Mixtape #170

Belgium-born, Berlin-based composer, singer-songwriter, and producer Manu Louis is a multifaceted musician, with a unique ability to mix diverse musical elements and genres, from jazz, art pop and electronic music to punk and chanson française. Louis is as comfortable performing everything from completely acoustic solo shows to large-scale performances, often incorporating video projections and even dancing. With several albums and singles under his name, and more than 500 live performances across Europe and Asia, he has built a reputation for his energetic and unpredictable shows. We’re excited to have Louis curate this month’s mixtape, and here’s a few words from him about it:

“In 2008, after the subprime crisis, when Germany asked Greece to pay its debts and refused to help, Jean-Luc Godard said that the cultural debt we owe to Greece is incalculable. If you consider the value of life outside the market, it is hard to disagree with Godard, and the German claim should logically have failed.

When I was asked to make a mix based on the music that influenced me, I turned the question directly to myself: what music should I save more than any other? In Godard's terms, to whom do I owe the greatest musical debt?

The cultural debt we owe to Black music is incalculable. Where would music be today without hip-hop, blues, Detroit techno, Chicago house, funk, soul, jazz, dub, reggae, to name but a few? To me, no music of the 20th century ran deeper than jazz. As much as I admire certain 20th-century European composers, songwriters, or eclectic outsiders, nothing comes close.
There are several reasons for this. One that has always fascinated me is how, unlike the avant-garde in classical music, the avant-garde in jazz evolved with the community and not only with decisions made by an individual genius in his room. This is exactly where, to me, classical music lost track, and jazz or many different Black music genres have been constantly rebirthing.

So this mix will be about jazz. The adventurous and the historical (mostly from bebop to free). But it's not a compilation of my top 12 favorite tracks. I’ve chosen 100 tracks and crafted this mix live, in the moment, as a performance. If I create another mix tomorrow, it will be completely different. So, there’s no Coltrane, no Monk, no Duke—not because they aren’t central but simply because they didn’t emerge during this particular moment.”

  1. Ornette Coleman – Unknown Artist [Portrait]
  2. Dizzy Gillespie – Bebop [Telarc]
  3. Eric Dolphy – Hat and Beard [Blue Note]
  4. Charlie Christian with Benny Goodman – Till Tom Special [Universe]
  5. Charles Mingus – Music for “Todo Modo” [Rhino Atlantic]
  6. Cannonball Adderley – Autumn Leaves [Universe]
  7. Charlie Parker – Kim [BDMUSIC]
  8. Sun Ra – Saturn [Strut]
  9. Robert Wyatt – Strange Fruit [Domino Records]
  10. Miles Davis – Concierto de Aranjuez [Columbia / Legacy]
  11. Nala Sinephro – Continuum 6 [Warp]
  12. Archie Shepp – Blasé [Charly Records]
  13. Cecil Taylor – Abyss [Black Sun Music]
  14. Steve Lacy – Troubles [Black Saint]
  15. Anthony Braxton Creative Orchestra – 22-M (Opus 58) [Arista / Legacy]
  16. Ornette Coleman – Happy Hour [Legacy]
  17. Eric Dolphy – Better Git Hit In Your Soul // On Green Dolphin Street [Not Now Music]

Mixtape #151


Hailing from Kuopio, Finland, Aki Rissanen is one of the most talented and creative artists of his generation. An accomplished pianist, composer and keyboardist, his solo and trio albums have earned him global recognition, along with membership and collaborations with various bands and projects. Originally classically trained, he cultivated his passion for jazz and improvised music later studying in Paris, Cologne and New York. Rissanen rightfully brings his technical abilities and sensibilities to the fore on the recently released Hyperreal, a powerful, beautiful and engaging album filled with virtuosity. We’re stoked to have him put together this month’s sublime mixtape, encapsulating the influences at play in his own music.

  1. Art Tatum – Taboo [Clef Records]
  2. Atomic – Boom Boom [Jazzland Recordings]
  3. Arve Henriksen – Bird’s-Eye View [Rune Grammofon]
  4. Bill Evans Trio – Gloria’s Step (Take 2) [Riverside Records]
  5. Serge Gainsbourg – Requiem pour un con [Philips]
  6. Artemis Quartet – Prestissimo (Ligeti’s String Quartet n.1) [Westdeutscher Rundfunk / Ars Musici]
  7. Ahmad Jamal – But Not For me [Parrot]
  8. Louis Sclavis – Maputo [Premonition Records]
  9. Brad Mehldau Trio – Knives Out [Nonesuch]
  10. Alfons & Aloys Kontarsky – Bewegung (Ligeti’s 3 pieces for 2 pianos)
  11. Miles Davis – Directions (Live at Filmore West) [Rock Melon Music LTD]
  12. Bill Frisell & Fred Hersch – It Might As Well Be Spring [Nonesuch]
  13. A Camp – The Crowning [Reveal Records / Nettwerk]

Mixtape #131

Orions Belte are a real treat. Playful, breezy and driving in equal measures, their music is fun as hell and instantly stood out to us. Earlier this year, the Norwegian trio of Øyvind Blomstrøm, Chris Holm and Kim Åge Furuhaug released their second album, Villa Amorini, an impeccable eleven track LP that feels fresh and infectious, drawing influences from disparate genres, with groove elements lurking beneath it all. We're thrilled to unveil the superb mixtape they put together for us, mirroring their array of influences. Not bound to a specific genre, their mix is a gift that keeps on giving. Press play and enjoy!

  1. Jim Sullivan – U.F.O [Monnie / Light In The Attic]
  2. Nas – Moments [Mass Appeal]
  3. Knxwledge – Koldjawn
  4. Sven Wunder – Natura Morta [Piano Piano/  Mr Bongo]
  5. U. Srinivas – Malai Pozudinile [Globe Style]
  6. Ryuichi Sakamoto – riot in Lagos [Alfa Music, Inc]
  7. Sonny Sharrock – Blind Willie [Enemy Records]
  8. Miles Davis – Maiysha [Columbia / CBS]
  9. Flukten – Pave Toten Totten [Odin]
  10. Mamman Sani – Kobon Lerai [Sahel Sounds]
  11. Mike Cooper – White Shadows [Room40 / Sacred Summits]
  12. The Shadows – Wonderful Land [EMI]
  13. The Electric Prunes – General Confessional [Reprise Records]
  14. Alessandro Alessandroni – Rocking Moon [Stella Records]

Mixtape #114

Exhibiting a fluid mastery of the dhol, talented and acclaimed Indian-American composer and drummer Sunny Jain is involved in a range of diverse musical projects that dip into the soundtracks of Bollywood classics and spaghetti westerns, jazz, Indian folk, hip-hop, surf rock and many other genres. Brought up in New York as the child of Punjabi immigrants, his music is rooted in Indian traditions and culture. A renowned and unique performer, with numerous accolades under his belt, Jain is best known as the founder and bandleader of 8-piece Bhangra party band Red Baraat. He released his phenomenal album Wild Wild East last February, a personal record that brings to the table his skills and unique palette of influences and identities, celebrating immigrant and diaspora experiences. We’re ecstatic that he put together this amazing genre-spanning mix for us.

“Here’s a short mix of songs that I’ve grown up, have influenced me and that I still love to this day. Coltrane to Squarepusher, Zakir Hussain to Rush and a Bollywood classic from 1951, plus more.”

  1. Zakir Hussain – Making Music [ECM Records]
  2. Rush – Losing It [Mercury]
  3. Fishbone – Freddie’s Dead [Columbia]
  4. Miles Davis – Ah-Leu-Cha [Columbia]
  5. John McLaughlin – Mother Tongues [JMT Productions]
  6. Primus – Tommy the Cat [Interscope]
  7. Talvin Singh – Butterfly [Island Records]
  8. Mukesh – Awaara Hoon [Odeon]
  9. Radiohead – Knives Out [Parlophone / Capitol Records]
  10. Squarepusher – Beep Street [Warp]
  11. Nitin Sawhney – River Pulse (Rain Mix) [Outcaste Records / PIAS]
  12. Genesis – The Lady Lies [Charisma / Atlantic]
  13. John Coltrane – Resolution [Impulse!]

Mixtape #104

Maurice Louca, as a solo artist as well as with his numerous and adventurous collaborations, had conquered our ears a long time ago. A stalwart at the forefront of Egypt´s flourishing experimental music scene, Louca is an incredibly talented and prolific composer and producer. Earlier this year he released Elephantine, his magnificent new album, and we simply can´t put it down. So we´re beyond excited he accepted to helm this month´s mixtape! Here's his gem-filled mix that will stimulate and delight your ears!

  1. Albert Ayler – Goin’ Home [Black Lion Records]
  2. Sunil Ganguly – Chupke Chupke Raat Din Aanso
  3. Alexandre St-Onge – Joseph Carey Merrick (Part Two) [Oral]
  4. Jerusalem In My Heart –  Thahab Mish Roujou Thahab [Constellation]
  5. Sote – Breadth Digit (Glass Lung) [Sub Rosa]
  6. Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra – Other Planes Of There (excerpt) [El Saturn Records‎]
  7. Daphne Oram – Pulse Persephone
  8. Umm Kulthum – Ghana El Rabea (excerpt)
  9. Don Ayler – Prophet John (excerpt) [Revenant‎]
  10. Miles Davis – Live Electric and Brutal @Berlin 1973 (Excerpt)
  11. Albert Ayler – Our Prayer [Impulse!]

Mixtape #93

Based in Brussels, the mysteriously masked quartet that is Why The Eye? craft themselves unconventional instruments out of apparently random objects, then use them to perform their music. And what music! A trance inducing combination of relentless polyrhythmic grooves, frenetic analogue glitches and distorted squeals, the band's eponymous first album which came out last year immediately turned us into avid fans. So in a bid to uncover what inspires this tribal and celebratory feel, we had Why The Eye? summon this month's mixtape and out of thin air, here it is!

  1. The Residents – The moles are coming [Ralph Records]
  2. Erika Sulzmann (1959) – Percussions and vocals from Maï Ndombe Lake (Congo)
  3. Plasticman – Kriket [NovaMute]
  4. Esplendor Geométrico – Es Inaudito [Linea Alternativa / Geometrik]
  5. Francis Bebey – Di Saegi [Born Bad Records]
  6. Aphex Twin – Fz Pseudotimestretch+e+3 [Warp]
  7. Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention – Help i’m a Rock [Verve Records]
  8. Badawi – Dance of the Centipedes [Reachout International Records]
  9. Gede Manik – Bereta Yuda [Disjuncta]
  10. Miles Davis – Rated-X [Columbia / CBS]
  11. James Brown – Since You’ve Been Gone [Polydor]
  12. T.K. Ramamoorthy – Rasikapriya [The Gramophone Company Of India Ltd. / EM Records]
  13. The Junkman (Donald Knaack) – Abracadabra
  14. Liquid Liquid – Cavern [99 Records]