This week the sounds are meant to evoke the feeling of being in a dark, cool wine bar well past midnight, inspired by Montezuma Café in Paris. The only unification of sound is what it feels like when you hear it — loose, open, rapturous. The playlist this week is the kind of curation that makes me fall in love with this project all over again. The music just feels damn good.
We begin with Roland Ray, a German-born musician that spent the 70s and 80s hustling in London. Hot, Cold & Blue is all charisma — full of catchy hooks and quirky vocals. The sound itself feels forbidden and new, a departure from the sounds coming from the UK at the time. It’s 808s, dance beats and bedroom rock that feels completely modern. Another absolutely rippin’ album of the time is Sweet Music from Dizzy K. out of Nigeria. It’s synth-funk boogie at it’s finest. We keep the synth-funk boogie going with the 80’s French group Regrets, helmed by Agathe. The songs are a French-eighties dream, something in between the B-52s and Madonna. It’s post-disco, but with the sexy, easy haze of the best days of the era. We slow it down and take it to California with Havoc & Prodeje, an iconic group out of the LA hip-hop scene in the early 90s. The album sets R&B beats over sultry jazz and funk, to create something both sexy and fly. We stay with jazz and funk, but turn it over to the lo-fi beats habit of the early 2000s. Gran Riserva is tantalizingly deep and danceable, with the kind of downtempo groove that will make you sway no matter where you are. The Viennese duo dZihan & Kamien take “euro chill electronica beat” very seriously.
Enjoy.
Monday
Hot, Cold & Blue - Roland Ray (1985)
Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Tuesday
Sweet Music Vol. 1 - Dizzy K (1982)
Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Wednesday
The Best of Agathe and Regrets - Agathe and Regrets (1985)
Spotify / Other streaming services
Thursday
Livin’ in a Crime Wave - Havoc & Prodeje (1993)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Friday
Gran Riserva - Dzihan & Kamien (2000)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Pair with:
Ricotta and sage gnocchi. Like any trendy wine bar, there will be one dish that vaguely resembles an entree. This ricotta and sage gnocchi is delicious and has the carbs you need to keep it easy. Pair with this orange and pomegranate salad.
Claus Preisinger “Dope” pet-nat rosé. I’m never not talking about this wine. It’s the best wine, perfect for fall and perfect for any sexy situation. It will impress even non-wine drinkers (who can trust them?), but you might want to keep this one for yourself. It’s the nectar of the wine gods.
Iced lemon espresso. For those of us that are not doing well post-daylight savings time. When will this end?
This leather dress from COS. As the weather gets colder, there is just something so appealing about leather. It’s sexy, mysterious and just a little impractical. Every great outfit needs at least two.
This very fun crochet bag. Colorful! Woven!
Daylight Saving
My answers are inadequate
To those demanding day and date
And ever set a tiny shock
Through strangers asking what's o'clock;
Whose days are spent in whittling rhyme-
What's time to her, or she to Time?
- Dorothy Parker
Thank you, thank you. Have a great week.