Musically, San Francisco is a pretty varied and scatterbrained place to dwell in; every block, it seems, is host to a differently themed venue, dance party, DJ set, or experimental show. In short, the place can't be pigeonholed. In many ways, Mi Ami's “One's & Two's” mix encapsulates this aesthetic in and of itself. Leaping from African beats to chopped and screwed rap to jangly post-punk to cosmic disco―and much, much more―in no particular order, the podcast is a baffling yet intriguing one (dare we say our most experimental to date [catch the sarcasm?])

Mi Ami itself may not drop rap into its tunes, but everything else is fair game, making them especially tough to categorize. The songs on their MySpace page don't even scratch the surface, to be honest―this is a complex trio that, like their hour-long aural hodgepodge, refuses to stay put! One commonality: dancey, tropical beats underscore most of their stuff whether its densely-packed, reverb-y noise jams or spacier ambient ditties.

Stream Mi Ami's podcast in the media player to the right or just download it below… be sure to read the below notes―personally written by all three members―while you play it, too. The full tracklist can be found on the next page…

Mi Ami – One's & Two's 02 (MP3)

Bad Brains, “Pay to Cum”

When talking about abrasive bands with marked dance music influence (such as ours), the general assumption is that they really want to make chart-topping “bangers,” or whatever, but are afraid to/don't know how. Fuck that. There are many many things I would like to have happen when playing music, but the Bad Brains remain a blindingly bright north star. How the fuck did this happen?―Daniel

Andriessen Jurriaan, “She's Far From the Land”

Found this one on Mutant Sounds. Lots of nerdy “Modern Classical” tracks on Jurriaan's The Awakening Dream (1977), but also a couple of trippy synth bangers! And this is one of 'em. Kinda' reminds me of Terry Riley's “Shri Camel”! I'd be into checking out Jurriaan's debut Hardware Software… guess it sold thirteen copies? Hell yah!―Damon

Talking Heads, “Born Under Punches (The Beat Goes On)”

Was never really a Talking Heads fan until my friend/tourmate Andrew (Food for Animals) turned me onto this record (Remain in Light). Rocked it hard on tour and immediately grabbed it when I got home. Insistent and non-changing funky/non-funky rhythm section proppeling things on and some great vocal melody/harmonies throughout… All I want is to Breathe… ―Jacob

Patrick Cowley, “Sea Hunt”

Ocean sounds opening and closing a disco song? Yes! This song is loosely based off of the
theme from the late-50s – early-60s television show Sea Hunt, starring Lloyd Bridges. Awesome to think about young Cowley watching this TV series as a child in Buffalo, New York―could've been dreaming about drumming for “Indoor Life,” all night “Menergy” parties in S.F., or shredding during his 15:45 minute mega mix of Donna Summer! R.I.P!―Damon

DJ Screw w/ UGK, “Woodwheel”

Another friend of mine originally introduced me to screwed and chopped music on a lazy spring afternoon a number of years back (David Banner's Mississippi S & C'd) and it hit me hard. I've heard my share since then but none of it has hit as hard for me as this track. Heavy and psychedelic and UGK's flow sounds impeccable at this speed… listening to the original makes my head spin now because I can't help but want to hear it as spaced as possible… Leavin' stains on cerebellums indeed.―Jacob

51717, “Hi 2”

Lili, a.k.a. 51717, and I are really close and I love this song. It's very sad―as you can hear for yourself―and hits me on a deep level. I have a tape at work with rhythm based lovers “Caught In the Middle” and this back-to-back on side A and I rarely make it past this track without a few rewinds to the top. A tech factoid is that the synth sound is supposed to simulate a mandolin―picked super fast. word up.―Daniel

Nightlife Unlimited, “Peaches & Prunes (Ron Hardy re-edit)”

I dig Nightlife Unlimited's “Peaches & Prunes” and i really dig Ron Hardy's re-edit! Not many edits hit me harder than an original song, but this one surely does. Also love his edits of Blue Magic and Plastic Bertrand.―Damon

I second that.―Daniel

Can, “Sunday Jam”

I first thought this Can's Inner Space was from 1985―but it's actually 1979 recordings released in 1985. Love the guitars, love the bass-line, love the hit hats! Love everything about this jam and'll never forget playing it over and over while driving around Michigan (summertime).―Damon

the Chosen Brothers, “Mango walk (Dubwise version)”

Heavy. “It's a fruit, y'all.” Sure.―Daniel)

Steel an' Skin, “Afro Punk Reggae (dub)”

I first heard this song played by Alexis Georgopoulos, a.k.a. Arp, here in S.F. I was rather drunk
and didn't understand if the song was old or new, where it was from, etc…. steel drums, killer bass-line, dubbed out vocals… beast ova' song!―Damon

King Suny Adé & His African Beats, “Oremi”

Nigerian Juju music's champion (at least in the West) King Sunny Adé cut a few records for Mango in the early-80s that fused this infectious music with some 80s style major label production and some guest spots (Stevie Wonder plays harmonica on the opening track on this LP). Lukcily, the guest chair on this track is filled by Tony Allen. Lighter and brighter than its musical cousin, Afrobeat, but just as forward propelling and hypnoticaly repetitive… ―Jacob

the Bug, “Murder We w/ Ricky Ranking”

Kevin Martin, a.k.a. the Bug, crushingly heavy take on dancehall always make me want to smash things (in the best way possible). Pulling influence from Sound System culture, Public Enemy and free jazz and combining it in a stew of subwoofer-destroying madness is pretty much bliss to me. I'm just bummed that when he played S.F. recently the system he was playing on left much to be desired. I still dream of seeing him play on a system with no less than 10 subs booming out sub-bass frequencies that will make my insides wobble.―Jacob

Void, “Dehumanized”

This is the band that makes me want to smash things in the best way possible. When I think of face peeling or whatever, this is pretty much it. The sound of super fucked youth rage unleashed in pissed waves of screaming madness. Also critical is “who are you and why am i here”―obviously.―Daniel

Culture, “See Dem a Come (12″ mix w/ Prince Weedy)”

The disco mix of this single from Culture's incredible Two Sevens Clash features an extended dub with Prince Weedy toasting and lots of syndrum style action… (a little early for that so maybe its some tricky dubbing). All the same, some transcendent reggae to get you to that spot… ―Jacob

African Suite, “Pigmy”

Arranged by orchestra conductor Richie Rome (nice name!) Fortunately, he left lotsa' orchestration
out and stripped “Pigmy” to funky drums, bass and some occasional jungle samples. Also, that instrument (?) that's in a bunch of G-funk era jams! Gotta' love the record art too!―Damon

King Tubby & Friends Tubby, “Get Smart”

Also heavy. Dub is such an obvious part of this band. When we recorded our album, I explained to the engineer that we needed to sound like King Tubby, especially the hi-hat and hissing high end in general. I love how his music sounds like a tropical environment as much as a song or whatever… a perennial goal.―Daniel

Philip Glass, “Knee 5”

A favorite love song of mine. It's long, so it goes at the end.―Daniel

Bad Brains, “Pay to Cum”

Andriessen Jurriaan, “She's Far From the Land”

Talking Heads, “Born Under Punches (The Beat Goes On)”

Patrick Cowley, “Sea Hunt”

DJ Screw w/ UGK, “Woodwheel”

51717, “Hi 2”

Nightlife Unlimited, “Peaches & Prunes (Ron Hardy re-edit)”

Can, “Sunday Jam”

the Chosen Brothers, “Mango Walk (Dubwise version)”

Steel an' Skin, “Afro Punk Reggae (dub)”

King Suny Adé & His African Beats, “Oremi”

the Bug, “Murder We w/ Ricky Ranking”

Void, “Dehumanized”

Culture, “See Dem a Come (12″ mix w/ Prince Weedy)”

African Suite, “Pigmy”

King Tubby & Friends Tubby, “Get Smart”

Philip Glass, “Knee 5”

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