Crappy dreams count
With music by Moin, Eartheater, and Klein
Listen to this week’s playlist here, or check out the complete Life of Surprises mega-playlist here.
01. Laura Groves, “Dream Story”
02. Jockstrap, “Acid”
03. Plone, “Plock”
04. Metronomy, “Love Song for Dog”
05. Kate NV, “Not Not Not”
06. Virginia Wing, “I’m Holding Out for Something”
07. Suzanne Kraft, “Waiting”
08. Moin, “Crappy Dreams Count”
09. Eartheater, “Airborne Ashes”
10. Klein, “No More Shubz”
01. Laura Groves, “Dream Story”
I went into making this playlist yesterday thinking I’d probably just put wall-to-wall dance music in, but finished with an almost entirely indie selection instead – maybe it’s because clubs are still a little while off reopening here. So kicking this off is Laura Groves, a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music I’ve loved for years. She released her most recent EP in December, but the song I’ve included here, “Dream Story”, actually dates back to 2015, and is a tune I’ve returned to a lot since then. It features co-production from Bullion, who was previously heard working with Joviale in Life of Surprises #1. (buy here)
02. Jockstrap, “Acid”
(buy here)
03. Plone, “Plock”
Plone were part of a wave of retro-futuristic synth groups that emerged in the latter half of the 90s. I think I first heard them when Gus from Kero Kero Bonito/Kane West posted about them on Twitter a few years ago. Their whole vibe seems pretty kitschy and nostalgic and childlike on the surface, but there’s a lot of melodic and emotional complexity once you dig a little deeper (they used to call their more disquieting tunes “spider instrumentals” which I guess hints that there’s something a little darker going on). Until now I thought that Plone only did one album (For Beginner Piano, released by Warp in 1999) but I just found out they actually put out a follow-up last year which I’ll have to check out. (buy here)
04. Metronomy, “Love Song for Dog”
This is from 2005, back when Metronomy was mostly just Joe Mount doing instrumental music on his computer. Metronomy’s stuff got less weird and jazzy as they became a pop band, but I think you can hear some ideas here that they’d carry through in future. (buy here)
05. Kate NV, “Not Not Not”
(buy here)
06. Virginia Wing, “I’m Holding Out for Something”
(buy here)
07. Suzanne Kraft, “Waiting”
Suzanne Kraft (real name Diego Herrera) started out releasing Tiger & Woods-esque disco/house tracks about a decade ago, but he’s changed up his style a lot since then, even if you can still find him DJing at dance music festivals today. In the past few years he’s released a few ambient and new age records (which I’m sure are very good if you’re into that sort of thing, but I can only muster so much enthusiasm for ambient), but his latest album About You tacks towards guitar music, with this lush shoegaze cut “Waiting” sitting alongside a bunch of straight-up indie-pop songs. (buy here)
08. Moin, “Crappy Dreams Count”
This is another case of an electronic group doing more rocky stuff. Moin is a collaboration between experimental duo Raime and the prolific percussionist Valentina Magaletti (who’s also one half of Tomaga, previously heard in Life of Surprises #1). “Crappy Dreams Count” is a fun, spiky tune from their debut album, which is out on AD93 in a few weeks. (buy here)
09. Eartheater, “Airborne Ashes”
(buy here)
10. Klein, “No More Shubz”
A little lockdown song from South London’s Klein. Co-written/co-produced by Caroline Polachek, which I guess puts this one degree of separation away from Beyoncé. (buy here)