All the Playlists

It’s Ok (feat. Patricia Edwards) – Ernesto Blaque

24 February 2017

The lyrics to It’s Ok were written by Patricia Edwards way before I ever made the song. I liked it when I first heard the lyrics and then decided to write music to it. Since Patricia is based in New York and I am based In Johannesburg, I wanted the song to have both an American as well as a South African feel to it. I also wanted the song to fit in any club around the world. Hope you enjoy!

Purity – Konzentration Akademie

24 February 2017

I don’t know about you but I’m super suspicious of all the Massage / New Age / plinky plunky “Spa” music that’s out there – I tend to find most of it blandly put together samples with the odd bit of nature sound thrown in for fun.  This track isn’t like that.

A New Day (feat. Fritz Kalkbrenner) – Chopstick and Johnjon

24 February 2017

It’s the freakin’ weekend and I couldn’t be more excited. Before I crack open a bottle of beer and toast to the ending of a particularly stressful week, I still have a few tasks I need to finish up..like backing up all my data to my external hard drive (a habit I need to just go ahead and adopt weekly). 

Make It Holy – The Staves

23 February 2017

Music’s amazing isn’t it?!  Songs are these things that suddenly appear in our life and attach themselves to an event, a time, a memory – and they never disappear.   Songwriters can tell you what they meant when they wrote the song, but they also recognize that once its “out there” the meaning is whatever you, the listener, interpret it to be.

Lily’s Theme – Alexandre Desplat

22 February 2017

I love writing to film scores – to me they’re the quintessential essay writing music – music that was composed to help tell a story!  We know that familiar music is good for this purpose as it occupies less cognitive space and you can’t get much bigger than the Harry Potter movies.

Rivaldo – Sasha

22 February 2017

Today it’s raining buckets and I am completely and totally OK with that. Why? Because I am tucked safely away in my apartment, catching up on laundry and letting my creative juices percolate. This song is great for tapping into inspiration goldmines when you’re stuck indoors on a drizzly day. 

Le Onde – Ludovico Einaudi

22 February 2017

I’m a sucker for beautiful piano – I should be as that’s the kind of piano I like to write and play.  Ludovico Einaudi is a genius and this track with its 29+ million streams is a good example of why.

Battle Mountain – Ben Flocks

21 February 2017

I was listening to the amazing In A Silent Way from Miles Davis (which will be featured on this playlist soon) and was thinking about the whole instrumental horn, jazz, blues, thing and then Battle Mountain appeared in my Inbox.

Shine On – May Erlewine

21 February 2017

I cam across this track while working on the Grief Directory – it was originally from a post on the Seven Ponds blog.  SevenPonds is a contemporary resource for those who wish to celebrate memory and personalize the end of life.  You can learn more at their website here.

Grey – Kölsch

20 February 2017

In any decent DJ playlist there is always at least one track that stands out. For me Kölsch’s, Grey epitomises such a record. It’s upfront, it doesn’t stand about, it hits the spot and clears off in under 5 mins leaving us wanting more. It’s my favourite tune of the now and now is all we have.  

Hurt – Nine Inch Nails

19 February 2017

Seduced by the Johnny Cash version – I started listening to the original.

It’s really good.

You think the sparseness of the Cash version was novel – but listen to the vocal delivery here – it’s honest – at least that how it comes across – 

02 Ghosts I – Nine Inch Nails

19 February 2017

The first time I really listened to Trent Reznor was the soundtrack of The Social Network – oh sure I was aware of him – I had studied his marketing methods but had never really listened to his music.