Apologies, this is almost a day later posting than expected – I got knocked out of action by a New Years’ cold for a few days there. (Recovering now; normal service to be resumed ASAP).
This is one of my favourite playlists at the moment for when I’m doing non-musical work like filing my tax-return, which I did the other day. It does exactly what it says on the tin, as they say, with a bunch of songs familiar and new, many from artists you may well not be familiar with. There are covers, acoustic versions, and original versions and all perfectly suited for that half-listening-but-definitely-enjoying thing you do when the music is in the background to your main task.
The brains behind this list is Susan Moss of Moondreams Music, whose playlists I’ve featured before. This has got to be one of her best yet – enjoy!
Author: Stoneygate
POTW (2019/1): Simon's 2018 Top 10 on Spotify
I probably with hindsight should have made a playlist with all my own favourite tracks from the year, but that would have required I start making notes a year ago. Maybe next year! Instead, I have this lovely little selection from Simon Irvine, aka the artist Stuffamebobs, who I have mentioned before. (I’m extremely honoured to have a song included on this list, as well 🙂 )
Got to dash! Wishing you a Happy New Year, and I’ll be back on Monday with a new playlist for you, with the focus being on the new.
POTW (2019/1): Simon’s 2018 Top 10 on Spotify
I probably with hindsight should have made a playlist with all my own favourite tracks from the year, but that would have required I start making notes a year ago. Maybe next year! Instead, I have this lovely little selection from Simon Irvine, aka the artist Stuffamebobs, who I have mentioned before. (I’m extremely honoured to have a song included on this list, as well 🙂 )
Got to dash! Wishing you a Happy New Year, and I’ll be back on Monday with a new playlist for you, with the focus being on the new.
Playlist of the Week (2018/52)
You’ve probably still got a way to go with last week’s Alternative Christmas playlist, but here’s another choice for your Christmas listening, and it’s very classy.
Our POTW this week is the lovely Winter Wanderer playlist, compiled by Barry McLoughlin, whose Acoustic Treasures playlist I featured all the way back in August. This set of songs is in much the same folky singer-songwriter vein, with a fair sprinkling of songs about Christmas, snow and the winter season.
I imagine you’re more organised than me and had the Christmas presents wrapped months ago and you’re pretty much all set to go. (I always manage to leave something to the last minute). Hopefully you have some time off over Christmas, for time with family and time to reflect on the actual meaning of the season as well as enjoying the trappings and a glass of something comforting.
So it’s a very happy Christmas from me… I’ll be bringing you some more playlists in due course, but would love to know what you’ve thought of the series so far and where you’d like it to go next year.
Playlist of the Week (2018/51)
You can’t get to this point in the year in a series like this without having a Christmas playlist. It’s becoming a tradition of mine to put Christmas music on whilst I wrap the presents, mainly to try to persuade myself it is that time of year and I need to get a move on otherwise I’ll run out of time.
I enjoy some of the golden oldies, but they do get, well, old. So, a couple of years back or three, I started to compile a YouTube playlist of various lesser known Christmas songs, the ones that you don’t hear over and over again in the shops all the way from about September. It became more than a little obsessive and the list got extremely long, because just about everyone has done a Christmas song.
So this week’s POTW is a bit of a cheat, but it’s my collection of some more obscure Christmas songs, some secular, some sacred, some just plain daft and some serious. It’s got a wide variety of styles, from punk to an African childrens’ choir. There are a whopping 320+ songs included, so it will keep you busy for hours on end whether you’re hanging up the decorations, making the mince pies or preparing the Christmas dinner. The mood of the songs is mainly grouped together, so if you want more variety, hit the shuffle button.
Playlist of the Week (2018/50)
This POTW has been on my list to cover for a while. It’s Chill Sesh, from Fancy Foxx Music. This is one smooooth playlist, steeped in loungey, funky-jazz vibes. It feels both clubby and yet very horizontal. It’s a bit late in the year, I know, but some of the songs feel quite summery, too, as there are various songs that are either reggae beat or have a clear West Indian influence. We can dream of beaches in the middle of autumn, right?
Fancy Foxx is a small label that has been around for a couple of years, and has a handful of artists associated with it. Their image is very much ‘the life & soul of the party’, whereas this playlist is more like the after-party wind-down at 2am or so when most of the few remaining participants still awake have collapsed into the comfy chairs and have started having deep and meaningful conversations and don’t want to go home. There are still a few people dancing, though – the music’s funky.
Playlist of the Week (2018/49)
This week’s Playlist of the Week is Hovercar Radio: Synthwave/Retrowave/Dark Synth. It’s compiled by Alex Pope, the Bristol based producer behind Dark Smoke Signal, an 80s-inspired synthwave and electronica act. He’s a bass-playing multi-instrumentalist who has been involved in a number of other projects, such as the Hot Freaks. He’s only released a couple of tracks so far under the Dark Smoke Signal moniker, but they’re very well made. If you only listen to one, check out The Big Stage: it’s worth it for the stunning bassline alone, but there’s far more to it. Imagine a synth-pop mashup of Daft Punk, Gorillaz and Kids in America by Kim Wilde and you should be getting close.
This playlist is unabashedly retro. It kicks off with the titles of Blade Runner by Vangelis. There’s a strong synthwave element running through it, as you might expect, peppered with artists such as Kavinsky, Kalax, Com Truise and Daft Punk as well as the odd 80s classic track. In addition, there are plenty of tracks by artists you might not have heard before.
Playlist of the Week (2018/48)
This week’s POTW is brought to you by Dubliner Mark Joseph Parsons, who writes and performs as Berthmark. His musical journey started with a tin whistle and a bodhran and expanded to other instruments as time went on. He’s big on story telling – his songs tend to start as short stories and get translated into music after. Being a storyteller, he’s also looking to progress to writing for film.
Mark’s Folks and Strokes playlist has an indie-folk singer-songwriter feel to it, with names you’ll recognise like Van Morrison, Glen Hansard, Ray LaMontagne, The Pogues and Badly Drawn Boy. But there’s a twist – these artists have been paired with independent artists you may not know already, such as Garrett, Katie Ellen and Vic Cracknell. The result is a charming, laid-back folk-fest which is easy to work to.
Playlist of the Week (2018/47)
This week’s POTW comes from Bruce Forst, the person behind the artist Brusalan. There isn’t a lot of information available about Brusalan online, but what is there seems to suggest that he is trying to make music from ‘happy accidents’, making music experimentally and choosing the parts that turn out to be pleasing to his ears.
The playlist is ‘what it says on the tin’!
Playlist of the Week (2018/46)
This week’s POTW is another from the Filtersweep Collective stable, Jamie Christie’s Filtersweep Collective – Stay Clean 2018. I’ve previously introduced you to Jamie in July, when I covered his easy listening/AOR playlist geared up for lazy weekend mornings.
This playlist is a mix of genres tending towards a slightly dark flavour, anchored by the synth-tronica of JJ Christie himself and other indie and synthy artists like Resonanz Kreis and War Syntaire. It’s not all about the synths, though: there’s a good balance of guitar-orientated music in the selection. It also has its lighter moments, such as Robert Maitland’s optimistic song All is Well, and the beautiful cinematic piano piece The Song Without a Name from Merlijn Depré.
All in all it’s a really nice showcase of a variety of independent music – I don’t think there’s a single track in this collection by a mainstream artist.
Rating: “PG” – This playlist mostly avoids songs with the ‘explicit’ label for swearing or adult themes, as the title of the list might suggest, but there are a couple of exceptions with the odd stronger word.