Yerba Buena Discos is the brainchild of Allen Craig and Homero Espinoza. Homero, formerly known as DJ Huey, has made a name for himself in the San Francisco rave scene, throwing events in the 1990’s and going on to greater acclaim as a club DJ in the years since. Allen Craig began spinning records in 1991 at the small house parties which pre-dated San Francisco’s rave explosion. After years of DJ work, he has lately concentrated his efforts in the studio.

The story starts in 1999, when Homero and Allen met at a DJ gig. Homero liked Allen’s sound and began booking him for parties. The early parties were thrown under the name of “Nightlife Productions,” a name eventually dropped due to confusion with not one but two other production companies using the same name. The name aside, Nightlife Productions, along with its sister company Math Sound Workshop, were responsible for bringing the underground house sound to San Francisco’s younger rave community, introducing then-still-up-and-coming DJ’s like Tony, Simon, and Onionz to crowds more often associated with trance music. This built up a pretty serious cult following of dancers who knew to count on Nightlife for the best and newest underground deep house played by devastatingly good DJs on great sound systems, something previously only available in 21+ clubs.

With all of this energy and inspiration, it was only natural for Homero and Allen to start making their own music. This, paired with San Francisco’s crackdown on the rave scene, led the duo to begin making music in earnest.

After the duo’s first track (2003’s “Soul Power 03,” on Detour Records) garnered worldwide club play, Yerba Buena Discos was formed as a musical outlet for the team. Says Allen of the label’s sound: “Our sound is sort of eclectic, ranging from clubby tracks with big basslines to pure jacking teched-up house. What it all has in common is the underlying influence. There was a point in the 70’s where really good jazz musicians started making underground disco tracks that mixed classic soul, disco beats, and the improvisation of jazz. That’s something we really feel and it definitely influences our sound – even our more jacky, bouncy tracks have a certain jazziness to them, whether it’s in the noises or the rhythms we use.”

Yerba Beuna Discos #1, the “Monsieur” 12”, was released late in 2003 to widespread underground success, scoring radio play in Chicago and Scotland and making its way into the sets of renowned DJs from San Francisco to Paris.

2004 saw the release of Yerba Buena Discos #2, “The Love Track”, which continued the theme of success, scoring plays from underground house heroes as diverse as Tango Recordings’ Tony Hewitt, Natural Rhythm’s Thomas White, Om Records’ John Howard, Mimosa Recordings’ Brian Hamilton, Hector Moralez of Fries & Bridges, Global Underground’s Pako & Frederik, and Nightshift Recordings’ Hipp-E. It even found its way onto London Pirate radio, as well as college radio mixshows across America, generating more serious buzz.

2004 also brought about some big changes in Yerba Buena Discos, with some new additions to the family. Erik Brown, another Bay Area DJ and promoter, joined the fray in the Summer, adding his artistic flair to our website and artwork and adding his funky sensibility to the music. Master engineer Cubase Dan joined the crew later in the year, adding his professional-grade polish and his special sense of jacking swing to the tracks, including his first track for Yerba Beuna Discos, “That Everyday Life.”

Yerba Buena Discos has also thrown its hat into the San Francisco party scene, hosting club nights where they continue to bring A-list house music talent to Bay Area dancers.

The future continues to look bright for Yerba Buena Discos. Homero Espinosa has a track appearing on Mark Farina’s Sessions cd on Ministry of Sound. Allen Craig’s “Drinks On Me” is slated for European cd release on a new collection entitled Ambient Jazz Vol. 1 – Fine Selected Masterpieces. Cubase Dan continues to tear up the underground with his releases and much-anticipated remixes. And Erik “South Hampton” Brown’s much-sought-after artwork continues to be in high demand.