WILT_2023-39

A playlist of songs that intrigued me from Sunday to Saturday. Week of 24 Sep 2023 to 30 Sep 2023.

1. YUNAGI TSUSHIN (2023 Remix) – S. Kiyotaka & Omega Tribe
2. Skipping Like a Stone (Extended Mix) – The Chemical Brothers, Beck
3. Joy (Back on 74) – Jungle, Joy Anonymous
4. Show Me How (Dark Sky Remix) – Beacon, Dark Sky
5. Solarpiration – Samaris
6. Seventies – Spirituals
7. Free – Joel Culpepper, Tom Misch
8. Angels Will Fly – Brady Watt, Sauce Walka, Bun B, Royce Da 5’9″
9. Who By Fire – Skinny Pelembe, Beth Orton
10. Suite from Sicario: II. Desert Music – Jóhann Jóhannsson, Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, Daníel Bjarnason
11. Losing My Sense of Taste – Pretenders
12. The Color of Static – Portable
13. Love Is Something – CamelPhat, Jake Bugg
14. Come Together – MEUTE
15. Ozymandias – Horrendous
16. Siderea – Horrendous
17. Stillborn Gods – Horrendous
18. Cygnus Terminal – Vektor
19. LCD (Liquid Crystal Disease) – Vektor
20. The Stranger – Horrendous
21. Golgothan Tongues – Horrendous

Hyperlink to Spotify playlist: WILT_2023-39

Notes

We are back to proper programming and this week’s playlist is strong with a good variety of music styles, as well as exciting new finds that I have not had in awhile.

The first part of the playlist comes from Spotify’s New Releases playlist, and what appears here were definitely standouts for me. As a side note, I generally do not listen to this particular playlist because it can get a bit repetitive, but when you leave it going long enough, It is a great way to catch up on new releases by the artists that you follow. What I am saying, is that this list benefits from percolating awhile on its own.

The 2023 remix of YUNAGI TSUSHIN by S. Kiyotaka and Omega Tribe is just a stunning opener with the crisp instrumentation, pulsing synthesisers, and that amazing running bassline that seems to carry the song like a river’s current with Kiyotaka’s voice being the breeze to take you places.

The Extended Mix for The Chemical Brothers’s and Beck’s Skipping Like a Stoneis a euphoric electronic arrangement that will be nostalgic for some, but perhaps unchartered for others.

JOY’s remix of Jungle’s Back on 74 is a brilliant take that adds a layer of dancehall beats and dub to the soulful original. This would have no issue popping up in any afternoon tipple mix.

Dark Sky’s remix of Beacon’s Show Me How is pure techno bliss. I found myself lost in the music as I was commuting by train, or perhaps when I was in a workflow. When things blend so well, you just can’t be sure.

I’m not sure who Samaris is, so I’m not sure how Solarpiration entered my orbit, but it’s an interesting beat arrangement that sounds promising if a little meandering towards the end.

I’m not sure if Seventies by Spirituals is actually some sort of sound healing or therapy that I sometimes find myself putting on, but the vibes and tones were welcomed enough to make it to this list.

Free by Joel Culpepper and featuring Tom Misch is a groovy and soulful RnB tune that features everything you love about Misch’s tasteful guitar playing, a tight backbeat and relaxed bassline while in support of Culpepper’s channeling of Prince-like falsettos to make for a very complete song.

I will admit that Angels Will Fly does sound quite incomplete since it does not come with a beat for about three-quarters of the song, but it does add some sort of tension throughout the song, and some catharsis when the beat does come on. I’ll leave that to you to decide. 

When the motif for Who By Fire came on, I immediately tuned in seeing as how this is classic Leonard Cohen. When the vocals and instruments came on, I checked the liner notes because who would dare, and who did dare? Beth Orton I know, and it would explain the haunting vocal parts delivered with so much confidence and catharsis, but Skinny Pelembe was new to me and I told myself to look out for more of his work if it was as impressive as this cover.

The string arrangements on Suite from Sicario: II. Desert Music were so aching. From the cello melodies, the wood winds and string swells, it all comes together as a gorgeous piece of music. There’s something about the way the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra is able to channel so much melancholy beyond the notes, and perhaps that has to do with the conducting experience of Daníel Bjarnason as he weaves the tapestry of Jóhann Jóhannsson composition together.

From the opening chords of Losing My Sense of Taste, I knew I was in for something special, and the moment Chrissie Hynde’s vocals came on I got really, really excited. Who knew the Pretenders had a new album coming out, and this is such a great opening song with its large open chords to welcome the perspectives of these rock greats.

The Color of Static by Portable doesn’t sound like much at first, or it sounds a little experimental, but I had faith in the producer, and slowly, bit by bit, layer by layer, bleep by bloop, Portable’s classic movement-inducing arrangement is all you hear, no, all your feel. I’ve always found Portable’s music more a feeling, and this is no exception. It’s in the way the sub bass pans in and out, or how the musical notes sit slightly out of time from the shakkashakka rhythm beat. This song really is a colour of static because if you close your eyes and just feel, you just might see some of that colour. 

Love Is Something by CamelPhat and Jake Burg is really something quite special. It’s simple and earnest, but painfully raw, and it will also have you singing along as you agree along to the lyrics. I’m not too familiar with CamelPhat, but it seems like they’re an electronic duo, so I am quite curious what their contribution to this song actually is. Worth checking out as I like things out of left field.

If you’ve never heard MEUTE before, this is a good chance to listen to their unique brand of “electronic” music made with brass and drums. Also known as the Techno Marching band, the music is pure revelry and euphoria, and one that would sound so much better live than recorded.

The next part of this playlist comes in the form of Horrendous and Vektor. Mid-way through the week, a member on the Destiny clan Discord channel that I’m on shared his music recommendation for Horrendous with nothing but an album cover. I was curious enough to check it out and was immediately blown away. 

Playing a brand of progressive death metal, the riffs just keep coming and the energy is just gorgeously old-school with lots of face-melting passes and passages, with the added benefit of complex rhythms and breakdowns. Ozymandias is a great example of this and balances aspects of riffs, solos, and blast beats with a great warm tone that comes from the finer varitels of the metal genre.

Siderea is a wonderful instrumental that reminds me a little of Mastodon, but with a much grander outlook and ability to generate that sensation with warmer tones and musicality versus studio finesse. This arrangement is guaranteed to blow you away.

Stillborn Gods was the song that made me realise that I really liked the band. It is a bit on the more ballad-y or slower tempo side, but that’s a bit of my guilty pleasure when the riffs become absolutely crushing, and you just feel dominated by the musicianship of your superiors.

Listening to Horrendous led to Vektor being recommended by algorithm. Vektor play progressive thrash metal and it shows. They’re speedier compared to Horrendous, but their riffs are equally as brutal. I also like the sci-fi themed artwork and concepts that they have in their albums. Cygnus Terminal is a great introduction to the band from their album, Terminal Redux, and introduces their concept of progressive thrash well. (It’s a long progressive intro, but launches into a frenzied thrash arrangement.)

However, it is LCD (Liquid Crystal Disease) that they really shine. It also has the benefit of pairing SO WELL from Cygnus Terminal. If you are a fan of metal, you’ll fully appreciate the hammer-ons in the solo, but it is the speed demon possessed verse riff that will have your face melted off by the incredible virtuosity presented here.

The Stranger and Golgothan Tongues are other tasters to the other albums by Horrendous. I think if you follow their discography over time, you can actually listen to their development and maturity as musicians. Golgothan Tongues is definitely more put together as a song, whereas The Stranger has great grooves and riffs, but it doesn’t fully share the same maturity of songwriting and arrangements as their latest songs.

This list was great fun to listen to and put together, and I think some of these discoveries are going to stick with me for a very long time.