Do you know Snoop Dogg’s latest album Bible Of Love currently holds the #1 spot on the Billboard Gospel Album charts? I promise this is not an April fools joke. From gangsta rap, making porn and even forming his own youth football league, Snoop never ceases to reinvent himself. Don’t worry, I will not subject you to the gospel by Snoop 🙂

Here is my playlist to start April with. There is so much new music out there it has taken me weeks to curate this playlist. I hope you enjoy it. As always, Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube playlist links are included.

1. Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op 24: II – Ludwig van Beethoven
2. I’ll Fight for Your Life – The Drums
3. Come Meh Way – Sudan Archives
4. IDLU – Ezzyland w/ Raychel
5. Sinking Ship – Wild City
6. Magnolia – Lushlife
7. Thug Tears – JPEGMAFIA
8. Beautiful English – Rafiq Bhatia
9. I Wonder If I Take You Home – Meshell Ndegeocello
10. Losing You – Boy Pablo
11. Pissing Stars – Efrim Manuel Menuck

Playlists: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube

As spring is upon us (well in Bombay it feels like the depths of summer) I thought it would be nice to begin with Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major often known as the Spring Sonata. You are listening to the second movement, Adagio molto espressivo, which for me brings about a feeling of immense saudade. The gentle dialogue between the violin and piano always really moves me and has made this one of my favourite pieces of music. It is performed by the superb Chloe Hanslip (violin) and Danny Driver (piano).

I’ll Fight for Your Life is my favourite track off of The Drums 2017 release ‘Abysmal Thoughts.’ This is Jonny Pierce’s first record without Jacob Graham, his childhood friend and founding member of The Drums. I was amazed to learn that Jonny recorded the entire album in his bedroom. He composed the music and played all the instruments himself! While the lyrics are typical of Jonny, the arrangement is refreshingly more complex than his older songs.

Come Meh Way by Sudan Archives is groundbreaking by any standard. Sudan Archives composes, performs and produces her own music. If the Sudanese fiddle inspired violin riffs do not catch you off guard just wait till 1 minute 12 seconds into the song and you will understand why I am so obsessed with her. Absolutely exhilarating bassline that just makes you wish you were at the PS1 Warm Up in Queens.

Sidharth Ezhilan from Salem, Tamil Nadu produces music under the moniker Ezzyland and damn does he have raw talent. The song IDLU is a departure from his typical style as he has collaborated with Korean vocalist Raychel. In fact, the more I listen to Ezzyland’s music it is quite obvious that he doesn’t really have a style – every track of his is unique in its own way. More about Ezzyland in my next post.

Sinking Ship is a blissful acoustic ballad about love and life. While the verse brings about a feeling of foreboding, the chorus turns it around when Kelsey Wilson breathily sings that even if its cold in the water she is better for it. Towards the end of the song it sounds like Wild Child are actually playing underwater! Amazing use of the studio to bring out the meaning of the song.

I discovered Magnolia when I read that critically acclaimed hip hop artist Raj Haldar aka Lushlife was coming to Bombay this week. Born and raised in Philly to Bengali parents, Lushlife wrote many of his early rhymes sitting in Calcutta. However, unless you see him live you would never guess that he is Bengali. In his latest album The Skull Eclipses he has a rejuvenated sound that is piercingly original. More on Lushlife next week.

JPEGMAFIA’s raucous rap Thug Tears is as experimental as it comes and I cannot get enough of it. While this track may sound discordant at first, it takes a few listens to really appreciate the genius behind the glitch heavy synths, thick basslines and angry lyrics. Stay with it for sometime and you will get what I mean.

Rafiq Bhatia creates the most harmonically rich soundscape with his instrumental piece Breaking English. Rafiq’s influences range from hip hop artists to Jimi Hendrix and you can just hear the confluence of ideas in his music. In his own words: “A lot of my approach to the guitar has been making it into something it’s not.”

I Wonder If I Take You Home could be a tribute to Prince but its so much more. Meshell Ndegeocello’s website describes her latest album Ventriloquism as lush and investigative, subversive and sublime – I cannot phrase it better. The crisp guitar, tight synths, excellent sampling and Meshell’s husky voice creates a resonant musical style which just screams to be listened to.

The latest song by Norwegian indie rockers Boy Pablo is catchy to say the least but it’s the duplicity of the song that makes it so appealing. The achingly sad lyrics are about a relationship going sour but the music transports me to an 80s yacht party – complete with funky clothes and disco era dance moves. This sort of makes Losing You a song for anytime and anyplace. I love it.

Efrim Manuel Menuck’s latest album released in February titled Pissing Stars is sculpted upon the improbable romance between Mary Hart (a beautiful TV presenter) and Mohammed Khashoggi (son of a Saudi arms dealer). He never even knew the couple! Again, I promise this is not a joke. Whatever his inspiration, the last song on this album also titled Pissing Stars features a simple guitar melody with Efrim’s haunting, effect laden voice which is then layered with effects that simulate a feeling of atmospheric euphoria. The song builds into a shrill crescendo of beautiful noise that just captivates me every time I listen to it.

And thats all for now. Happy listening!

Playlists: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube