The Ambient Events Moment Is Real
Moving past the trappings of the club and the dated template of the chillout room, a new wave of events is specifically centering vaporous sounds and focused listening.
Hey everyone. Shawn here. I just wanted to quickly say that today’s article is by Chris Zaldua, a writer, DJ and event producer who I first encountered in San Francisco about 15 years ago. Unlike me, he still lives there, and is one of the few music writers who’s consistently provided an unsparing, on-the-ground perspective of how the city and its culture have been turned upside down—and, in some cases, completely hollowed out—by the tech industry, its legions of vibeless employees and a depressingly complicit political cohort. His essay, “The Business of Techno in San Francisco,” was a highlight of the first No Tags book, but those craving more of his thoughts on both music and what he’s previously called the “Silicon Valley death drive” can find them in his excellent newsletter, Thoughts of a Certain Sound.
All that said, Zaldua is not a doomer. He’s got a real passion for weird and avant-garde sounds of all shapes and sizes, and even in his most acerbic moments, it’s clear that he not only loves San Francisco, but finds hope and solace in the flickers of leftfield culture that continue to smolder in odd pockets of the city. As someone who still puts on events in what’s become a very challenging landscape, he’s also responsible for sparking some of those flickers himself, and that experience is at the heart of this piece he’s put together for First Floor.
In November of 2025, I made my way to an underground-ish event space located in the South of Market district of San Francisco, a low-slung, industrial-use neighborhood populated by warehouses, auto body shops, lofts and many of the city’s nightclubs. I had been to this same venue many times before, mostly for rave-related reasons; earlier that year, I danced myself into a tizzy thanks to Reptant, Cousin and Roza Terenzi. This time around, when I walked inside, everything was different. Instead of a dancefloor, patrons were sitting, lounging and reclining. Instead of a DJ booth, performers sat in front of a low wooden table adorned with knick-knacks. And instead of a miasma of fog shot through with piercing lasers and strobing lights, various fabrics, drapes, assemblages and art installations were hung and affixed throughout the main space. The effect was impressively disorienting, like dreaming about a place I was otherwise intimately familiar with.
I had walked into un/becoming, an event organized by The Void, a small team of production designers who had cut their teeth building immersive installations at larger raves, providing ideal fodder for those in altered states. This, though, was not a rave. It was—for lack of a better phrase—an “ambient-ish listening event” dedicated to abstract sounds. When I arrived, Oakland-based selector exteeng was playing a dynamic DJ set, spirited and cinematic, proof positive that so-called “ambient” music needn’t lack drama. Next, Los Angeles-based artist Maude Vôs performed live, piercing the veil with rippling synthscapes that recalled Global Communication at their most austere. When I left at the blissfully non-degenerate hour of 11 p.m., San Francisco artist kk.Shucko was lifting energy and tempos upward with their hybrid live-DJ set.
What, exactly, is going on here? For the past 18 months, there have been multiple “ambient-ish,” listening-centric events each month throughout the Bay Area—sometimes even on the same weekend. They’re musical gatherings, to be sure, but they aren’t really parties, at least not in the typical club night sense. They tend to feature both DJs and live performers alike. The music is atmospheric and inward-focused, but not necessarily beatless. Dancing isn’t the objective; patrons might sit, lounge or even go horizontal for full absorption. They tend to occur in the evening or even the afternoon, rarely going late into the night. Socializing happens, but on a more intimate scale than the manic energy of the club. Alcohol may or may not be available; tea might be served in its place. Meals are sometimes offered, usually something communal or family-style. And more or less without exception, you won’t find these events at clubs or traditional venues—they typically take place in galleries, theaters, DIY spaces, lofts, houses or even the great outdoors.
Welcome to the Ambient Moment—or the Ambient Events Moment, to be precise.
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