San Francisco’s Loveshadow is a dance collective / music project between Anya and Izaak, two bay natives whose underground paths have dotted across the Bay Area, Philadelphia, Chicago and Detroit, eventually landing in Oakland where their origin story finds them crossing paths working together at the former local Perch cafe. A shared love of a track by Aurra heard through the radio at the cafe becomes the catalyst that would eventually lead to their musical world building drawing from emotive sophisto-pop fused with balearic jazz and funk; through Anya’s vocal and songwriting set against the backdrop of Izaak’s productions. This has transpired through countless DJ sets that span across Fault Radio, Seance Center, NTS, Beyond / Below, among others, a release through Portage Garage Sounds with friend Ryan Spencer entitled S Transporter and their new Music For Memory self titled release.
As the year culminates, we are guided by Loveshadow delivering two hours of pure cosmic subterranean energy. Mining otherworldly realms imbued with esoteric atmospheres, they extract on the more offbeat offerings of jazz, post punk, dub, dark wave synth pop, and all the delightful intersectional sonic layers that can be found in between. A listening party that mystifies and opens portals into an unknown tomorrow.
CST: Where are you from and where do you live now?
I & A: We both grew up in the bay area and we currently live in SF!
CST: Introvert or extrovert?
A: A mix of both but depends on the day- probably more extroverted.
I: I lean toward being introverted i think.
CST: What is your sign?
A: Scorpio
I: Sagittarius
CST: What is your favorite record/music shop?
I & A: Hercules in Berkeley is always a good place to stop in. and CST of course :) but to be truthful we're more present in the online dig at the moment.
CST: What is your morning ritual?
A: Aside from the obvious get-out-the-door stuff, we usually care for our plants first thing in the day.
I: I wish i had more mornings to make music but i even when i don’t have time to get deep i like to spend 15 minutes with the last project file i’ve been working on to get a fresh perspective.
CST: What is your dream lineup for a party and what would you name this party?
A & I: Hmm, how about üllar sir playing in a hedge maze? we can call it “Topiary”.
CST: What parties/underground/diy spaces did you go to when you first started partying/discovering music?
I: In high school we’d go to the east bay for shows at Gilman, and then Lobot gallery in its early iterations. When I moved to Philly at 19 I started going to a million different galleries, warehouses, and basements to hear music- it was a permissive time in that city for throwing anything-goes events. One particular spot in north Philly called PIFAS left a mark. They put on lectures and classes as well as music events and art shows. The group of people who hung around there were all way interesting / knowledgeable / eccentric and really generous with their time and energy.
A: In high school we would attend punk shows in the basement of the local library. I also went to Gilman and Lobot in my early show days. Too many houses/ galleries to even list here all up and down the west coast.
CST: What was the first record/music you ever bought?
A: Mine was a Best of the Pixies cd that i purchased at the dearly departed virgin megastore in sf
I: The Fugees - The Score. I wore it out.
CST: What are you reading right now?
I: Quickly: the Tim Lawrence biography of Arthur Russell and slowly: Stolen Life by Fred Moten.
A: ‘Beyond the Periphery Of The Skin by Silvia Federici.
CST: What are your other interests besides djing/collecting music?
A: Singing/songwriting, hiking, cooking, gardening, writing, reading, traveling…when we can travel again.
I: Walking around with a camera, riding bikes, reading. now that we have a garden, gardening.
CST: Favorite part of the day?
A: It’s a tie between the calm of a crisp winter morning and the slow creep of golden hour that comes around 4:30 pm nowadays.
I: I literally never thought i’d be a morning person but here i am…
CST: Do you collect anything else aside from records/music?
A & I: Honestly? random shit from the thrift store. We’re the worst.
CST: Where is your favorite place to dance/listen/watch music?
A & I: We have to give a shout out to our friends in Detroit, Michigan. Music is the lifeblood of that town and it shows in the vitality and scope of the sounds that come from there.
CST: Is there a concept or theme for this mix and if so, can you tell us about it a little bit more about it?
A& I: Maybe it’s the time of year but the tunes we picked out leaned towards a dense and dark feel. it might make for a good nighttime headphone listen…
