YEAR-END LISTS typically hew to the comfy round number 10. And although Top 10 has a ring to it, Silicon Valley’s melting pot of musical talent fused genres, collaborated, innovated and turned out so many great LPs and EPs this year that it became a nearly impossible task to narrow it down to even the Top 15 releases, so we squeezed one more pick for a favorite 16. Here, in no particular order, are some of 2013’s best local releases.

The Bangerz: PRiSM
PriSM, the Bangerz’ second soundtrack LP for the Jabbawockeez Las Vegas stage show, showcases the crew going deeper into some amazing futuristic soundscapes. The crew has always straddled a line between throwback hip-hop and cutting edge electro-jams, but it’s all forward thinking with this release. In a sign of the times—as the line between EDM and hip-hop continues to blur—there’s a healthy dose of dubstep influence on this record, as well.

Rebelskamp: The Kill
Going into a recording studio without any written material doesn’t sound like a winning formula for an album, yet Rebelskamp produced a remarkable LP this year. They’ve gotten so good at improvisation that they don’t sound like they’re inventing the music on the spot. Yet, the spontaneity of such a freeform formula remains intact. These songs go any and everywhere, drifting through funk riffs, psychedelic space jams and crazy free-jazz. A highlight is “The Rebel,” with local rapper Dirtbag Dan freestyling a couple verses.

Philthy Dronez: Wepa Life
Up until recently, Matt Gonzales was known mostly as the go-to guitarist for local bands. (Anya and the Getdown, Raul y Mexia, Chris Reed—to name a few). Now the world gets a taste of his solo project: producing Latin-infused electro-beats under his alter-ego, Philthy Dronez. His debut EP, Wepa Life, was released on Global Bass Experience a few months back. It’s a short EP, about 15 minutes, but it’s bumpin’. It centers on the emerging new-cumbia sound, but also veers into electronic and hip-hop territory, and even some old-school cumbia.

Boboso: Grown Ass Man
There are three things Boboso raps about: food, cats and his love for the female derriere—often within the same song. Yet, he’s not exactly a comedy rapper. He can really rhyme. Plus, his production skills are top-notch: classic West Coast beats with surreal twists. The Beach Boys sample on “That Breathe In, Breathe Out Shit” is a particular highlight. Jeff Rosenstock from Brooklyn punk band Bomb the Music Industry also lays down an impressive verse on “Sartorial Panache.”

Careless Hearts: Alum Rock
Alum Rock isn’t just the latest album by Careless Hearts; it’s the culmination of five years of life-changing events. They started out a laidback Americana group, but since 2008’s Heart’s Delight, they’ve gone through some major lineup changes and played a life-changing show with punk legend, Stooges guitarist James Williamson. It shows in the roots-rock, power-pop songwriting on Alum Rock. The release rocks harder, louder and with more passion than their first two albums.

Antwon: In Dark Denim
In Dark Denim isn’t as accessible as Antwon’s prior work and takes the San Jose rapper in a new direction. His beats are grimier, the samples are darker and the lyrics are dirtier than ever. “Work 4 Me,” with its down-and-dirty hip-shaking beat and raunchy lyrics, sounds like he’s seducing the listener. All the while, Antwon’s fanbase continues to grow, with a successful run at SXSW, an appearance at Treasure Island Music Festival and two national tours during the last year.

The Albert Square: How’s Everybody’s Doings?
Last year, Sim Castro reformed his punk rock outfit the Albert Square. The songwriting is much in the same vein, subtly nuanced ’80s and ’90s post-punk-inspired, but the band’s performances are far more unhinged—a good thing. Their newfound spastic energy complements Castro’s reflective songwriting quite well. However, the strongest song, “(Proud) Parents,” is oddly the most reserved track on the EP.

The Limousines: Hush
It’s been a couple years since synth-pop duo the Limousines released their brilliant debut, Get Sharp. Despite all the views they were getting on YouTube and radio play they received, they had major problems to sort out with their label, but Hush was worth the wait: Its synth beats are dancier, the production is more refined and in place of their signature clever nihilism, Hush offers lyrics that are raw and honest. Hush was made with funds from a Kickstarter campaign that sought $30,000 but ended up raising $75,000.

Dinners: Black Rabbits
If such a thing as a San Jose “supergroup” exists, Dinners might be that band, featuring members from Worker Bee and Doctor Nurse. Dinners go into a different direction than either Worker Bee (moody indie rock) or Doctor Nurse (psychedelic folk) with lo-fi noise-pop and a heavy dose of Guided By Voices influence. At first listen, Black Rabbits sounds like the kind of four-track recording popular with ’90s indie bands, but it’s actually a quite meticulously, thoughtfully crafted album. The cover art is amazing, too.

Rey Resurreccion, M-10, Locsta Villan: First Street Sessions
Some of rapper Rey Resurreccion’s finest works are collaborations. Last year, he worked with the Bangerz to make some killer old school hip-hop tunes. This year, he got together with emcees M-10 and Locsta Villan and created the 1st Street Sessions. Together the trio has produced eight laid-back, dreamy hip-hop songs that should be on urban stations all across the country.

Raul y Mexia: Arriba y Lejos
Brothers Raul y Mexia released a fun, passionate Spanish-language album this year on Nacional Records, the current leaders of cutting-edge Latin music. Arriba y Lejos combines elements of cumbia and other traditional Latin sounds with hip-hop and electronica. The duo, who are sons of Hernán Hernández, bassist of famous Norteño band Los Tigres del Norte, has created something that both pays tribute to classic Latin music, like their father created, and all the newer American music they grew up with here in San Jose.

Sean Blak: #Basslife
Sean Blak books live hip-hop shows, puts on battle-rap events and holds a weekly Tuesday night residency, “the Trap Shop” at Johnny V’s. He’s also a prolific rapper, with a ton of lo-fi, surreal homemade hip-hop records online. His best this year is the LP #Basslife. On it, he takes some of the strangest, most intimate beats and makes them sound like outrageous club bangers.

Slime Girls: Vacation Wasteland
By the time Slime Girls came together, the chiptune scene was already well-established. Yet they’ve still been able to find their own sound within it, taking all the old Nintendo chip Gameboy sounds and mixing them with surf, punk and ska. Their latest EP, Vacation Wasteland, is a seriously fun collection of instrumental chip-rock tunes. It was originally pressed on cassette because they’re that into old technology.

David Brookings: The Maze
The Maze is David Brookings’ sixth full-length album since 2000, yet he’s still working on building his fanbase in the Bay Area. He moved to Northern California from the Memphis by way of Richmond, Virginia, in 2009, and produced his five albums before heading West. The Maze, like its five predecessors, brings together ’60s psychedelic-rock and ’80s New Wave.

Derek See: She Came This Way
The title track to Derek See’s She Came This Way is an amazing psychedelic-pop gem. At first, See, who normally plays guitar in soul group the Bang, recorded it, along with a couple other tunes, just for fun. It was good enough for an indie label to offer to release it, and they even ran out of the first pressing. It’s the kind of song that, had it been written in 1967, would have been a Summer of Love FM hit, no doubt.

Noothgrush: Split LP with Coffins
Back in the ’90s, sludge metal group Noothgrush were a pretty big deal. Along with Sleep and a few other bands, San Jose boasted a strong doom metal scene. Noothgrush just recently reformed, and they also just released a split record with Japanese metal band Coffins. The third track, “Thoth” is particularly special, as it contains spoken clips from the late, great, much beloved KFJC DJ, Cy Thoth, who died earlier this year.

Matt Gonzales is a busy man. When he’s not playing guitar for local fusion-soul group Anya and the Getdown or for hip-hop cumbia duo Raul y Mexia, he’s producing beats for his own solo Latin dance project, Philthy Dronez.

Gonzales has been performing as Philthy Dronez consistently here in the South Bay at the monthly Sonido Clash neo-Latin dance parties every first Fridays at the Pagoda Lounge. Now, Philthy Dronez is reaching for a larger audience with his debut EP Wepa Life, which will be released on Arizona label, Global Bass Experience. The release show is Friday November 1st at the Pagoda—the final show before the venue switches formats under new management.

Wepa Life is a short listen with seven songs in about fifteen minutes. It has a nice blend of Philthy Dronez’ style, which contains some classic cumbia beats with some modern dance, trap and electronica. His first single, “Don Sandia”, is one of his more traditional cumbia tracks. The content however is not so typical—it’s about a watermelon that gets all the ladies. The “watermelon” (or rather Gonzales’ friend in a watermelon outfit) made his debut during Sonido Clash’s portion of the Music in the Park. “Don Sandia” features guest vocals by Jazmin Lopez (aka Jazzy Drone).

One of the heaviest dance songs—and the farthest removed from classic cumbia—is “Ratcheta,” featuring vocals by Mexia from Raul y Mexia. “Mira Como Mueve” is the best representation to the “nu-cumbia” sound that is growing increasingly popular. Wepa Life is also strung together with a lot of clips from various radio programs and commercials. One of the best of them is the old Frito Bandito commercial for Fritos chips which closes the EP.

Philthy Dronez plays the final Sonido Clash at Pagoda Lounge on Friday November 1st with Los Macuanos. More info.

Although they’re brothers, it wasn’t until 2010 that San Jose musicians Raul and Mexia Hernández made a serious attempt to collaborate. The resulting song, “Todos Somos Arizona (We Are All Arizona),” a protest against the anti-immigration law SB 1070 that had just passed in Arizona, quickly earned the duo more attention than anything either brother had ever released separately.

The song went viral after they uploaded a surprisingly simple, single-shot video to YouTube of them performing the song at their home. Raul played the keyboards and sang the chorus in Spanish (“I just want to succeed/and now they want to deport me”), while Mexia rapped in both Spanish and English, advocating for immigrant rights. They were joined by younger brother Giovanni who gave the song rhythm by beating on a trash can.

They were surprised by the immediate response. It wasn’t just other Americans frustrated by what many considered to be a racist law but the media, too. They got an email from a staff member at “Al Punto,” a popular Spanish-speaking news program hosted by Jorge Ramos, who invited them on the show.

“This was the first time we realized that what we were doing had an impact,” Mexia says.

What the producers hadn’t yet realized was that they weren’t just anybody; they were the sons of Hernán Hernández, bass player of Los Tigres del Norte, one of the most famous and politically outspoken Norteño bands in the past 40 years.

“Once they found out, that’s when it escalated a little bigger,” Mexia says. “They were like, ‘Here’s the sons of who we consider to be the voice of our generation.’”

The song’s response made it clear that they had a good thing going on together. They decided to shelve their respective solo careers and work on an album together under the moniker Raul y Mexia. The duo performs at Pagoda Lounge for a record release party on March 30.

Part of what gave “Todos Somos Arizona” a unique sound was how the brothers combined their different musical tastes. Raul has always loved hip-hop, while Raul has a penchant for writing tender, romantic ballads.

For Raul y Mexia, they wanted to continue this fusion of styles by allowing room for all the American music they grew up listening to, not just hip-hop but also electronic and rock music, while still paying tribute to the music of their cultural heritage, like banda, Tejano, cumbia and Norteño.

“We didn’t try to push too much for one thing, we just wanted it to be a fusion,” Mexia explains.

http://youtu.be/ydIVy7wqGZQ

After working with a couple different producers in Miami, they met Toy Selectah, from pioneering Español hip-hop group Control Machete, who invited them to come down to Monterrey in Mexico to work on some songs. The brothers really felt like he was the first person to understand their vision.

“Toy was the catalyst that’s been able to bridge the gaps between the United States and Mexico,” Raul says. “It was really important for us to express the music of our culture, and Toy would do that, and then add in synths and things like that.”

For the songs, they created a blueprint by first laying down tracks of traditional Norteño instruments: accordion, bajo sexto (a traditional 12-string guitar) and the double bass. From there, they would twist and pull the songs in modern ways by playing with electronic instruments and drum machines. They even sprinkled in instruments that were traditional to other Latin American countries.

“It’s a little bit of everything; it’s what America is today,” Mexia says. “You go eat Italian food, then go down the street and eat Chinese. It’s all in one spot. That’s what we want to do with our music.”

The duo also took a step back from political songwriting and focused instead on writing fun songs that tinkered with different genres. By the time they’d finished their debut album, Arriba y Lejos, they’d gotten some interest from major labels, but it never worked out.

Selectah sent a copy to Nacional Records, which is known for working with innovative and cutting-edge Latin artists. The label was very interested in the brothers, but it took a year of discussions before Raul y Mexia was signed.

“A lot of people expect because we were sons of somebody famous, that the process would be a lot easier, that the doors would just open,” Mexia says. “Yeah, we get people’s attention, but it took a lot of work.”

Part of what stood in Raul y Mexia’s way was the very fact that people knew who their dad was, and they expected them to make music exactly like Los Tigres del Norte. But being first-generation American, they’ve had an entirely different experience than their father, something they hope to explore more on their next album.

“When we got to Mexico, they can tell right away that we’re not from there,” Mexia says. “We come back home, and we face those same kind of issues. You get stereotyped, especially with this whole SB 1070 law.”

So far, their debut album, which was released in February, has already been a success, primarily with other young Latino Americans, who relate to the vast pool of musical influences with which Raul y Mexia grew up.

“Latino youth of today are pretty much open to everything,” Mexia says. “There’s really no barriers, no limits. They’re listening to Los Tigres del Norte then listening to Dr. Dre.”

Raul y Mexia
Saturday, March 30; 10pm; $10–$20
Pagoda Lounge, San Jose

With Landon Donovan putting the U.S. men’s soccer team back in the news and the Earthquakes on a roll, it seems like an ideal time for “Vibe: The San Jose Soccer and Music Festival.” The festival will debut Saturday, June 2 at the PAL Stadium on 34th Street, with plans to turn it into an annual event.

The festival will feature music from several local bands across a range of genres, including alt-rockers Jackie Rocks Band, led by teenage lead singer Jacklyn Partida; ska fusion outfit Them Rude Boys; Eliqute; Latin Rhythm Boys and Raul y Mexia.

The soccer competition will include a free four-on-four tournament for men, women and youth teams (reserve a spot at vibesoccer.com). Individuals can compete in contests like soccer juggling, keeper wars, target penalty shoot out and one-on-one.

Headliners Jackie Rocks Band were chosen as one of the top 10 high school bands in the country by the organizers of National Record Store Day, and have won or placed in several Bay Area battle of the bands. They got attention for their song “Angels in Heaven,” which was recorded when they were 13 years old.

Sponsored by the Story Road Business Association and the office of Supervisor Dave Cortese, the event runs from 9pm-3pm, with music beginning at 10am, and is free.