March Music Faves
March has been busy busy in terms of trying to balance (A) preparing for a gig in April, (B) projects at work, (C) trying to create content this blog, and (D) planning out my Italy trip—so I haven't really gotten the opportunity to actively seek out new music or watch new performances on YouTube. Luckily a few of my Discover Weekly recommendations have been absolutely on.point. this month. Thanks Spotify—you've been so good to me this month!
3.
You will hear lot of appearances by muted trumpets in this playlist. More generally, this month's playlist comprises of songs that I'm actively practicing for an April gig at PianoFight, songs recommended by Discover Weekly, and a high school throwback, courtesy of BoA :)
listen
I Wish You Love
Ann Sally
Pure guitarispiration. Discover Weekly you've done it again. This is one of those super-easy-to-listen-to songs that helped calm and destress me in March.
Alright
Jordan Rakei
Ugh, the piano solo in this is everything. This song also has the tendency to stay in my head for hours and hours after just one listen.
Monsieur
Stella Jang, Pleyn
Upon my first listen, it took me a while to realize that this was K-pop. She has a very interesting Indie-accent that she not only applied to singing in English, but singing in Korean as well—which I've never heard before. Definitely very unique. Let's also talk about the call and response between the trumpet and the guitar... so yummy!
Chamallow
Ben Mauzé
While we're still in the French state of mind: this pick is a French indie-alternative tune introduced to me by a teammate (thanks Emma!). At work we've been trying out this Spotify app called JQBX, where you and your friends can listen to a playlist at the same time, and you take turns becoming the "DJ" by playing your song contributions. So if you saw on your Spotify friends feed that I was listening to a few songs out of my normal genres and was confused (i.e. EDM)... that was my coworkers forcing me to :P
Let Love Grow
Eva Celia
Clearly this woman knows how to control her voice very well. The chords are not super easy to follow and the melody also takes a while to get used to. In addition to the vocalist, there's a section in the song (at around the 2:50 mark) where the guitar riff transforms into the trumpet solo seamlessly with the trumpet finishing up the scale that the guitar started. The trumpet and guitar are also mixed to have similar timbres to make that transition even more bizarre! Such genius.
Movie
Tom Misch
This song always gets stuck in my head after I listen to it. I love the dramatic intro with the actress speaking in the transatlantic accent. What the piano is playing from 4:20-5:00 is so damn pretty I die every time. Also I love the outro's lyrics (rhyming is so exact there), and the violins' tremolos which help juxtapose this song's modern instrumentation with an orchestral old black-and-white movie vibe.
Baby I'm a fool (Live in London)
Melody Gardot
This is one of the songs I'm doing for the gig that works really well with just guitar and vocals. I love this version in particular because of how she changes up the melody slightly in the intro and makes up for the lack of the orchestra. This is one of those songs that is so calming that it will no doubt help you fall asleep at night—and probably shouldn't listen to as you're driving.
Voyager
Stella Jang, Pleyn
After listening to "Monsieur" as suggested by Discover Weekly, I decided to discover more music from this Stella Jang + Pleyn duo and found this gem.
Dindi
Cyrille Aimee, Diego Figueiredo
Another song I'm doing for the gig. I love this version because Cyrille Aimee's scatting is always fun to listen to.
pretty little birds
SZA, Isaiah Rashad
I'm normally not a big fan of rap music that has the "Explicit" tag next to them, but this one was actually very unique. I love the addition of the muted trumpet (on second though, add a muted trumpet to any song and I'll love it). SZA has been really popular amongst my coworkers and friends these days, but I have to say that her best songs are those in the middle/end of the album that not too many people know about :)
BabyBaby
Suran
More muted trumpets and cool guitar fills in this one! There's something about adding classic jazz elements to a modern electronic instrumentation that makes the song sound trippy and interesting. Suran's songs are all super upbeat and catchy, and this one is no exception. Her voice is a little reminiscent of Amy Winehouse, which is probably another reason why I enjoy listening to her.
song with no name
~名前のない歌~
BoA
I recently discovered that BoA's entire Japanese discography is up on Spotify and now I've been obsessively listening to her music from the 2000s and reliving my elementary/middle/high school days through them. Although her songs are really pop-y and simple, they're not repetitive or on the subject of sex like a lot of American pop songs are—which is why the middle school me loved them so much, and why I still do! This song in particular is really simple in terms of instrumentation, and really allows her voice to shine without much going on in the background. The acoustic guitar and cello combination is extremely beautiful. I also am so incredibly in love with the lyrics after I saw the translation. They don't just describe a romantic kind of love, but a love you can feel towards a friend, or just someone you're missing.
I love these songs to death and listened to them an unhealthy amount this month. Which songs did you obsess over this month?
♥ Cindy