Sweet smell of success
With music by Molly Nilsson, Two Shell, and Sworn Virgins
Listen to this week’s playlist here, or check out the complete Life of Surprises mega-playlist here.
01. Molly Nilsson, “Sweet Smell of Success”
02. Nilüfer Yanya, “Midnight Sun”
03. The Chaplin Band, “Madmen’s Discothèque (Part Three)”
04. Sworn Virgins, “The Male Man”
05. Kittin & The Hacker, “Ostbahnhof”
06. Joakim, “On the Beach”
07. Jenny Hval, “Year of Love”
08. Ethan P. Flynn, “Father of Nine”
09. TONE, “So I Can See You” (feat. Coby Sey)
10. Two Shell, “No Reply”
01. Molly Nilsson, “Sweet Smell of Success”
Listened to this on the train yesterday as the sun was setting, rolling along the Sussex coast under a purple sky. I believe they call this ‘main character syndrome’. (buy here)
02. Nilüfer Yanya, “Midnight Sun”
(buy here)
03. The Chaplin Band, “Madmen’s Discothèque (Part Three)”
If you listen to any European disco tracks on YouTube or Spotify then the Chaplin Band’s “Il Veliero” cover will probably turn up on auto-play eventually. “Madmen’s Discothèque” is one of the group’s older tunes, which I recently heard while revisiting Rub’N’Tug’s ace Campfire mix. There are a few versions of this track, with Parts One and Two featuring vocals that are insanely goofy even by Euro-disco standards. (buy here)
04. Sworn Virgins, “The Male Man”
(buy here)
05. Kittin & The Hacker, “Ostbahnhof”
Something I wasn’t expecting – Kittin and the Hacker are releasing a third album. Lead single “Ostbahnhof” doesn’t deviate massively from the formula they established back in the late 90s, but the fact that this still sounds cool decades later perhaps proves that we are living in a deeply uncool age right now. (buy here)
06. Joakim, “On the Beach”
Neil Young has pulled all his music from Spotify in his fight with the platform over COVID misinformation, so I can’t include the original “On the Beach” here. Instead I’ve gone with this bizarre cover by the French producer Joakim. If you want to listen to the Pono man’s version you’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way, the way he wants you to hear it – by illegally downloading it off Soulseek (2016 remaster, 24-bit FLAC, 96kHz). (buy here)
07. Jenny Hval, “Year of Love”
(buy here)
08. Ethan P. Flynn, “Father of Nine”
Ethan P. Flynn is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who’s worked with a broad range of people, from FKA twigs to David Byrne. I’ve found some of his solo stuff a little hit-and-miss in the past, but I’ve been enjoying his recent releases – I included his track “The Universal Deluge” in the 2021 round-up playlist. There’s a lot to like on “Father of Nine” (so long as you can get past the Paul Banks-ness of his voice), helped by a fun music video that’s basically the ending of The Sacrifice without the psychological devastation. (buy here)
09. TONE, “So I Can See You” (feat. Coby Sey)
(buy here)
10. Two Shell, “No Reply”
Two Shell have been getting some hype in the UK club scene lately with their new single “Home”, which was released on vinyl late last year but has just been given a digital release. “Home” is a pretty bonkers tune but I prefer the b-side “No Reply”, a Grade A belter that reminds me a lot of some of the stuff I’d hear at early PC Music nights around London, although here it’s in more of an obviously ravey context. (buy here)