Reverence & Movement

Found – Matt Fax

Andrew writes: To start I’m going with a track from Matt Fax, Estiva – it made it onto one of our curator’s “Best of ’23” lists – (even though it was released in ’21) – I find it really easy to drop into a flow with it – particularly if I’m listening to the EP and rolling into the two extended mixes.

In Threes – Max Cooper

Maarten writes: Lovely track! Made me think of Max Cooper’s music, electronic but also quite organic. I chose his track In Threes to see if you’d enjoy something just slightly more off kilter. 

Alfonso Muskedunder – Todd Terje

I really enjoyed the Max Cooper track  – the overall composition was great, particularly the percussion – the title certainly described the track :-). The whole track felt really fresh.  I’m not listening to too much newness in this space – which is why I’m delighted to be making a list with you ;-p – but I was drawn to the time signature and was remembering the Todd Terje track in 7 – which – while it dragged it back in time a bit – kept the interest up – for me at least ;-p

Locomotion (In Key) – Richie Hawtin

Nice one with the Todd Terje, you made it a bit more edgy there. Trying to move us in a slightly different direction again with my next track. 

Circle 29 – Foam and Sand

Love the transition into the keys and texture of Locomotion – that underlying bass groove – so dynamic and yet understated – beautiful! So I’m keeping the tempo down and reflecting the dynamic groove in the keys – I love this piece – super reflective – (it was either this or weird fishes – that actually worked pretty well out of locomotion but I wasn’t ready for vocals just yet ;-p)

Bob In Your Gait – Julianna Barwick

That is a beautiful track! I’d never heard of it, but very much on my radar now. Lots to discover with Robot Koch it seems. Love the continuation of the ambience, and trying to keep that up with the next track. Kind of pushing you towards those vocals, but very much in the non-lyrics and using the voice as an instrument still. 

Whitacre: Lux Aurumque – Eric Whitacre

Beautiful seems to be coming up a lot in this list ;-p. The Julianna Barwick track certainly fits the bill.

I had Sigur Ros’ Glosoli all lined up to go but the more I thought about the voice as instrument – the more I was drawn back to pushing that concept.  I was a cathedral chorister back in the day and have always adored the sound that a perfectly matched set of voices can deliver.  I’m not 100% sure this works – but – well – see what you think

Teardrop – Grantley Marshall

I love Eric Whitacre and the way he works, and what he’s changing when it comes to people coming together through music. 

Are you familiar with Voces8? They did this wonderful cover of Teardrop that also includes Liz Fraser, I find it mesmerizing. 

The Sea – Fotheringay

Wow – teardrop is amazing – I wasn’t familiar with Voces8 – am now ;-p (did fall down a Samuel Barber rabbit hole – damn that’s so stunning!) – I was thinking of keeping it vocal and reaching for Thomas Tallis but then was thinking maybe we can bring it back a little – but not too far ;-p. I’ve always loved Sandy Denny’s voice – it feels like a decent enough bridge between the choral and the popular – ;-p

Who Knows Where the Time Goes (Live) – Nina Simone

Glad to hear that Teardrop version had an effect! And oh man, Sandy Denny is so amazing. I can’t move away from her just yet, so I’m throwing a Nina Simone version of one her songs in next. This one really makes me stop and reflect. 

All the Way Home – Natalie Migdal

It’s the vocal positioning that immediately hits me – followed swiftly by the recognition of Nina’s unique delivery – and then the sheer sparseness of the lyric and indeed – the whole performance.  There’s something fabulously introspective about the piece that, almost but not quite, leaves me feeling strangely optimistic – I mean – who knows how one’s love grows – why worry?

This was one where I had an immediate association and eagerly lined it up to see if it worked often time it doesn’t – there’s something in the transition that jars or the track’s just wrong – but I think this works beautifully.  We seem to have wandered into a vocal wonderland and I’m so here for it 😉

I ran the music to grieve to playlist for years and in that time had hundreds if not thousands of tracks sent to me – this one was a stand out in the “Love sucks when your lover falls out of love with you” category – sooo many tracks in this space but this is possibly my favorite.  It matches the sparse beauty of Who Knows Where the Time Goes but trades dispassion for despair.

Life of the Forbidden – Clarissa Connelly

This is a beautiful track, and it hits me right where I am right now. There’s always multiple sides to every story involving two people and this track by Clarissa Connelly where she puts forward strangely does the water flow in the river’ for me encapsulates that we have a lot of things we can’t influence. The music holds on to the despair, but the message shows us that the actually despair, dispassion, love are all on some form of a spectrum. 

Freeze Tag – Suzanne Vega

I totally missed that you added a track back in April ;-p. I hadn’t come across Clarissa Connelly before – fabulous voice and vibe – kinda like if Kate Bush,  Bjork, and a Bodhran a fell into a people making machine ;-p

I was super tempted to up the vibe with some hard charging guitars but the more I listened the more I felt it needed to be Suzanne Vega – I like the darkness of Freeze tag and the movement of the track.  I burnt out the grooves of this Vinyl in College – one of my favorites – plus I could play and knew all the words to The Queen And The Soldier which always went down well with sensitive types at parties ;-p

Star Guitar – The Chemical Brothers

I love Suzanne Vega, she’s a great addition to the playlist. I was tempted to put in Orbital’s When Time Becomes A Loop, but I opted for something a little different. I’ve added Star Guitar by Chemical Brothers. I love the track and got into Chemical Brothers around the same time I got into Suzanne Vega so it’s a personal connection as much as a musical one. Star Guitar still plays with time, both in the music and in the awesome music video. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to move to those guitars next.

I Feel Love (Afrojack Remix) – Donna Summer

I love how things that initially seem so random turn out to be wonderfully connected – Suzanne Vega and The Chemical Brothers – ‘cos well – obviously ;-p.

Inspired transition out of Freeze Tag into Star guitar – love the shift – felt like we’re heading back to the top of the list – and at 3 tracks from me and 4 from you to go – who knows where we’ll end up ;-p

For me it was the straightening of the underlying synth loop at 1:05 that stuck Giorgio Moroder in my head and then I couldn’t escape I Feel Love – AFROJACK’S version seemed the appropriate version to follow 

Set The Roof – Hudson Mohawke

I had no idea that Afrojack did that remix. The song is such a classic and he hasn’t done too much to really change it, but he’s definitely given it a more trancy feel, especially that moment at 4’45” is sooo trance. It shows how much impact Giorgio has had on basically every aspect of electronic music. The sheer euphoria makes me want to keep my hands high up in the air. So, I’ve decided to add Nikki Nair’s Set the Roof to our list. It’s just as euphoric, but the shift is towards breakbeats. 

Bad Girls – M.I.A.

Really dug the Nikki Nair track – the whole percussive feel of the breakbeats combined with her vocal had me immediately making a connection – took me a listen or two until all I could see was Maya filing her nails hanging out of the car window as it high skis somewhere in the desert.  Super interested to see where we go next

Tic Boom – Leikeli47

I’m into M.I.A. a lot, love her delivery, always. I had been thinking how we could get our list to move into a bit more of a hip hop direction and I’m taking this track as a cue to be able to do that. I’ve added Tic Boom by Leikeli47, one of my favourite rappers. Her delivery is also always spot on, and I love her vibe altogether. Beats are great, too. As a kind of anti-dote to M.I.A.’s sometimes unhealthy persona, Leikeli47 is incredibly tough but also almost wholesome. I once saw her perform live in a small club in Amsterdam and she asked for someone to come up on stage and bust some moves to Tic Boom. This guy came up on stage and was the best dancer, she afterwards launched into this great conversation with them on how she always knows something amazing will happen when she makes those requests. Be open, and good things will come to you – kind of thing. 

Woza – Sha Sha

I know I keep on saying it but – there’s just sooooo much music out there ;-p. I’m loving Tic Boom – the beat, the flow – it’s just epic – thank you! 🙂

Thing is – I’d just made a list with a young man in Zimbabwe where we were trading tracks with artists from our home countries and the Tic Boom beat had me resonating with a few of the tracks he added.  So not quite in the hip hop direction we were thinking but I kinda dig the percussive transition and the underlying groove of Woza just makes me want to move – even when it also makes me want to sit back and chill at the same time!

New Dawn – Marshall Allen

I’ve just added another track to the playlist after listening to it. It’s a bit of a vibeshift, but I feel Neneh Cherry is so important as a figure for people like Sha Sha. Her new track with Marshall Allen is just brilliant and basically just deserves to be in our list. And the song title is a bit of a wink to the New Dawn of our shared playlist. 

Colors – Melo Green

I’m digging the vibe shift – the Marshall Allen, Neneh Cherry is an instant classic – sooooo laid back and beautifully played and sung.  here’s to amazing “new” music coming out in ’25.  I’m following up with an artist that I’ve been listening to recently – still a little rough around the edges but I really like the first half of his recent album – solid R&B with some edge to it – it feels pretty fresh.  I think it picks up the vibe from New Dawn and runs with it  – different genre but energetically not too far away – plus I love what he does with the track towards the end!

off to the ESSO – aya

Really into Melo Green now, wasn’t aware of them yet. 

I’m throwing a new track in there by aya, an artist I love and this new song means we end on a note that fills me with exuberance. 

Track Listing

• Found – Matt Fax
• In Threes – Max Cooper
• Alfonso Muskedunder – Todd Terje
• Locomotion (In Key) – Richie Hawtin
• Circle 29 – Foam and Sand
• Bob In Your Gait – Julianna Barwick
• Whitacre: Lux Aurumque – Eric Whitacre
• Teardrop – Grantley Marshall
• The Sea – Fotheringay
• Who Knows Where the Time Goes (Live) – Nina Simone
• All the Way Home – Natalie Migdal
• Life of the Forbidden – Clarissa Connelly
• Freeze Tag – Suzanne Vega
• Star Guitar – The Chemical Brothers
• I Feel Love (Afrojack Remix) – Donna Summer
• Set The Roof – Hudson Mohawke
• Bad Girls – M.I.A.
• Tic Boom – Leikeli47
• Woza – Sha Sha
• New Dawn – Marshall Allen
• Colors – Melo Green
• off to the ESSO – aya

Playlist image by Ahmad Odeh on Unsplash