I’m having friends over for afternoon tea, for which I’m making six different cakes and a loaf. What tunes will make my bread rise, and my cakes fluffy and light?
The Doctor used to live in South Carolina, and found teatime to be of endless fascination to her American friends. They expected anyone with the slightest English accent (or Welsh, for that matter) to hear an inner clock chime at that hallowed hour, to down tools, produce a teapot, scones and blanket, and start chinking china.
I would love to supply a baking soundtrack to your loafing around – Buns N’ Roses? Bread Zeppelin? The Rolling Scones? Mumford and Buns? Even Pavlovarotti… But seriously, let’s start with Northern Ireland’s Malojian and his Communion Girls, a beautiful and light single, yet with a fast-enough tempo to keep the kneading going.
Next, take Norway’s Ane Brun and her song Directions, with its sonorous, sublime drum pattern and out-there solo riffs. Follow with BC Camplight’s You Should’ve Gone To School, for when you are treading new recipe ground.
On which note, how about preparing some wonderfully named singing hinnies from Tyneside? These are small, flat treats, not dissimilar to Welsh cakes, and named after the sizzling sound they make while cooking. And sizzling is how you could describe Brazil’s Flavia Coelho. Her single O Dom is an uptempo mix of Caribbean, Latin and hip hop, and sure to make those hot kitchen working hours fly by.
When it’s time to sit back and wait for your treats to cool, it’s over to Kyle (son of Clint) Eastwood’s album Time Pieces, for its understated piano and sweet-as-honey basslines. Bon appétit.
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