Audio Archives
In Loving Memory of Nick Mason
This site is dedicated to the memory of Nick Mason, founder member of 2 Block Radius, who tragically passed away in 2015. I will always relish our days of playing and making music together, hopefully I can archive some of the work we did, during those happy days in the Lower Haight in the early 2000s and beyond....... read more about Nick
1973-2015
2 Block Radius
2 Block Radius-Nicole Mason, Tee Cardaci, and Tom Cloutman (aka Schnezzy) -keep the spirit of San Francisco alive.
2 Block Radius is the sound of a waterfront party at sunset, the smell of old vinyl and warm skin, or the feel of a hoody pulled tight against an incoming fog bank. Like the city itself, the music is an appealing mass of contradictions: laid back yet sultry, accessible yet subversive.
Nick, Tee, and Schnezzy are fixtures in the SF dance-music scene. As residents of the long-running party Low Down Grooves with their good friends Damo & Erney , they ruled the booth at legendary DJ bar The Top from 1999 through 2004. Those Wednesday nights were an intimate forum to play for true heads, close friends, and the occasional random street personalities (including one regular drifter who sometimes wandered in to accompany their DJ sets on his accordion). Drawing from those fond times, 2 Block Radius formed as a proper studio production team in 2000, when they released their first album, Crossed Wires, on their eponymous imprint, 2 Block Radius Recordings. Picking up cues from jazz, hip-hop, dub, and the street sounds that surround them, 2 Block Radius create downtempo and house that layers soulful vocal murmurs over lacquered breaks and chunky bass lines. Rhythms sway ever so slightly, from lightly energized to lackadaisical, but maintain that warm, syncopated tempo that epitomizes the classic SF sound.
They have released music on Om records, Uncut Records, NicetraxUK, and Clean recordings, as well as on their own eponymous label.
Nowadays, the members of 2 Block Radius are scattered across the globe. Tee resides in Brazil and Nick returned to the UK, while Schnezzy still calls California home. Their sound, however, remains rooted in a two-block radius, somewhere, no doubt, at the corner of Haight Street and Fillmore.
2 Block Radius Albums
2001-2004
These albums represent the work that we did together on Haight Street before Nicole left to go travel the world and eventually return to the UK. All proceeds from music sales will go towards hosting this site.
DJ Mixes
from the vaults
chunky beats for the beach
Nicole and Matty B
Nick and Matty made this mix for us on cassette to take with us on our trip to Central America at the turn of the millenium. Back in the days when you could only choose a finite amount of music when travelling, however many tapes you could fit into a backpack side pocket, this mix was played on loop. Sadly Matty B has also passed away, another LHP legend that is sorely missed.
Nukindaballads
Nicole
A super chill mix from Nicole
A house mix from Nick
A selection from Nick's deep house collection, recorded shortly after he passed away, by Schnezzy.
Nicole tribute mix
Schnezzy
Our Love is deep
Nicole & Tee
A deep house mix recorded at Nick's house in Bristol, UK, whilst Tee was visiting the UK on a whirlwind DJ tour.
House Music All Night Long
Nicole