Oakland band Subtle pictured left to right: Jordan Dalrymple, DoseOne, Alexander Kort, Jeffrey 'Jel' Logan, Marty Dowers, and Dax Pierson.

In 2004 Subtle released A New White and in 2006 they dropped the second installment, For Hero: For Fool.  Very recently they released their third full-length, Exiting ARM on Lex Records. Amoeblog caught up with DoseOne to learn more:

AMOEBLOG: For those who may just now be hearing your band's music for the very first time, can you bring them up to speed on what Subtle is all about and in particular the central character Hour Hero Yes? Additionally, how important is it to be familiar with the previous two Subtle albums, with their ongoing intricate themes, to fully appreciate Exiting ARM? In other words, is it like that TV show 24 where if you missed the previous episodes you feel kind of left out in following the storyline?

DoseOne: To be honest: all along we have woven these themes and motifs into the music knowing that the music should also remain accessible from any point in listening. These works should be accessible as both a work of song and as a timeless four minute chunk of layered creativities. So that being said, there is by no means "homework" that comes with Subtle records. It's meant to be rich and abound with things to interpret: next decade proof, if you will.

Otherwise the lore runneth over. Hour Hero Yes is a modern man. As flawed as he is brilliant; both hero and fool. The three Subtle full-lengths follow his arm and ascension entirely. A New White is the writings of the shell and man Yes once was, the man he must reconcile with. It all takes place in one bedroom in
Oakland. And as his quest for self intensifies, his one bedroom begins to come to life as his night terrors and day dreams begin to flood with omen and creature. At the end of A New White, Yes opens his door and takes to the world, fear at his back.

Sadness struck both Amoeba and the local Bay Area hip-hop community this week with the tragic passing of the much-loved Anthony Marin (aka Big Ant) who, at the young age of 37, died of heart failure last weekend. 

A DJ/producer and multi-instrumentalist, not to mention an incredibly knowledgeable musicologist, Big Ant had been a fixture on the local hip-hop scene for many years -- ever since he moved north from LA in the nineties. Before working at Amoeba SF he had worked at Tower Records in the South Bay and Cue's in Daly City.

If you were into the local DJ or hip-hop scene you would have seen Big Ant over the years at countless events. A large framed man with a warm hug and a winning smile, plus an unbridled knowledge of all types of music (far beyond hip-hop), he had DJ'ed all over, played damn near every instrument it seemed (including guitar/drums/keyboards in Black Fiction - the experimental rock band he was a member of along with fellow Amoebites Jason Chavez and Tim Cohen), and was a ham at Karaoke.  This evening, Friday June 6th, from 5PM to 9PM, those who knew this great man will gather in his honor at Milk, which is directly across the street from Amoeba on Haight St.

For more in depth tributes to Big Ant, visit 4AM/Jason Chavez's MySpace or the text/photo dedication to him on the homepage of the Amoeba website, where Jason Chavez, his best friend, wrote so poignantly: "The best lesson he taught me is the lesson that every loved one that passes teaches us, that we are all still alive and we need to live, love and find our purpose and passions for ourselves and our passed loved ones who are watching us and guiding us towards our destinies. Everyone stay up, he'd want us to."   R.I.P. BIG ANT.

AMOEBA MUSIC SAN FRANCISCO HIP-HOP TOP FIVE (6.6.08)

1) J-Live Then What Happened? (BBE)
2) TOPR The Marathon of Shame (Gurp City)
3) Giant Panda Electric Laser (Tres Records)
4) Subtle Exiting Arm (Lex)
5) The Cool Kids The Bake Sale (Chocolate Industries/A&M)

Earlier this week upon hearing the news involving the highly emotional but equally ridiculous actions of hip-hopper Papoose, the fiancé of jailed rapper Remy Ma, the voice of Dr. Phil popped into my head and I could just hear the TV psychologist uttering his trademark words to the "Mix Tape King" Papoose: "What were you thinking?" 

Really though! On Monday when he was scheduled to wed his lady behind bars, Papoose (born Shamele Mackie) attempted to sneak a skeleton handcuff key into Rikers Island where he was headed to the New York City jail's altar.

Once guards found the key on him he got ejected from Rikers and banned from the facility for six months.  What a dummy!  Everyone (especially gangsta rap aficionados) should know that whenever you go visit someone in jail or prison that they search you thoroughly from head to toe, and often beyond. What were you thinking, Papoose? 

And if that ain't enough, then the following day when Remy Ma (born Reminisce Smith), who was arrested for last summer outside a downtown NYC club allegedly shooting her former friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph (who she said robbed $3000 cash out of her purse), got sentenced in the New York Supreme Court to eight years in prison, Papoose was in the (court) house and was not happy. "Fuck you. Put me in jail muthafuckers!" and "Lock me up! Fuckin lock me up" were among the impassioned wishes the visibly emotional Papoose shouted towards court officers upon Remy's sentencing.

    MARTY DOWERS
    AMOEBA MUSIC, BERKELEY:


AMOEBLOG: How did you end up working at Amoeba Music, Berkeley and what is your job there?

MARTY:   I was working at a record store in Hawaii and wanting to move back to the Bay.  My sister inquired as to if Amoeba or Rasputins were hiring. Turned out they both were. I never heard back from Rasputins, but Marc (Weinstein)  said come on out for an interview. This was just as the San Francisco store was opening -- so some of the Berkeley buyers moved over there, and there was a spot for me.


AMOEBLOG What makes working at Amoeba different to other jobs you've had?                          

MARTY:  I've been in the 'industry' since 1980, but always wholesale -- one stops, rack jobbers. The store in Hawaii was the first retail job. Going from that little store front shop to Amoeba was quite an experience. Amoeba has become an institution!

 
AMOEBLOG: Best place to  grab a bite nearby Amoeba Berkeley?

MARTY:  Good luck. Where's the Japanese ramen?


AMOEBLOG:  What's the best record of all time?

MARTY: (laughing)  Obviously that's a very difficult question. It depends on mood, genre, etc. But how about this :  Who's That Lady (from '64) by the Isley Brothers.- a perfect single!

While it's quite obviously inspired by LCD Soundsystem, this gem of a single from Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip has wormed its way into my brain and continues to make me chuckle upon repeated listenings/viewings. "Thou Shalt Always Kill" is the best kind of rant: one that is intended ultimately to be beneficial for the listener. Sac and Pip are (presumably) both English, and there are a few references in the tune that non-Britishes might not get, like Stephen Fry, but the rest of this list of commandments applies everywhere - and definitely in San Francisco. Check out the video:



Love that video, especially how it gets more visually clever as the song progresses. While it starts with a couple of cute and slightly cheesy puns like the pedestal, the bit about using music to get into girls' heads then appearing in the woman's thought bubble to tell her "thou shalt not watch Holyoaks", it gets better with the animated map of global inequity and the photocopier running off "repetitive generic music".

These two seem to be part of the loosely-grouped scene of message-board mashup DJ's, IDM-influenced laptop glitch producers and booty-music afficionados that's been rumbling about since the early days of the century. The single has been quite hard to find but is blowing up iPods virally via the 'net, which is a good place to keep up with these two.  Also of note is that this single is put out by the venerable Lex Records, a Warp-affiliated label that puts out lots of other great music from the likes of Boom Bip and Amoeba's Own Subtle. Lex has been around for a few years now and is worth your time and money, so check them out.