't resist mentioning. Check it:

EVIL EDDIE RICHARDS "9660 EP" Household (Promo) [House, Tech-house] The Godfather of UK tech-house returns with a new EP for local label on-the-rise, Household Recordings. With well over a dozen years in the DJ booth, Eddie Richards is a veteran producer with true dancefloor instinct. Check the dub rockin' "Me Down"--here as either a bass-rolling standard for new jack swing or a dark and chunky tribal cut--for a quick lesson in less-is-more production value, or flip the disc for "In The Van"--a modern-day classic houser that possibly defines why San Francisco has developed its own love affair with Mr. Richards over the years. Fans of the vintage Full Moon, Wicked, and Come Unity parties take note: We've found your new anthem.

www.householdrecordings.com

V/A "The Sticky Fingers EP" (feat. Moody Eva, Russell Vargas, Two Tons of Dub, and DJ Mes) Big Popsicle (Promo) [House, Tech-house, Breaks] Our friend Cameron and his Big Popsicle label are currently in our can't-do-wrong bin. A San Francisco staple for years now, Cameron obviously recalls the wide-ranged sound of San Francisco--deep, dubby, tribal, breakbeat, acid, and all that. With his second release in tow, and here on white label only, Big Popsicle is poised to continue the success of last year's Gimme Some Sugar EP. Moody Eva's "Wonderlust" is a fantastic house/breaks hybrid with true SF spirit, local favorite DJ Mes goes on anthemic deep percussive bender with "Walk Tall," and Two Tons Of Dub hand in a dubby breaks jam for the early evening, but my pick goes to Russell Vargas for his "Underground Bump"--a fantastic tech-house cut that literally praises San Francisco during its climax! Quality, quality, quality.

www.goodbeats.com

V/A "MDEX: WMC2K3" (feat. Soul Xpress, Tapio Schnaars, TNV feat. Marc Deon, and DJ Naz) MDEX (Promo) [House, Tech-house] Local producer Marc Deon hands in the latest release for his MDEX label, not to hit stores for at least another month. As far as this city's hidden gems go, MDEX has so far been criminally underrated. This 4-tracker is likely to change all that: Deon's euphoric remix of Soul Xpress's "Commit To Me" comes somewhere between Charles Webster and Terry Lee Brown Jr. for a nice and techy deep fix, Tapio Schaar's "A Praia" revels in the sampladelic steez of Chicago folk like Greenskeepers and Diz, and TNV's "Love & Dough" conjures up NYC's Danceteria club with a classy blast of leftfield dance-punk--and who knew it, Marc Deon can sing, too! My pick, however, goes out to longtime DJ Naz, whose mix of
Deon's "Candy flip" hits the spot with a dose of proper San Francisco tech-house.

www.marcdeon.com

SILENT PARTNERS "Down By Dub" Pt. 1 (Original & Joshua Mxs) Hi-Phen [House, Tech-house] Two of San Francisco's brightest names team up for one of the best records you'll hear this month. Joshua (better known as Iz, and lesser known for designing Primal's ubiquitous hand logo) and one-time Primal employee Mark E. Quark carry loads of booth and dancefloor experience between the both of them, so its no wonder that "Down By Dub" goes straight for the peak-time set. More funky than dubby, the original mix will no doubt reverberate in this city for years to come. Joshua's No War Mix, on the flip, is a quieter, but no less essential spin on the original; a deep,
dubby, and atmospheric acid houser for the warm-up or the comedown.

www.hi-phen.com

SOUL MEKANIK "Lil Silver Boogie Box / C'est Robotique" RIP [House, Tech-house] Attention passengers: You are now leaving San Francisco. I couldn't do this update without mentioning this record. Savvy DJs have been on Soul Mekanik's tip for years now--"I'll Call U" was inspiring and "The Hacienda Must Be Rebuilt" was downright amazing, to name only two of their essential cuts. "Lil Silver Boogie Box," however, should bring their freaked out tech-funk to the proper house community once and for all. If you think Brett Johnson is a studio loon, wait until you hear this outrageously jackin' Atari-and-acid attack.

www.riprecords.com

Also in this week is new remix and production work from Miguel Migs, Lexicon Avenue (reworking Depeche Mode's "Only When I Lose Myself" on white label), Afro-Mystik, Meat Katie & Elite Force, Funky Transport, Smithmonger, Rick Wade, Moodbangers (Kings Of Tomorrow), and much more.

New label output from Crack & Speed, OM Records, TCR, Brique Rouge, Loaded, Funky Chocolate, Transport, Serial, Africanism, Siesta Music, and much more is also in.

Also in: Full release copies of Nightshift's on fire new EP from Natural Rhythm, as well as Tango's beloved Blakkat and his Blak Power EP. If you missed these on promo, we've got them back in full. Hot restocks from Household Recordings are also in, featuring their first two releases from Onionz & Tony and Jay Tripwire. Not to be missed stuff.

More new music to come. Until then, be good.

(Norman Arenas)