Over the past months, I’ve commiserated with people who share the sentiment that it feels like we are stuck in the endless 2020 version of the Groundhog Day loop; ala Bill Murray? The chats start with ‘how are you’ but then careen down the path of bonding through survivorship. Months ago, we were in that first phase, where we were all asking ourselves ‘what’s going on’ and ‘how long can this last?’ After the novelty wore off, fatigue and frustration started to set in. We all coped in our own way; my coping mechanism was/is binge-watching and passive-aggressively keeping up with friends via social media. You can only scroll so long before you see those dreaded words, “You’re all caught up!” And then after a while, that final phase, acceptance, and normalization sets in. And in this phase is where I suspect the good things are and will continue to happen.
One part of my journey towards acceptance has been for me to start expanding musically. I have been enjoying my rut of musical old reliables; the stuff you know will take you to that familiar place. There’s nothing wrong with the old stuff, I stand behind “they don’t make’em like they used to.” But I also know that there is great enjoyment in the discovery of that new good stuff.
I’m seeing and finding more playlists, and tuning into the live broadcasts of shows and DJ sets, and using the music services to follow the rabbit hole towards discovering stuff I wouldn’t regularly have noticed; mostly because it could be a while before I am able to get to record stores and live shows again.
Clearly, it’s working as this first playlist is the result of the expansion. Apparently, during the last month or two, California-based Moonchild caught my ear. I think I stumbled upon them from their older live sets for NPR and then the Brownswood Basement. Apparently, those sets struck me more than I realized as Moonchild’s Little Ghost album has been on regular rotation over the past months.
So starting with that track and just following the rabbit hole, here’s a playlist of UK and US Jazz and Soul. I particularly enjoy hearing how much this music has been influence by hip-hop, house, and drum and bass.
Enjoy!
This month’s playlist is below and if you are on Spotify, here’s the link.
Track | Artist | Title | Album | Release |
1 | Moonchild | Wise Women | Little Ghost | 2019 |
2 | Joomanji | Spread Too Thin | Manj | 2013 |
3 | Yasmin Lacey | I'll Never Stop Loving You | I'll Never Stop Loving You (single) | 2020 |
4 | Blue Lab Beats | Pineapple | Xover | 2017 |
5 | Vels Trio | Tenderness | Yellow Ochre | 2017 |
6 | Kamaal Williams | Hold On | Mr. Wu | 2020 |
7 | Ashley Henry | The Mighty (feat. Ben Marc) | Beautiful Vinyl Hunter | 2019 |
8 | Ruby Rushton | Yardley Suite | Yardley Suite | 2019 |
9 | Ezra Collective | Dark Side Riddim | Dark Side Riddim/Samuel L. Riddim (single) | 2020 |
10 | Tenderlonious | G-Flex | G Flex | 2020 |
11 | Joe Armon-Jones | Almost Went Too Far | Starting Today | 2018 |
12 | Nubya Garcia | The Message Continues | Source | 2020 |
13 | Moses Boyd | 2 Far Gone | Dark Matter | 2020 |
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