Hello There, round two. I feel like this month’s list has taken a different direction. I lot less hiphop than I would have expected. It seems like my tastes are changing. There’s still some bangers and a lot of female vocalists. Even some guitars.
Perhaps the longer days have changed my mood but I have been feeling very optimistic about the future and I think that’s reflected in the tone of the list.
Im super proud of the artwork. Its incredibly freeing to design for myself and im really getting into the process. I didn’t think to hard about the font choice. I had a very different idea in my mind but after 2 hours this is where I got to. I think it turned out nice.
Its another long list, 57 songs so may need a few sittings to get through. The rules are the same Listen if you like, skip if you don’t.
1) Con Altura – ROSALIA & J BALVIN > Im obsessed with Rosalia at the moment. She was easily my favirite artist of last year. Teaming up with J Balvin on what I would say is an understated affair. Well as understated as you might get from J Balvin. It has a pleasant creepy horn and typically hard ragaton beat. The song reached no 1 in Spain, Rosalias home country.
2) Friends – FLUME, REO CRAGUN – Flume featured on my list last month. This song is slow and builds slowly. The chorus has a very pleasing loud beat that made me fall in love with the song.
3) Hold you tight – DIPLO > I don’t think Diplo can do anything wrong. This feels like a radical departure for him. The songs starts minimal and grows and grows. Then the vocals. The songs drops at the 1 minute mark. Everything is kept minimal but the production is top notch. Bit of a break in the middle and then back to it. I wish this was 10 minutes long.
4) Boffum – BRODINSHI, SUICIDYEAR > Short and sweet. From the beat drop the production doesn’t get much more complicated but what is there works brilliantly. This is a cool song.
5) Nobody’s Son – JELANI BLACKMAN – Jelani’s voice is deep and smooth. I like hearing an English accent from Rappers. The production is pretty cutting edge and refreshing. “dark and dancy” as he puts it. Im going to check out his back catalogue soon.
6) Mine Right Now – SIGRID > I 1st saw Sigrid while watching Glastonbury on the TV 3 years ago. I loved her pep. Really enjoyable to watch and just pretty dam feel good. This song is more of that. Feel good 80s inspired sinth. More of this please.
7) Bad guy – BILLIE EILISH > Ive seen Billie do the rounds of some of my favourite Youtube shows. Hot ones and Sneeker shopping. So I was looking forward to hearing what her album was going to be like. The best way to describe it Super quiet bangers. Its really nice to hear something that sounds like nothing else. The song completely changes at 2.30 so stick around until then. This is the 1st of two songs featured this month. I definitely recommend listening to her album.
8) About Worth The Dancefloor – GEORGIA > This song is so awesome! So im making it my song of the month. Super retro, super modern. Delightful vocals over a synth-pop song that would be at home on the soundtrack of ours 80s memories.
9) All day and Night – JAX JONES > Forgive me for this. This song reminds of me of clubbing when I was 16. Drinking 99p pints and dancing on the podium until closing. I don’t know if this an attempt at recapturing the late 90s sound or a genuine chavvy hit. In either case im happy for the nostalgia.
10) Full Stop – FOLLY RAE > The bass carry the song from beginning to end. Super bouncy which makes for a fun song.
11) Mad – LAOISE > Minimal production that could be argued may not even be music. Laoise carrys the song with some cute vocals until about a minute on when the production ramps up. By this time I was hooked but the song keeps building until the end. Its sounds a little bit 80s which is obviously becoming a thing.
12) Monydontfixlonely – SOPHIA MESSA > Isn’t that true, its not that I don’t like money its great. But I don’t want to be motivated by it. I’ve been trying to focus on the enjoyment I’m having rather than the money I’m making recently. The shift in focus means my work is more satisfying and I would say much better. The subject matter speaks to me, The vocals are haunting and the song is pretty large in scale. I’ve often played this song on repeat this month.
13) Happy – BROOKE CANDY > Nice little rap banger. Even though it sounds dark its actually a pretty positive song. “BITCH YOU LOOK GREAT!” But then it does take a bit of a dark turn at the end when she is crying.
14) Champagne Eyes – ALUNA GEORGE, BAAUER > This song is only 2 people removed from Harry Potter. Let me explain. BAAUER produced the Harlem Shake, which was turned into a viral meme by Fithy Frank, who is the cousin of Ezra Miller who (spoiler for Fantastic Beasts 2) Is DUMBLEDOORS BROTHER. Who saw that coming!?
15) Ground Control – COLLARD, KOJEY RADICAL > Part 80s soundtrack, part hard rap. The mixture of styles works to create something that stands out from anything else out there right now, or maybe ever.
16) Waves & Whirlwinds – MAYA JANE COLES > I’ve never got into Maya’s music. I’ve always meant to try her out a bit more so was happy this song came along this month. This is background music. The kind of song you could have on without noticing but eventually realise your fully immersed in.
17) FUN! – VINCE STAPLES > Vince staples is funny. I wanted to include this song so I could say that.
18) Childs Play – A$AP Twelvyy > Coming from the A$AP MOB (camp of professional rappers) Rocky, Ferg, Nast and Ant
19) Sucker Free – GIRL UNIT, Ms BOOGIE > Girl unit is one of my favourite names of all time. Alongside Ross from Friends. Apart from being a pretty solid banger. The inclusion of Ms Boogie is a step in the right direction for me. Representation matters. Good stuff.
20) Disaster – DAVE ft J HUS > Haha, I don’t know what the noise is but its really enjoyable to hear. Maybe a horn? Answers on a postcard please. The “fuck beefing with babies” line cracks me up every time. I imagine a real baby being aggressively rapped at.
21) I Could Get used to this – BECKY HILL, WEISS > Standard summer song. Positive vibes only here. Large vocals with a few high pitched anthemic noises. Forgettable but fun while it lasts.
22) Amelie – THE FAIM > I think this counts as guitar music. The song starts with an epic deep chant. I found that very compelling. Enough to give the basic vocals a pass. It’s a teeny bob rock song.
23) In The Dark – ALL TVVINS > A close contender for for song of the month. A slow melodic song with a lovely 80s vibe. The song comes together in the chorus all driven by the deep drums.
24) Young – ORCHARDS > Im really on a roll with the guitar music now. This songs just fun. Even the artwork is fun. Bright, youthful and catchy
25) Shook – P MONEY > I walked past P money on the streets of Shoreditch once and I remember feeling quite star struck. Ive always liked to talk to DJs and MC’s when going to clubs but I couldn’t say anything to him. He did a song back in the day with True Tiger that was a banger. I still don’t understand the difference between grime and rap. P has a great flow and has been a constant goodness in the game.
26) Angels – NILUFER YANYA > Guitars all over the place this month. Nilufers album is well worth a listen. A very pleasant listen. The song builds on itself to a very satisfying crescendo.
27) You should see me in a crowd – BILLIE EILISH > If you watch this on your phone she has a spider crawling out of her mouth. EW! 2nd song from Billie in the list. Again give her album a listen. Its exciting to hear something new. Quite vocals to start but don’t let that fool you this song is a 100% banger
28) Ancient Lands – NATUREBOY FLAKO > Full disclosure, this song is older and Ive known about it for a while but I really think more people should hear it. It starts of slowly. It’s a creeper but by the time it reaches its final form you know it can’t be messed with. Listen to this all the way through. But if your impatient skip to 2:30 and it really gets going. Its all about the 3rd act. So cool!
29) Chemise – SOULEANCE > Awww yeeeeeah. How funky is this song?! The tiny string noise, the squelchy baseline and disco vocals. If every song was this song id be totally ok with that. Makes me smile every time it comes on.
30) Caronte – APPARAT > Starts with some nice strings, followed by compelling vocals. The vocals double up after a minute which gives it a much more futuristic feel. The production just keeps building with a lovely bass line throughout the 2nd half of the song. Quite futuristic and lovely.
31) The whole of the moon – KIRIN J CALLINAN > A cover of an 80s classic. Im not sure if this is better than the orginal. But I am dam sure that it is good to hear this song again.
32) Boss – Little Simz > A slapping bassline and kick drum hots you in the face straight away. Simz distorted vocals. Then a very good flow which stands up with the best of them. “im a boss in a fucking dress” Great line!
33) Birth of Creation – THE COMET IS COMING > Creepy oboe? Yes please! Another song that builds and becomes more modern as you progress into the mid-point. A VERY satisfying pulsing baseline hits around 1.30. The world needs more spooky oboe! I demand it!
34) Kill this love – BLACK PINK > The video for this song was the fastest ever to reach 100 million views on Youtube. 100 Million in less than 3 days! The Koreans are taking over. Its big.
35) Pas de Deux – MICHAEL ABELS > This is a redux of a pretty awesome song. Listen to is and see if you can guess. Its from the soundtrack of the new film by Jordan Peele. US was a fantastic movie. Following on the good spooky movie movement that seems to be happening. I love them. Anyway the original is featured pretty heavily in the film. This remix is used in the later parts of the film and it really added to the scene.
36) Aint goin Back – RUSS > Russ featured last month. I love his flow. A clear narrative intelligently told. All told over some sad harmonica???
37) Two Colours – CHONG THE NOMAD > How good is that name! Lovely baselines at 37 seconds in. Need I say more.
38) Innocent Man – BURNA BOY, DJDS > this song just sounds dangerous. Go out and do some crime, rob some people up. All because the song made you feel like it.
39) House – Kindness > Again this is an old song. But I had completely forgotten about it. Kindness have a new song out which reminded me that this existed. Sit in the sun and have a smile. HAPPY, that’s how I feel when I hear this. Wait for 40 seconds to find out why. Then again at 1.40 its just keeps getting better and better. So nice! 10 smiles out of 10
40) Darkest Hour – SEVDALIZA – Starts off with some lovely piano work and creepy vocals. The key change after a minute gives you a sense that this song is going somewhere. The pay off at around 2 minutes is so worth it. It actually ends up pretty dancy. Love it.
41) DYSFUNCTIONAL – KYTRANADA > Oh Kytranada. He was a staple of mine a few years back. I remember him playing Obie Trice at Bestival. His remix of Missy Elliot is a classic. Perfectly nice.
42) Snake skin boots – BLIMES, REDINHO > I like the production on this. Grounded in the past but fresh enough to set itself apart from anything else out there now
43) Focus – VRITRA > Instant bass. Meloncolic bass. Nice little rap over the top. Very cool
44) Baby Sitter – DABABY, OFFSET > Before listening to this song I thought I wasn’t going to like it. Expecting some standard mumble rap. But Dababy actually has a pretty decent flow on this. The track is well produced and has a nice fast pace. Into it
45) Make it right – BTS > Here we are, the biggest band in the world right now. Proving that not all there songs have to be bangers. I love the minimal horn, sinth, trumpet (I don’t know what that noise is haha) Its difficult to know how well they can sing as I don’t know what they are singing about but I know that they can make it right for some reason. I like it and so do millions of teenage girls. Were called the ARMY (Adorable Representative M.C for Youth), join us
46) Two Straight lines – Walking on Cars > Guitar hits again. I just cant get enough of it. This is cheating though as there is a consistent bass playing over the song that makes it for me. The chorus is beautiful. Impressed by this one.
47) Stay Young – MAISIE PETERS – Lovely vocalist turns into pleasing song. Shocker! The tempo works so well for me.
48) Late night Feeling – MARK RONSON ft LYKKE LI > Mark Ronson has to be one of the most consistently brilliant producers of our age. He did this one, and this one and this one. The list goes on. Slow disco vibes. Brilliant!
49) Mile High – JAMES BLAKE, TRAVIS SCOTT, METRO BOOMIN > I featured another song from this album last month. But I have been listening to it more and keep coming back to this one. Trippy, casual trap banger. Awesome stuff!
50) NO CD – LOTLE CARNER, REBEL KLEFF > Nice guitar riff sets this rap song apart.
51) Teenage Birdsong – FOUR TET > A very well produced casual dance song. I guess we cant expect any less form Four Tet. Great whistling riff and bassline crashing into some spacy sounding notes towards the end.
52) Assassin – AU?RA > We have a lot to thank Dua Lipa for. She has brought in an age of highly produced pop music. Great vocals over a great beat. Keep it up.
53) Lit – OCTAVIAN ft A$AP FERG > UK trap at it very best. Octavian is so cool. Im jealous of his talent but so happy that hes making the most of it. America taking notice here with a feature from A$AP Ferg. I feel like this is a stepping stone to the A list stars. Kanye must be itching to leverage his fanbase. You klout chaser you.
54) What is it – KIDEKO > CHHHHEEEEEEEEEESSSSEEEY! Pretty fun track that speaks for itself. I cant imagine this ever being played in fabric but that’s not the audience. A roof top bar full of essex girls drinking sangria. A fun time was had by all.
55) London in the rain – MERIDIAN DAN ft FLOWDAN > Dark. Just how I like it.
56) Borderline – TAME IMPALA > Ive never given Tame Impala a chance. If this is anything like their back catalogue then I have some catching up to do. The pacing is perfect, especially half way through the vocals are super nice.
57) Vossi Bop – STORMZY > The return of Stormzy with a really decent track. The production is super well laid out. Just how I like it. A super tight flow that works with the beat perfectly. Cameo from Idris in the video is hype! Your carrying the flag Stormzy. Do us proud.
Feel free to comment and give me feedback. Love you x