Chemise – She Can’t Love You
This song feels so minimal and spacious. Every instrument, every stab is placed in the most perfect place. At times it feels haphazard. So punk. And at times so intentional. But the truth is that it makes me feel so good that I generally just listen and close my eyes and smile.
Letta Mbulu – Nomalizo
This track is so easy to listen to. Every few bars I feel like I hear a new element of instrumentation. And every time I hear it, it’s like the first time I have ever heard it. The structure is relaxed, but still it ramps up to an incredible climax of a chorus that wins.
Joan Armatrading – Is It Tomorrow Yet
Joan Armatrading is my favourite artist. Her melodies and vocal rhythms inspire me greatly as a singer. This track is poppy, but still holds on to her incredibly cool phrasing and her grooves that fall into each other so sweetly but aggressively.
Tracy Chapman – Behind the Wall
Tracy Chapman’s first record is genius. This record changed my life several times. As a young kid growing up in Ohio, as a teenager learning about the power of music as activism, she taught me as an aspiring musician, and as an adult learning how to cope with the depressing reality of our times. This song is a compelling activist chant that took a huge chance as an a capella and succeeded brilliantly. There is no way you can listen to this and not realise how important music can be to a revolution.
Sonya Spence – Let Love Flow on
I love this song and put it on nearly every mix that I am asked to make. The horns make me feel like I want to dance alone in my apartment and the sentiment of the song is so very beautiful to me. I love the idea that love is fluid and how free it can feel to be in love.
