Mixtape #166


A prodigious young talent and one of the stalwarts of the Belgian jazz scene, Vitja Pauwels is one of the most distinctive, versatile and daring guitar players of his generation. Besides his membership and collaborations with the likes Naïma Joris, Bombataz, Warm Bad and Lara Rosseel, Pauwels’ remarkable body of work also includes two acclaimed solo records. Sprouted from a festival invitation, Pauwels put together his “dream” band under the name Early Life Forms, comprising Frederic Leroux, Casper Van De Velde and Laurens Dierickx, and also his hero Marc Ribot. Their one-off performance was recorded and released as a self-titled record last January, daringly walking a wire between jazz, latin, cuban, rock and improv with a touch of exoticism and cinematic explorations. Needless to say we're ecstatic to kick off the month with a rad mixtape put together by Pauwels. Press play already!

Audio Player
  1. Pascal Comelade – To The Last Imaginary Solutions [Because Music]
  2. Zanmari Baré – Mary Salangann [Cobalt]
  3. Latin Playboys – Ten Believers [Slash / Warner Bros. Records]
  4. PJ Harvey – On Battleship Hill [Island Records]
  5. Espen Reinertsen – Bjørnens Sang [SusannaSonata]
  6. Gustaf Ljunggren, Skúli Sverrisson – Vestegnsromantik [April Records]
  7. Morphine – Claire [Accurate Distortion]
  8. Lhasa De Sela – De Cara a la Pared [Tôt Ou Tard / Audiogram]
  9. Tom Waits – All Stripped Down [Island Records]
  10. Ali Farka Touré with Ry Cooder – Lasidan [Hannibal Records / World Circuit]
  11. Marvin Pontiac – Bring Me Rocks [Strange & Beautiful Music]
  12. Arto Lindsay – Complicity [For Life Records / Güt]
  13. Daniel Lanois – Iceland [Anti-]
  14. Alabaster Deplume – Visit Croatia [International Anthem / Total Refreshment Centre / Lost Map]
  15. Moondog – Bird’s Lament [Columbia Masterworks / CBS]
  16. Talk Talk – Myrrhman [Polydor / Verve]

Mixtape #107

London based German-Turkish composer and producer Alev Lenz got our full attention with her third album, 3, released last month. Incredibly creative, Alev regularly lends her talent to other projects, having composed for TV and film, and collaborated with many renowned artists, including Anoushka Shankar, Manu Delago, Roomful of Teeth and many more. This month we asked her to create a selection of her musical influences in the form of a playlist and we're pleased she obliged. Press play!

  1. Tori Amos – Siren [EastWest / Atlantic]
  2. Buffy Sainte-Marie – Little Wheel Spin and Spin [Vanguard]
  3. Manic Street Preachers – If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next [Epic]
  4. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Into My Arms [Mute]
  5. Shakespear’s Sister – Stay [London Records]
  6. Radiohead – Exit Music (For a Film) [Parlophone]
  7. Nina Harries – Icarus
  8. Björk – Army of Me [One Little Indian]
  9. Sezen Aksu – Şinanay [Fono Müzik]
  10. Genesis – Jesus He Knows Me [Virgin]
  11. Lhasa de Sela – Con Toda Palabra [Tôt Ou Tard / Audiogram]
  12. Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun [A&M Records]
  13. Alanis Morrisette ‎– Uninvited  [Warner Sunset Records / Reprise Records]
  14. Beyoncé – Freedom (Feat. Kendrick Lamar) [Columbia / Sony Music]