Groovy Music of The World I

Andie
Hey hey heeeey you two!! Let’s come up with a trio playlist!! – the question is…does anyone have a groovy theme or something? 🤔

Andrew
Oh hell yes – I’m up for this – Who do we have here: Zimbabwe, Scotland, The Philippines – what’s a red thread that goes through these? 😎

Willmore
Oh wow, let’s start now please. This is exciting. A trio playlist🔥 The red thread here is groovy music😂 . I guess we need a theme and we go.

Andie
Hahaha Groovy music indeed!! How about… some groovy music from our country? Could be a challenge… but could obviously be suuuper cool!!

Willmore
This is actually a cool concept, I like it

Andie
Awesooome – are you cool with it too, you? 😎

Andrew
Yes!

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Willmore
I started this on a slow tempo. First song is called Impilo which means life, basically, this is a love song which talks about how the artist is thankful to God who made his path cross with her lover.

Second Song is Siyathandana which means we are in love, it’s also a love song talking about how they will love their partner till the end of time.

Third one is a love song as well 😂 Nziyo Yerudo means “a love song.” This one is about how the guy has met a lover who will teach their kids her language and culture (as she is not from the same country).

Just realizing they’re all love songs. The language is different but they have a few English phrases here and there and I really hope you will enjoy these three.

❤️

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Andie
How exciting!! it’s amazing just how different these three tracks sound – and I particularly love the vocals of the ladies in ‘Siyathandana’ – beautiful harmonies!

Since we’re talking about groovy songs, I didn’t even have to think twice about the first one I added! When I think of groove, I think of bass and this local band is aaaall about that.

The next one I added is by this small band here that’s making a comeback but this was one of their first songs that really introduced me to their sound – I love its energetic arrangement!

The last one I added is much slower – by this duo that I was fortunate to see live! Such a light and groovy vibe, perfect for a drive and I love the hip-hop/rap part in the track!

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Andrew
Oh wow – this is sooooo cool – I’m already grinning just listening to the first round – 😎 So – I’ve added my first trio:

I’m mining the 80’s and very early 90’s for my first trio – starting with the classic pop of Deacon Blue – who managed to cross over into the greater British market a few times in the 80’s but never really made it off the Island –

then into what is the quintessentially Scottish rock track of the time where the band trades bagpipes for guitars and manages to evoke the whole “Country” –

finishing with perhaps the grooviest track of the three – Primal Scream’s Movin’ on Up – which could be interpreted as a nod to God but to my ears, it’s more a nod to the Rolling Stones ;-p

and I kinda dig the transition out of Friday Afternoon Drive into Raintown – who knew?!?! This is so cool – Maria, Molly, and I are going to do a similar format – dropping threes – but based on our memories of California – gonna be so cool too!!!

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Willmore
I love how this list is going and this is so amazing 🔥 I’ll start with feedback of the songs you guys have added. Chemical love was a song that was stuck on my mind for a while. Swing was a nice song but it really gave me a dejavu of a song I still haven’t figured out. Friday afternoon drive is my sort of vibe🔥🔥

Raintown, Raindown😩🔥 this one had me in my feels and it was such a good song. In a Big Country and moving on up flowed really well together and that was a good add🔥

And just to explain my previous last tracks, Love me Now is a straight forward song and it’s a slower “amapiano” song pronounced as “armor piano” it’s just a plural of piano. This is a genre that originated from South Africa and I love. Woza means come close, it’s the type of amapiano we play at the groove. Am still looking for the meaning of gorah, the song is a collaboration between a Zimbabwe artist and an artist with Kenyan origins. Its a great fast-paced song

Love the first follow up song Hey Barbara, it really had funky vibes, but Sway was a song I added to my playlists instantly.

Sweet little had me dancing around and it is an infectious song🔥

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Andie
Just added my next three tracks and I the first one is really different from the other two!

You can really feel the dance-y and funky vibe from ‘Hey Barbara’! And the other two follow well from each other – kind of a indie-groovy feel to it!

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Andrew
Nice Andie! I love the vibe of Hey Barbara – straight onto my 2024 Catchall ;-p. But I’m alos loving the more chilled out groove of the next two – kinda gives us time to take a break – kick back and catch oiur breath.

So I’m following up the vibe with some classic Scottish pop from the 80’s and 90’s. Del Amitiri is in my top 5 Scottish bands – and while they had some solid upbeat tracks their homeground was deep introspective tracks – this one is somewhere in the middle – I’m upping the tempo into Aztec Camera – getting groovier and edgier – but then finishing with a classic chorus from Wet Wet Wet – one of those bands that wrote super catchy pop music that eventually faced a backlash for being too popular for the cool kids – although getting their track “Love Is All Around” in the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral exploded them back onto the scene.

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Willmore
So I went for a very old classic first, it’s a song we grew up singing innocently, and then realize when you are now older that it wasn’t really innocent. The song literally means we are in love and if we are in love, eat a banana. The instrumental is classic groove in my city.

Next song is a different, with an afrosoul vibe, the song means be patient and wait for me my love🙏🏿🙏🏿..i really love this one

Lastly, i will close it with a song called worth it because this playlist was worth it!!😂🔥

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Andie
Gotta admit, that Idya Banana track has a nice and fresh beach vibe to it! haha but I get what you mean about songs that seemed innocent before but really aren’t as we grow up realizing things! haha (in fact, that sounds like such a fun playlist theme too! hahaha). That afrosoul vibe is new to me and it’s so interesting!! What an amazing mix of different sounds. And since the last song you added was pretty hip-hop/rap, It moved me to go to that route!!

Curtis Smith is a popular artist here who does pop-ups at clubs and I really love the lyrics in his raps! He talks a lot about the country and uses his songs as a unique platform! Martti Franca is someone I recently found out about and I wanna describe the sound as pretty indie-groovy, I really love the intro through that guitar! And finally, this cool indie band I was fortunate enough to see live a few times – SOS! I find their vocals so unique and I think they’re even trynna do a rebrand here!

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Andrew
Been listening to the six tracks all day – wow this is a cool exercise. From the catchiness of idya Banana (talk about earworm!) – to the beautiful vocals of Bekezela leading into the sheer energy and delivery of Meet Luminous – what a set! I’m already moving Worth It onto a list I’m making with Ben where we’re reflecting on Spirit and the purpose of life! ;-ppp

And then Andie switches it up – the honesty of Curtismith over that super chillled beat – the pure pop perfection of Martti Franca – and then finishing with the indie pop feel of SOS –

Yeah people – it’s bloody amazing ;-p. I was going to finish with some up beat Scottish bangers but Andie has me changing my mind (always a good thing). So – instead of going for big hits – went for my introspective tracks from classic Scottish bands – where you can tell that they’re Scottish ‘cos they have an accent! ;-p

Goodbye Mr MacKenzie was one of those bands that worked their ass off but didn’t quite make it – beloved by the Scots for the amount of touring they did and spawning Shirley Manson of Garbage – The Rattler is a cracking track. I wasn’t going to leave this list without adding a Frightened Rabbit track by the beloved Scott Hutchison – I’m digging how this feels so fucking “Scottish” – and then closing with a classic indie singer songwriter – Hugh Kelly – love his vocal on this track.

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Intrigued by how this came together? Check us out

Track Listing

• Impilo – Kae Chaps
• Siyathandana – Berita
• Nziyo Yerudo – Jah Prayzah
• Chemical Love – Basically Saturday Night
• Swing – Mercury
• Friday Afternoon Drive – Ysanygo
• Raintown – Deacon Blue
• In A Big Country – Big Country
• Movin’ on Up – Primal Scream
• Love Me Now – 100flex
• Woza – Sha Sha
• Gorah – Nitefreak
• Hey Barbara – IV Of Spades
• Sway – Paolo Sandejas
• Used To Be – Jensen & The Flips
• Here And Now – Del Amitri
• Oblivious – Aztec Camera
• Sweet Little Mystery – Wet Wet Wet
• Idya Banana – Joseph Garakara
• Bekezela – Bekezela
• Worth It – Meet Luminous
• For the Love – Curtismith
• Things She’ll Never Know – Martti Franca
• Roll the Dice – SOS
• The Rattler – Goodbye Mr MacKenzie
• Good Arms vs Bad Arms – Frightened Rabbit
• Give Me All Your Love – Hugh Kelly

Playlist image by GPT4