Hey guys, I hope everyone is keeping as well as they can at the moment. I've never felt my own needs fluctuate so constantly before, as this situation has caused. Some days I am completely reliant on structure, routine, and being constantly busy with productivity to try and feel like this time means something and it isn't just all bleak. Others, the thought of trying to force myself into filling the time is just painful, I need to just dissociate from reality for a while and pretend it isn't happening.
A crap note to start on, but it's pointless not being honest about things right now. We all already have to do act like it's all fine every day on our zoom calls, on the same repetitive text messages we send as we continue through this limbo state. I've actually found it difficult to write, but not from an emotional perspective. I think that while I'm still consuming lots of music, I'm just not experiencing it the same way I would normally. I'm not hearing it out, identifying it with moments and realisations, chewing my friends' ears off about why it's so peng, sharing and repeating on commutes to work and back from parties. Without that inspiration, the words don't come as freely, and so, for now, I thought I'd talk about a few tracks I can't wait to experience in the flesh, when we finally can.
#1 idontknow - Jamie XX
Last week, Jamie dropped a new track after several years hiatus from his own music. I've been waiting for this to be released officially for a while, and needless to say it's faultless. Everything about it screams 'losing it on the dancefloor', whether its the tempo change 1:20 in, or the turret gun effect of the drums. That being said, the harmonic and melodic plot has the same emotive warmth to it that is signature of his style, it's entirely his sound. With it definitely being a progression from his earlier work, I really think it stands a signpost for music that will change the experience of his live shows. To imagine how he'll move from moments like 'Obvs', 'SeeSaw' and 'Loud Places' into this area is already exciting me, and it's a new era I can't wait to be part of.
#2 - Can't Do Without You - Caribou
One of the many concerts I had cancelled/postponed was Caribou at O2 Academy Brixton; I've seen Daphni sets a few times but this was my first for the big C. I had already envisioned how this song might feel; it's a really important one for me and the close ones in my life, and it's all summed up in those four word; 'Can't Do Without You'. As the synth textures build up and up, further and further, that sense of euphoria you feel when you dance with others who feel exactly the same as you in that moment surrounds you. The sound gets grittier, the harmonics swell and envelope you in the gravity of that statement, and for just a second, everything around you disappears. That's what music should do.
#3 - Belfast - Orbital
Another failed gig... this time I actually decided myself not to go to Printworks just before the lockdown rather than have the gig cancelled. There's a lot of music from this entire era that I still want to see in action, but now that I missed Orbital once, it's my mission to see them as soon as I possibly can. 'Belfast' has a certain grace to it that captures the beauty, the light and brilliance of rave that is less discussed. If I'm going to really go for it, I'm imagining us all at Glastonbury next summer, that vocal sample soaring over our heads as the bass shakes the ground under our feet, forgetting any of this ever happened, the sun setting (or rising!) behind us. Maybe it's too picture perfect, but I'm speaking it into existence.
#4 - One More Time
Right, this one is definitely a stretch. But not being able to get tickets to anything for such a long time has really made me think about who is particularly important for me to see before I die. Daft Punk probably comes in at number one, with this song in particular. For me, this dropping, and the unanimity of what it is with all those people across the globe, has the same elation of the new year countdown, or a surprise birthday cheer. The fact that it's been so long since they've toured and the mystery of if they'll ever return only adds to that. This live album they released I only came across when one of my friends copped it on vinyl, but I really think it captures just how magical their entire performance would be, let alone the arrival of this seminal moment in pop music.
Anyway, that does it for now. I think it's pretty clear I really miss the dancefloor lol. Stay safe and stay at home, massive props to everyone working in healthcare no matter what you're doing. The government has let you down but you're still not letting us all down in turn, and nothing will ever be able to express our gratitude. Be kind to yourself everyone. Oh, and here's a playlist update with these songs and more I want to hear live, plus some new stuff xx
Helloooo everyone, it's summer! London had a great first weekend of sun, spent it all chilling in the park and of course, in classic white boy fashion, I got sunburnt pretty much immediately. Not cute. Hunee in Brighton last week was so much fun, I thought I'd quickly mention because with the setup in Patterns, you're right in there with the DJ themselves and he could not have looked like he was having more fun. And when he's having fun, we're all having fun with him! Such buff vibes as ever, and it was really great to get out of the city for the long weekend, take the party with me but enjoy the sea breeze and coastline peace. I also saw Baltra & Skatebård at Phonox last Friday and musically it was really exquisite (wow where did that come from). Shazam'd lots of bangers but in particular this went off wonderfully on the dancefloor.
Today is another more wordy, conceptual one as I've had this thought running through my head for a couple weeks and I just want to get it down in writing so that I can think about something else. Music has always been intrinsically linked to sound in the same way language and communication are, they are reliant on the audio. Culturally, when we study any society or period of time, their music communicates a lot to us about who they are, and both language and music are interpreted and understood, used and made in different ways around the world. Over time, they develop and transform in different ways, and you could compare the advancement of electronic music with the influence the internet and technology have on our language and the way we communicate; memes, acronyms, tweets and so on. I have a few examples of where I think music truly takes the form of communication, not quite in this literal way, but more in how it expresses a message beyond the artist-listener dialogue.
Everyone has their own taste in music, that is based on what they hear at school, at uni, in their social scenes and based on their own exploration of what's out there. But I feel like a separate clause should be reserved for the music that's passed down to you from your parents. It always brings up a very specific nostalgia in you, and you can distinguish it from your other tastes. Your parents are the archetype for what a person is to you growing up, you see how they react to things and subconsciously learn that that's how you should react too. With music, their passion will probably be the first you witness and understand, and so it always holds a special place for you. Essentially, they're communicating to you a huge part of who they are through the music they love. My mum loves David Bowie and I do through her; I so understand why he's brilliant because of this and in turn I feel like it's a window into part of who she was in her youth for me. It's not just me either, this communication has taken place through my whole family, and I really feel connected to everyone whenever we play 'Space Oddity', 'Let's Dance', 'Changes' or 'Starman' at home, and so on.
For me, that's the greatest example, but it genuinely is so much broader than that. There are a few absolutely outstanding tracks that I'll always associate with my family and how I've bonded and connected with them through it. 'Summer Madness' by Kool & The Gang, 'Triptico' by Gotan Project and Brubeck's 'Take Five' all mould the vision and understanding of who my parents are to me. Music I share with both of my brothers is a key part of how we express ourselves to one another for me, particularly with Hugo who doesn't talk a lot lol. But it's true, I really relate to them and share our live experiences through music in a way I probably couldn't with other forms of language. Sometimes Hugo will send me a song and be like 'Jasper' (our dog) which doesn't really make any sense but I'll know exactly what he means lol.
So that's how I feel communication through music occurs with family, but I noticed something really interesting on a friend level too. Of course, individual songs can have huge meaning; me and my friend Rose met on April 14th so Aphex Twin's 'Avril 14th' is like our special anniversary tune. And I've mentioned before that I have a playlist for each of quite a few of my friends so I can share music easily with them and create a mood that reminds me of them when I need it. That's certainly a form of communication in itself, but in particular I've loved what's happened with my friend Yasmeen, who's on her year abroad in Bologna. She's so far away and sometimes we don't get to talk for a while, but we've been able to still feel like we're hanging out through the playlist and remind each other that we're still there. It's comforting, and over time the songs added have adapted as we as what I'm conveying to her changes. It only stepped up even more once I'd gone out to visit her. We'd sit on her balcony in the sun every day listening to this playlist, to these songs that now meant so much to us in our own unique way, and making such a peng memory together. Now, imagine I'm telling everyone this at my birthday night, painting the scene, and she takes my birthday card out of her bag only to show that she's drawn that exact moment on the front of the card. If that's not communicating to another level of understanding, I don't know what is.
So, there are some cool examples of how music is a language between you and other people, but what about with yourself? I once had a lecture about how language is so part of who we are that it's internal as well; how you think, the words you imagine in your head to process your experiences are all reliant on language. Well, I really think you speak to yourself through song as well. Spotify do that top 100 songs of the last year thing and I always look back and think of how it really reflects what I was going through at the time. On a larger scale, genres you move in and out of end up being pillars of times in your life and you can see the journey you've been through in a way only you can understand through them. I have certain songs I know will make me cry, and it's a way I can tell myself to let my emotions out. Orbital's 'Belfast', Burial's remix of 'Love' and Maribou State's 'Glasshouses' are all songs that really mean something to me at the moment, but it isn't something I can explain. Music is intertwined with the constant internal dialogue I have with myself and how I handle life every day.
To get even more indulgently deep, do you ever find music just gives you the space you need, like it provides a canvas on which to paint our thoughts? When you really need to cut off from everything around you and just think, it prevents our brain from being clogged up with anxieties and stress. That being said, you wouldn't paint a grey stone with the brightest colours you could find. The right music let's you process the right thoughts, or release the right emotions. It's built into us, into the way our brains work. Music reflects the innermost details of who we are and it's intertwined with humanity inseparably. Just like language, it's programmed into how we function.
ANYWAY, back to reality. There's lots of exciting music coming out this month! Peggy Gou will release her DJ Kicks which I'm anticipating with bated breath, but not as much as Burial's 'Claustro / State Forest' EP which comes out in a week or two. I heard the first track on the radio show it premiered on and the more club-ready feel it has to it got me so hyped. It's still so authentic to his style and still so genius, but I'm dying to hear it when I'm out or at festivals this summer. In terms of a few cool tracks I've been listening to recently, check out 'Tala' by Shiva, and Summer has me hooked on Groove Armada's 'At The River', absolute blessing. Oh, and Slowthai's great new album has had 'Doorman' stuck in my head/on repeat a lot too.
