This week the music is softer, more in tune with the self. It’s meant to be inward. It’s meant to feel big, like staring deep into the night. But, also, it’s meant to be easy. Pleasurable. Like sitting in a smoke-filled basement on velvet chairs listening to funk and jazz and soulful strings. We begin in Japan with a male singer with a voice like butter, it’s creamy and melts right onto you. We hop to Europe, to France and the UK, and of course there is a reminder that The Beatles are still The Beatles (great). We move into the US, particularly LA, with Fatal Jamz — a wonderful project that embodies pleasure jams. We drop into Austin, my hometown, with Redbud. A local group that sounds the way I’d like a good summer’s day to feel. We end, ceremoniously, with Pepe Jaramillo, a Mexican pianist that stuns again and again.
I love each of these albums in different ways, but if you listen to only one album this week, make it Labi Siffre’s Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying.
The playlist is here.
Monday
Butterfly - Kimiko Kasai, Herbie Hancock
Spotify / Other streaming services
Tuesday
Coverboy - Fatal Jamz
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Wednesday
Liz Damon’s Orient Express - Liz Damon’s Orient Express
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Thursday
Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying - Labi Siffre
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Friday
Øyvind Blomstrøm - Orions Belte, Øyvind Blomstrøm
Spotify / Apple Music / Other streaming services
Pair with:
Lemony Pasta Salad With Crisped Capers. Capers? Like Bobby Hill, count me in. But, really, this week is about easy and good, what food embodies that more than a pasta dish?
Poil de Lievre Chenin. Pair the above with a Chenin Blanc, just do it. Basically anything by Bobinet is good, but the Chenin’s are especially *chefs kiss.*
This ring. It’s so good. I can’t stop looking at it. I’m sure I won’t buy it, but still, it’s gorgeous.
Thank you, thank you.
If you’re a paid subscriber, I’ll be sending out a special edition SXSW playlist that features all of the new bands I’m excited about seeing. If you’re interested in that kind of thing, consider becoming a paid subscriber :)
Have a great week.