Mixtape #119


One of the most extraordinary contemporary musicians out there, the staggeringly talented Austrian percussionist and composer Manu Delago got us under his spell a while back. So much so that his two previous beguiling studio albums, Circadian and Parasol Peak, both made it to our Album Picks of the Year. Highly in demand, he has garnered wide acclaim in recent years performing and recording with an impressive list of artists, including Anoushka Shankar, Björk, Poppy Ackroyd, the London Symphony Orchestra, and many others. A pioneer of the handpan, Delago‘s technical ability and creativity knows no bounds. So we’re over the moon to have him curating this month’s mixtape with an utterly sublime selection of tracks.

  1. Daniel Thorne – From Inside, Looking Out [Erased Tapes]
  2. Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld – Never Were the Way She Was [Constellation]
  3. Douglas Dare – Wherever You Are [Erased Tapes]
  4. Khushi – From Me [Warner Records]
  5. KÁRYYN – Ever [Mute]
  6. 5K HD – 10/15 [fiveK Records]
  7. S. Carey – Rose Petals [Jagjaguwar]
  8. Sufjan Stevens – Fourth of July [Asthmatic Kitty]
  9. Soap&Skin – Italy [PIAS]
  10. Pablo Nouvelle feat. Norma Jean Martine – We Ain’t Dead Yet [Bakara Music / Armada]
  11. The Cinematic Orchestra – Time & Space [Ninja Tune / Domino]
  12. Nirvana – Where Did You Sleep Last Night [Blue Moon Records]

Mixtape #87

We're ecstatic to start September with a very special selection of tunes picked by the incredibly talented and imaginative multi-instrumentalist and composer Quinta. The Quick of The Heart, her second album, is one of the most exhilarating, enchanting and engaging albums we've heard in a long time. Quinta is also part of the experimental arts quartet Collectress and regularly lends her wizardry skills and inventiveness to other projects, collaborating with many renowned artists and composing for theatre, contemporary dance and circus. So, press play and indulge your ears.

  1. Emily Hall – mantra [Bedroom Community]
  2. Sufjan Stevens – All The Trees Of The Field Will Clap Their Hands [Sounds Familyre]
  3. Serafina Steer – The Valley [Static Caravan]
  4. John Adams – Shaker Loops: I. Shaking and Trembling [nonesuch]
  5. Albert Tétard & Daniel Barenboim & Luben Yordanoff & Claude Desurmont – Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps – 5. Louange à l’Eternité de Jésus [Deutsche Grammophon]
  6. Owen Pallett – E Is For Estranged [Secret City]
  7. Joan As Police Woman – Christobel [PIAS / Reveal Records]
  8. tUnE-yArDs – News [4AD]
  9. Scott Walker – Plastic Palace People [Philips]
  10. Baby Dee – Black But Comely [Drag City / Tin Angel Records]
  11. Errollyn Wallen – Photography: IV. Moderato Keep Very Rhythmic [NMC]
  12. Radiohead – Daydreaming [XL Recordings]

Watch Sufjan Stevens’ new video for ‘Year of the Tiger’

Sufjan Stevens - Year of the Tiger

It may be well be 13 years since Sufjan StevensEnjoy Your Rabbit came out but the album only just got its vinyl release for the first time last week. So it’s only fitting to celebrate it with a kaleidoscopic accompaniment for one of the album’s tracks. Stevens recruited director and animator Geoffrey Hoskinson to create a video for any of the tracks on the album and he picked the awesome ‘Year of the Tiger’. “I love how it is like a soft ballad juxtaposed with noisy glitchy interruptions and a big climax” said Hoskinson about the track. “It is these dynamics that really appeal to me”. Watch the video for ‘Year of the Tiger’ below.

Enjoy Your Rabbit is out via Asthmatic Kitty.