Justin Martin and the What To Do Crew Brought the House Down at The Foundry SF

The Foundry SF recently hosted Justin Martin, featuring a giant Labubu and an all-vinyl opener on a four-corner Danley Sound Labs system.

This past Saturday was a rare, high-fidelity night at the The Foundry SF. Justin Martin and his What To Do label hosted a night of wonder as the homegrown hero performed a special, happy-infused, wacky-as-ever set.

This was the final in a series of five events the past two years at The Foundry, a venue that helps capture and showcase a little Bay Area history with this partnership. The Foundry itself is one of the few truly independent, warehouse-style spaces left. Through the What To Do crew’s use of real flowers, flowy rave lights, and wall-to-wall visuals, one was able to step back for a moment in time to what the rave scene was in the ’90s. Not only that, but the people there came to exemplify that vibe as well, as ravers old and new came together to create something special. Truly, you just had to be there. With the Foundry’s 44,000-watt Danley Sound Labs system, this was a night not only for vinyl lovers, but one for the history books.

Good Question and Galen set the mood.

Opening up the party, Good Question went back-to-back with Galen in a transcendent vinyl set. The latter artist is the founder of Sunset Sound System and has been producing raves for decades. SUNSET Campout recently celebrated its sweet 16th birthday and was recorgnized in one of Resident Advisor‘s “Top Ten Festivals” features.

Now taking a hiatus from that project, not only has Galen released an EP called The Magic Bus, but he appeared in a documentary, Between the Beats, that highlights the old school rave scene of San Francisco. The film recounts how outfits like Wicked, Come-Unity, the Gathering, and, later, Sunset helped bring the squelching basslines of acid house to the foggy corners of the city.

All this was on full display this past Saturday as Galen showcased that classic four-on-the-floor rhythm with Good Question for three hours. These two are not only students of rave history, but they are true disc jockeys mixing and matching each other’s energy song for song.

Photo Credit: Mark Whalen

Justin Martin was the star of the show until a giant Labubu entered the stage.

When Justin Martin began to fill the room with his signature sound, you could feel that love from the crowd and see it fuel his energy. He came alive and brought the vibe higher by mixing unreleased music with classic bangers.

The track of the night was a remix of Frankie Siragusa‘s “More Than You Desire” with Justin’s signature idiosyncratic style. At one point, a full, human-sized Labubu descended from the backstage green room to excite the crowd as JMart dropped another banger. It was pandemonium.

This was his exact flavor of house music: funky and eclectic as always, rooted in the San Francisco rave scene and sound in which he has been immersed. Galen’s Sunset raves were the inspiration of those early DirtyBird BBQs in the naughties, through which DirtyBird Records ushered JMart’s music into the world.

This night was something of an Oroboros, the mythical snake eating its own tail, for all those who were present to dance one last time into those early morning hours. Justin Martin isn’t going anywhere, and neither is that signature sound that’s been bouncing around the backrooms of clubs for four decades now in San Francisco. Here’s to hoping this energy continues to bring people back to what the rave really means.

Photo Credit: Mark Whalen

Follow Justin Martin:

Website | X | Instagram | SoundCloud | Spotfiy