With the Bay's long history of musical mavericks and digital revolutionaries it's a safe bet that there's always another up and coming genius hunkered down in the lab, blending sounds like secret potions. These mad scientists mix their music and methods into fine tuned new concoctions: genres are blurred, tracks are remixed, music theories are tossed in favor of trunk slapping bass, and then, poof! The game is changed.

The latest beat alchemist to step into the arena is Oakland's Brandon McFarland aka 1-O.A.K. In the last year the multi-talented producer, vocalist and musician has been gaining steady local love and internet fame, and along with his crew The Honor Roll, is helping to shape the curriculum for a new school of Bay Area hip hop and electronic music.

Whether in front the mic, behind the boards or killing the drum kit, the young musician has shown that he has talents on both sides of the recording booth. With a pallet of influences that range from Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder to the Neptunes and J-Dilla, O.A.K.'s tracks can combine sometimes opposing musical styles and filter them into a new soul aesthetic. From producing tracks for his team, to crooning hooks for Oakland MC Beeda Weeda to remixing the Cure's "The Lovecats" the music is lush with a warm sound that fits snug like a pair of leather gloves.

The latest track to get heads nodding is a remix of Little Dragon's Blinking Pigs. The track recently won the Laptop Rockers remix contest held by Filter Magazine and it's easy to see why. While the mix stays true to the lighthearted feel of the original, the "God Made Me Funky Remix" adds some funky broken beat slaps and samples that dirty up the Swedish soul ditty just right.

Blinking Pigs (1-O.A.K. 'God Made Me Funky' Remix)  by  Boothism

With a full slate of production projects in the works, including a solo debut and an Honor Roll album dropping soon expect to be hear a lot more from "the freshman of the honor roll" in 2010. To keep up with the news check out the Myspace page and drop a line on Twitter.

Music Monday is our weekly series highlighting Oakland's diverse music community.  Soul, Indie, Hip Hop, Classical, Electronic-If you're an Oakland based musician we want to hear from you.  We'll be highlighting our songs every week.  Send us your tracks, bio and contact info.  You can also drop music into our Sound Cloud account.