We’re excited to present your Debop playlist! It was crafted based on your thoughtfully answered questionnaire, and I hope it acts as an entry point for some more meaningful music discovery.
In curating this playlist, we took into consideration the artists you’ve been loving, as well as your current state of mind - and from there, dove into selecting a range of tracks and artists we think you’ll love. We also noted your gravitation towards syncopated rhythm, with a particular focus on the genres/types of music you’re looking to explore. Our hope is that this playlist will act as a stepping stone and spark a curiosity in you to take an even deeper dive into these artists’ rich discographies and works. Under each song, you’ll also find links to the artists’ websites where you can purchase their music/merch - we always encourage directly supporting artists you love!
To encourage an optimal listening experience, I’d recommend:
Setting aside 40-50 minutes of “undistracted” time
Listening on headphones
Reading the liner notes as you go through the playlist
Enjoy!
Here is the full playlist, but you’ll find each track individually broken down with liner notes below.
Smoke & Mirrors - RJD2
When I read that you gravitate towards “Syncopated Rhythm,” I knew that I had to add this to your Debop. Ramble Jon Krohn (a.k.a. RJD2) is most famous for penning the Man Men theme, but his masterpiece is the 2002 debut LP Deadringer featuring this song. On “Smoke & Mirrors,” Krohn artfully weaves together obscure soul samples with his own masterful production, creating a haunting, propulsive mood that evokes classic DJ Shadow. While this cinematic album is technically instrumental hip-hop, it defies categorization and serves equally well for a work session, dance party, or just dinner.
more RJD2
2. Ki Lo - Mazoulew
Neo-classical curiosities lead to Mazoulew, whose anticipated 'Movements' shows the electronica producer/composer delving into the Neoclassical/Ambient space. The musical moniker of Matthew Zouhar Lewis, Mazoulew grew up in Hertfordshire, studied in London and recently relocated to Italy for a break from city life. Written and produced entirely by Mazoulew, genre-defying 'Movements' has been called his "most far reaching and ambitious work to date." Though he was named "One to Watch" by BBC Radio, Mazoulew has a remarkably unremarkable social media footprint, and his work speaks louder than his public presence - feeling like a best-kept-secret that should be protected. "Ki Lo" is the third installment of the 'Movements' EP, and was released alongside a super limited edition vinyl run (fans had to send him a DM to be individually added to the waiting list). "Ki Lo" gets the brain buzzing and body moving, with its unrelenting forward momentum and driving energy. It's sure to help move you through work at lightning-speed.
more Mazoulew
3. All Of The Time - Jungle
The British dance duo returned this year with their third studio album, Loving in Stereo - 40 minutes full of tasty hooks, danceable beats and just straight up positive vibes. Similar to artists like Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem, Jungle knows how to combine upbeat "party music" with feel-good, chill beats. "All of the Time" is yet another totally joyful and soulful hit from the duo.
more Jungle
4. Say Goodbye - Hiroshi Sato
Hiroshi Sato, an influential Japanese singer-songwriter/keyboardist in the 70s and 80s, was a master of jazz fusion and soft pop rock. Sato's style of music later fell into the "city pop" category, which also includes artists like Haroumi Hosono. "Say Goodbye" is layered with a variety of synths that all blend together so seamlessly, which make for an incredibly distinct and unique track that you can't help but groove to.
more Hiroshi Sato
5. My Little Japanese Cigarette Case - Spoon
AllMusic aptly calls Spoon “consistently inventive and inventively consistent,” and this track has everything that makes their music pop: taut hooks, sinister riffs, cryptic lyrics, and infectious melodies. Britt Daniel, lead singer, guitarist, and writer of the Austin-based band, only repeats three lines here, yet they’re dense and beguiling. When he sings “Let all my memories be gone,” is he lamenting a lost lover? A drug addiction? Wartime trauma? I’m still not sure, but I can’t stop listening. Given your love of the Strokes and Foo Fighters, you just may find yourself humming this 3-minute gem before it’s over.
more Spoon
6. Dayvan Cowboy - Boards of Canada
Since LCD Soundsystem is one of your favorite bands, I chose this track, which shares some trancelike qualities with James Murphy’s best work. But don’t just listen – watch the video here! It starts with a death-defying parachute jump from nearly 20 miles up (!) that Joe Kittinger took in 1960, then seamlessly segues to mesmerizing footage of big-wave surfing legend Laird Hamilton. As for the music, Boards of Canada actually hail from Scotland, and this song is the standout from their third LP, The Campfire Headphase. It’s my go-to album when I need to do deep work; the duo deftly balances the organic and electronic to create the perfect ambiance for focused motivation.
more Boards of Canada
7. Follow - Fangclub
Harkening back to your hard rock early loves (Linkin, Foo) - North Dublin natives Steven King, Kevin Keane and Dara Coleman are Fangclub, whose 2017 self-titled debut album was met with glowing reception and quickly locked in the band's slot as unmistakable heavy hitters. NME called Fanglub "a fully formed thrash pop monster; melodic, frenzied and phenomenal... Big Boys in the bomb bay." Since, Fangclub has delivered on the stage - supporting Pixies, Muse, Biffy Clyro, Bully, Twin Atlantic, The Cribs, Nothing But Thieves... the list goes on. Most recently, the band toured Europe with The Smashing Pumpkins, and in a major power move, flew home mid-tour to support Metallica and returned to close out their run with TSP. "Follow" comes from their 'Coma Happy' EP - a 4-track slam dunk, and a close second pick is "Hesitations," off their latest album, the chock-full-of-addictively-heavy anthems 'Vulture Culture'. Turn Fangclub to get your blood moving (or boiling... depending on your mood).
more Fangclub
8. Flesh without Blood - Grimes
"Flesh without Blood" is the lead single from Canadian singer/songwriter/producer, Grimes, 2015 album Art Angels. The energetic, firecracker instrumentation and syncopated rhythm throughout the song will not only give you that extra push you may need while animating, but it also doubles as a totally killer dance tune on its own.
more Grimes
9. Emerald Rush - Jon Hopkins
I wanted to include this track and artist to touch on neo-classical elements along with the more heavily syncopated rhythms you’re looking to explore. English IDM/Electronic producer and classically trained pianist Jon Hopkins released his fifth studio album Singularity in 2018 - an album meant to be listened to in one sitting, tapping into Hopkins’ experience with meditation and trance states. It features this immense, cosmically euphoric track ‘Emerald Rush,’ in which Hopkins beautifully layers delicate ambient background and vocals with a heavy, relentless rhythm that builds in intensity, or as he describes it, “waterfalls of polyrhythmic arpeggios with pure drops of piano, like rain.” If you’d like to hear Hopkins go back to neo-classical roots, I’d recommend checking out his recent release, Scene Suspended, which strips away the complex layering of Singularity and returns to a piano-violin simplicity.
more Jon Hopkins
10. Opus 28 (Silfur Version) - Dustin O’Halloran & Siggi String Quartet
Rounding out the playlist on a more tranquil, reflective note with Iceland-based American composer and pianist Dustin O’Halloran. Recorded while he spent the lockdown in Iceland, this year’s Silfur release is a retrospective of previous solo compositions - bookended with two new pieces - bringing new life and perspective through these new recordings (including gorgeous new string arrangements). His unique environment no doubt presented inspiration for the arrangements, but the crucial element seems to have been the passing of time as he re-visited his work; as he puts it, “There's a simplicity to the work and I think that I'm more comfortable with that. When I first started writing the pieces, I never felt… I'm working on the piano, but I didn't go to conservatoire - I don't feel like a pianist in the traditional way. But as I've gone through so much of my career and my work, I've sort of realised that there's a real beauty to that… If anything, I wanted to create even more space and give things, sometimes a slower touch or take out some notes, minimalise it a little bit more.”
