Hi team Spotisfaction! You know, the best thing about living in Singapore is… well, I’m not going to lie, it’s the food. But, another pretty good thing is the fact that our music scene is super interesting. A mish-mash of different cultures coming together means that we get the best in K-pop, J-pop, contemporary hip-hop and jazz, and everything in between. Even our boring old commercial radio has a decent amount of Asian influence (and also a hell of a lot of Blue, JLS and 5ive, to be fair).
So, for today’s playlist I’ve started with a little bit of Korean hip-hop, and then we move into some of the tracks I’ve been enjoying chilling out to while we’re in lockdown; some old, some new.
Morning team. This is my ear-worm today, so it’s only fair that I make it yours, too. On this fine Wednesday, I trust you’re all well, enjoying a bit of Joe Wicks, and generally keeping as sane as possible. Maybe this’ll help a little. Love ya.
From the description:
Led by Saxophonist Rob Mitchell, Abstract Orchestra have been a consistent presence on the u.k. music scene, touring constantly in promotion of their debut LP “Dilla” and follow up 45 “New Day feat. Illa J”, steadily building a loyal and supportive fanbase. Inspired by the legendary live performances of The Roots with Jay-Z and the 40 piece orchestral arrangements by Miguel-Atwood Ferguson of the work of J Dilla, classic arranging techniques underpin modern loop-based structures, breathing new life into familiar material.
The band itself is based on the classic jazz big band instrumentation of saxes, trumpets and trombones and features the cream of the north of England”™s jazz scene who collectively have played with Jamiroquai, Corinne Bailey Rae, Mark Ronson, Martha Reeves, John Legend & the Roots, Roots Manuva and Amy Winehouse.
“Madvillain Vol. 1” takes the template of their debut LP “Dilla” and applies the same approach to the collaboration of MF Doom and Madlib, aka MADVILLAIN and their albums MADVILLAINY and MADVILLAIN 2. Sampling the likes of Sun Ra, Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, George Duke, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder gave the albums a jazz oriented feel and ethos which in turn lend themselves perfectly to the deconstruction and re-imagining of Abstract Orchestra. As with their debut, all the tracks were recorded live in the studio with very few overdubs.
The third instalment of Kevin Drew’s isolation playlist is here. I don’t know about you, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed these playlists. Chilled, thoughtful, and moving. Exactly what I’ve needed to get through my never-changing days at the moment.
From Broken Social Scene’s Facebook page: “Volume 3 takes you to the isolation airport. Movements for the pick me up’s and the “hold on” way of living. Enjoy xo”.
Let’s hear your own isolation playlists, folks. Send them over and we’ll feature them; we should spread some cheer while we’re all in lockdown mode.
Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene is busy crafting some delicious playlists during these times of lockdown, quarantine and self-isolation. This first one embraces the ambient compositions of some of his favourite artists. I’ll continue to post his updates over the coming days. Enjoy, and stay safe.
Hey gang. I hope that, wherever you are, you and your loved ones are safe and well. Give everyone a big virtual (non-contact) squeeze for me, would you?
Today’s playlist comes from our friend and Spotisfaction regular, Ben Hawling. In this current climate, I think that music is a powerful thing; we can all use a bit of positivity and fantasy, so thank you for this, Ben. Here he is:
Hi! Welcome back Spotisfaction!
So, a year ago, I was stuck in a soul-destroying job where I was constantly unhappy. I would often visualise a scene in my mind, wherein I would be on a terrace/ patio, complete with bright beaming sunshine and shimmering music surrounding me, drinking beer, relaxing, with all of the bullshit of work far away from me. Ok, so I appreciate that this all sounds a little pedestrian and cliché. But, naturally, the fantasy became more and more important to me, as it was slowly etched onto my mind and took the form of a sanctuary, where I hoped to finally find resolve. As a result, the terraces/ patios that I actually experienced were, of course, immediately sullied by the impossibly high expectations that I had applied, therefore, making the fantasy seem increasingly more unrealistic and unobtainable, which made the torment even worse.
Anyways, this collection acts as one part of a 2 playlist set that I’ve put together, which both include tracks that would often soundtrack my fantasy, in both the day and night hours, and would, in turn, carry me through the pain and inertia. Also, I’ve included a few new-ish tracks that I feel continue to illustrate this fantasy appropriately. So, I hope that you enjoy this particular collection and that it fills your soul with the taste of sugary sweet positivity and, most importantly, hope, as we draw closer to summer. For me, these collections evoke the feeling of freedom and serenity, as well as the feeling of departure and release from all the hate and worry. I sincerely hope that they do the same for you.
Here’s to the hope for happiness, the hope for renewed good health and well-being, and the hope of a better life. Chin up, we’re almost there…
Happy Friday, y’all. Jazzanova (one of our favourites here at Spotisfaction HQ) just dropped this week’s update to their on-going playlist Jazzanova on the decks celebrating everything they play “in clubs, coffee shops, bars, festivals, during after parties, warm up, prime time, late night, on the radio and…”. Have a listen, enjoy, and stay safe this weekend.
Gotta tell you, folks, putting these playlists together has completely reinvigorated my love for finding stuff I’ve not heard before. How often do you get stuck in a rut listening to the same old artists over and over again? I know for the last 10 years that was definitely the default action for me.
My standouts this week are the Nai Palm & Amadou Suso three-part cover, Blackstar / Pyramid Song / Breathing Underwater – what an amazing track. I also love chilled-out Beastie Boys, and a bit of Ben Folds Five never goes amiss.
Hope you enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
Stuff I’ve been listening to over the last 6 months or so
Morning, gang. Took the kids to Legoland this weekend and my feet are absolutely bloody killing me. Question: is there anything better in this world after a solid two days of walking than getting your shoes off, feet up, pint in hand in front of the telly? Not a lot, as it happens.
This week I’ve put together a playlist made up of some of my most-playeds over the last 6 months or so. I commute to work on the train these days, so I’ve usually got an hour or so of quality music time before I get home in the evening. This is the playlist I’ve been putting on to completely zone out and start to unwind. Hope it does the same for you.
Reminder: we’d love your playlist submissions, I know you’ve got ’em in you. Hit the link here and show us what you got.
So, I went out to get some milk 9 years ago and, well, one thing led to another and anyway, we’re (sort of, unofficially, casually) back. But the milk has gone off, sorry.
Tom Vek has remixed… himself. It’s just the thing I needed to bring me out of my funk this morning – hopefully it’ll help you likewise. Courtesy of Soundcloud and Island Records.
Cloud 9 Festival has a fantastic lineup this year, including The Futureheads, The Sunshine Underground and the recently announced Scratch Perverts. Held on Saturday 6 August on Love Lane Farm, Congelton, the festival is within throwing distance of Liverpool, Manchester and Stoke-On-Trent, and for £27.50 a head (with kids going free), it looks great!
Here’s the latest Burial track, NYC, taken from the Street Halo EP on Hyperdub. This might disappear at some point, so take a listen while you can and pick up the EP on Hyperdub’s website.
