WILT_2024-41

A playlist of songs that intrigued me from Sunday to Saturday. Week of 6 Oct 2024 to 12 Oct 2024.

1. Jaeune Reflection – Evenings
2. Thought 2 – Thrupence
3. Abacus – Edamame
4. Drowsy – Falside
5. Soul Food – Martina Topley-Bird
6. Sandpaper Kisses – Martina Topley-Bird
7. Break Me Down – Yukimi, Little Dragon
8. Got To Be Good – Gotts Street Park, Pip Millett
9. Colours Fly – The Smile
10. Charmed – Σtella, Redinho
11. Like I Say (I runaway) – Nilüfer Yanya
12. Eyes & Mouth – The Smile
13. Do You Really – Oscar Jerome
14. Where You Belong – Little Dragon
15. Sweet Revenge – Mister Modo, Ugly Mac Beer
16. Glades and Avenues – Equatoriale, Theodor
17. Dafodil – Jamie xx, Kelsey Lu, John Glacier, Panda Bear
18. Only Love – Les Imprimés
19. Dancing Circles 2.0 – Sampha
20. Otherside – Maribou State, Holly Walker
21. Ain’t Got Nothing On You – Leon Bridges
22. Come Find Me – Caribou
23. Don’t Get Me Started – The Smile
24. I Would Have To Be A Fool – Stimulator Jones
25. Dealer – Gliiico, Grace Aimi

Hyperlink to Spotify playlist: WILT_2024-41

Notes

The listening week started off chill with some remnants of the previous week’s algorithm presenting down-tempo recommendations.

I then revisited the re-release of Maria Topley-Bird’s 2003 album, Quixotic, that I had set aside for a later listen. Topley-Bird demonstrates why her craft is so sought after with an amalgation of soul, trip-hop, r&b and folk, all entwined her utter unique voicings.

Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon has also just embarked on a new solo pursuit as Yukimi. She released the new single, Break Me Down, in Oct 2024 with Ninja Tune, and it is all the things I love about Nagano’s unique style, but now presented as Yukimi. 

This then set me down a path of electronic-forward music with a very healthy mixing of musical ideas across the genres of pop, rock, soul and jazz. Some standouts for me include The Smile’s Eyes & Mouth which is an utterly gripping and exhilarating portrayal of Jonny Greenwood’s unmatched guitar playing and musicianship, in no part hampered by Thom Yorke’s genius stylings on the electric piano chords and vocal delivery, and absolutely unhinged yet locked-in drumming of Tom Skinner. Truly a highlight of this week.

Nilüfer Yanya delivers yet again with her own compositions that continue to excite both the ears that scratch an itch of familiarity and innovation at the same time. This might actually be one of the most rock-oriented songs on this playlist, which demonstrates to me how much more latitude the genre can still be explored.

The majority of the playlist then explores the realm of electronic music through a lens of lo-fi, hip hop, and jazz, with the exception of a Leon Bridges song that gripped me with its earnest lyrics and delivery. I’d heard of him in some peripherals and I think I had an impression that he was a somewhat popular musician and singer, but that shouldn’t have any bearing on the quality of his songcraft and talent, lest it comes across that I only value the obscure. Give it a listen, it’s a seamless presentation of country and soul with a very delicate arrangement of instruments and vocal delivery. It takes a particular confidence and vision to produce something like this which sits a bit counter to the hyper-charisma that most other contemporary pop acts tend to embody (observably). 

And so the rest of the playlist features jazzy undertones with rare-groove beats and exciting musical ideas. Dancing Circles 2.0 by Sampha, Dafodil, by Jamie xx, Kelsey Lu, John Glacier, Panda Bear, and Otherside by Maribou State and Holly Walker are all great listens that also great rhythms and grooves that are meant to be felt just the same.

Rounding out the whole playlist, there’s an addictive bassline on Stimulator Jones’s I Would Have To Be A Fool bouncing along with filter warbles on the octave and running sixteenth notes to drive this vibey disco-synth song forwards. And lastly, it seems apt to close on a rather exciting find of Giiico, who bring a haze of psychedelic-inspired hip hop and slowed down funk that reminisces Clams Casino, but adds their own flair that I can see potentially capturing a particular zeitgeist of cool and expressive art.