“If a robot does the robot, would it still be called the robot or is it just dancin’?”

A combination of up-at-dawn diligence and rapid-fire hustle has paid off for San Francisco-based party promotion outfit Mr. Roboto Presents. The upstart company has, in its relatively brief existence, rocketed to prominence based on the merits of this deceptively simple formula: cool crowd, good band, wild party, repeat. It garnered Mr. Roboto Presents the title of 2008 Smirnoff / 7x7 Boogie Knights Promoter of the Year, as well as landing them features on Current TV, and in Spin Magazine’s Best of 2007 issue. Recently, they were named the editor/tatsemaker for San Francisco’s 944 Magazine’s music section. They’ve also been featured on such influential web outlets as Pitchfork, Fader, and Spin.com, to name a few. The Mr. Roboto Presents’ Best of 2008 playlist was featured on Imeem’s homepage and accrued over 2 million hits around the world.
The mainstream recognition, however, represents a mere affirmation of what San Franciscans have known for years. To wit, Mr. Roboto Presents has mastered the elusive and meticulous art of throwing a top-flight, rip-roaring party – the kind that people still feel when they wake up, spinning and delirious. Since its inception in 2006, Mr. Roboto Presents has been responsible for helping introduce all manner of products – from bands, television shows (HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, Summer Heights High), independent films, magazine parties (Playboy, GOOD, URB) and web applications (Yahoo “Fire-Eagle”) – by placing them in the context of the rousing party atmosphere that has become their modus operandi.

Not surprisingly, the music industry came calling, forging a very natural symbiosis between bands wanting exposure, and the Mr. Roboto Presents party demographic that is always in search of the next big thing. Unknown artists (at the time) Vampire Weekend, M.I.A., Tokyo Police Club, Diplo, Fleet Foxes, Ghostland Observatory, The Cool Kids, and Kid Sister - to name a few - have been showcased at Mr. Roboto Presents parties on their way to ascending to their current levels of fame.

In spite of the acclaim, Mr. Roboto’s mission statement maintains, “Our vision is to make a difference in the world of nightlife, music, and entertainment while bringing a sense of humor to everything we do.” Indeed, Mr. Roboto Presents keeps striving to deliver diverse, cutting edge content to those who, frankly, have the wherewithal to seek it out. But they have not forgotten what lay at the heart of every good party, and this spirit has become as much a part of their reputation as the very serious business of putting together their events. When it comes to their patrons, Mr. Roboto speaks straight from the heart, and in the simplest of terms: “We’ll bring you joy,” they declare. Anyone who has been to one of their events knows they really mean it, and that the Mr. Roboto team is always on their game – the last to bed and the first to rise – SF’s very own guardian angels of revelry. It’s all enough to make one proclaim, “Domo arrigato...”

-Written By Min Q. Kim