February 2016 Playlist

Phone Case || Skinny Dip
Headphones || Accessorize 

Just a quick share with you what I'm playing too much of this month. Nice little mix of old & new. Enjoy.

1|| Rihanna - Work

Considering it has been SO long since Rihanna released her last album, not gonna lie, I expected a better album. But this is a banger...

2|| Flume - Smoke & Retribution

3|| Beyonce - Formation

Obviously. Ummm Superbowl Halftime...you best have all watched that at least a couple times

4|| Lion Babe - Treat me Like Fire

Probably my favourite track from her album, 'Begin', that she dropped this month. 'Impossible' comes a close second.

5|| Lapalux - Puzzle

6|| Raleigh Ritchie - Bloodsport

7|| J Cole - She Knows

8|| Aquilo - Human (Marian Hill Remix)

9|| Zayn - Pillow Talk

I'm not going to justify this. I am just going to put it out there. Deal with it.

And yes, I have done a cover of this that will go up soon.

10|| Orla Gartland - Whispers

I had the pleasure of watching this Irish babe play live at the #CerealSessions thanks to www.gnothingness.com (Who I also write for). Definitely check her out, crazy talented and so much fun! 

Happy Listening!

Much Love,

Chloë XO

Finally - Album No.5

Firstly, I am going to apologise. SORRY SORRY SORRY.
This post is way beyond late, my bad.

So I'll just get down to it and not ramble...
This is the last album in my top 5 albums of last year. I probably didn't even really need to bother with this one, because it is a bit of an obvious one, but I keep my promises!
So enter, Royal Blood - Royal Blood. 

First observation, people seem to have given up on album titles. 'Just whack our name on it twice, it's cool, no one cares'. Well, that might get a bit confusing soon if you don't start naming your albums!

Anyway... Royal Blood are kind of 'one in a million' in the music world. They formed in 2013 and broke into the charts in 2014. What? Every musician reading this is now dying a bit inside. Does it make it hurt less if I say they definitely filled a little empty hole in the charts that needed filling with 'non-commercial' garbage? A bit...
They are a British two piece band, made up of a bass player/singer, Mike Kerr and a drummer, Ben Thatcher. Let that sink in for a second. That sound, with no lead guitar AT ALL. Just the two of them. Yeah.
Apart from being pretty tight with Arctic Monkey's, their success is definitely down to how ridiculously talented the two of them are, even Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin's guitarist said so, quoting Wikipedia (I know, Harvard Referencing wouldn't approve...) "I went to hear them in New York. They were fantastic. Absolutely riveting, they're such fine musicians.Their album has taken the genre up a serious few notches. It's so refreshing to hear, because they play with the spirit of the things that have preceded them, but you can hear they're going to take rock into a new realm – if they're not already doing that. It's music of tremendous quality."

I very highly doubt you have managed to get through last year without hearing at least one of their songs on the radio, but just incase, here is 'Out of the Black'. Enjoy the heavily distorted bass, clever lyrics and genius musicality...

I'll leave you with that, as not much more needs to be said!

Much Love,

Chloë

XO

Number 4. Black Messiah.

Last week something amazing happened.

Every muso was made very happy, and every one at my uni did a little happy dance. For one reason and one reason only.

The king returned. 

D'Angelo dropped his new album, 'Black Messiah' on 16 December and I have honesty never seen my facebook feed completely full of people from uni going absolutely nuts over an album. I've had to make the decision to drop another album from my top 5 to make room for this one. Which may come back to bite me, but...D'Angelo!!

The album speaks for itself, get onto spotify, YouTube or pop into HMV if you're old school, PURCHASE, not download and whack it on. It's full of the soulful, groove heavy, funk you would expect from D'Angelo. He hasn't tried to go down a new route to fit in, he has shown the world that great music is always great music, it doesn't need to be messed with.
I am personally, so happy he has done this his own way and not tried to bring in new elements of the current trends. A D'Angelo track is timeless, classy and not one thing gets overlooked.
14 years, it has taken him to release a new album since 'Voodoo', he hasn't been completely quiet though, working on features with other artists, a sneaky leaked track and an arrest (naughty). To be honest, it didn't look like it was all going too well for him. In 2012 however, he bounced back with a European tour, which far from surprisingly was pretty much sold out within a day of each ticket release. 
Which led nicely into 12 December 2014, the day 'Black Messiah' was released. This album is not an ordinary album, it is a protest album, giving a voice and attention to the activists fighting against the 'minority deaths at the hands of cops' (See this extremely informative blog post by Yohana Desta, for more information about how deep the album truly is)

I've got to say though, does this guy not age?! Come on now, there's already a Will Smith and a Keanu Reeves in the world. What are these people eating?! I want some as it clearly makes you immortal!! I mean, we all remember THE D'Angelo video, right? (If not then, here you go. You're welcome.) It has been 8 years since that was released, and he honestly doesn't look all that different. That video has a lot to be held accountable for, it is a huge reason as to why D'Angelo dropped off everyone's radar, he didn't want to be seen as a sex symbol, which says a lot about his character and his true love for what he does. Well D, you have turned yourself into a potential legend, job well done I'd say!

And on that note, have a wonderful Sunday night!

Much Love,

Chloë X

Number 3 of my Top 5 Albums of 2014!

Right, so number 3!

I have to admit, I am kind of cheating with this one. I am not going to apologise though, and here is why...
My number three, was technically brought out in 2013, but a Live version of the album was released this year. I personally think this album is a huge step forward for Electronic Dance Music (EDM). There has always been the clubbing/rave side of EDM and the chilled out side, but this album meets somewhere in the middle, with just the right amount of ambient and epic, and who doesn't love a little bit of epic, honestly. As the live album shows, it also lends itself quite nicely to live instruments, which Electronic artists seem to be doing a lot recently; potentially something to do with the popular 'you're not a musician if you don't play a guitar' argument at the moment. My opinion? We are in the 21st century, does that mean pilots aren't pilots because they use cruise control?

Okay I have rambled a bit, so the album is......... The North Borders by Bonobo!

For any who don't know, I am a HUGE EDM lover. At the moment, the main focus for my own music, is doing vocals for EDM producers, hopefully being part of a duo. However, I also love playing with live musicians.
So, it is pretty safe to say that if Spotify counted how many times an album had been played, this one would be a ridiculously high number!


Bonobo is a British DJ/Producer from Brighton. His first release, Terrapin, was in 2000, so he has been around for a while; he hasn't just landed. His music is quite bass heavy, being EDM, but slightly more appealing to people who wouldn't necessarily usually listen to this kind of music, as it doesn't have as much of a prominent hard hitting constant bass drum on every beat.
The North Borders - Live Album also comes with a DVD of his tour; you can watch a little preview here. My jammy little bugger of a boyfriend actually worked on the bars at one of Bonobo’s nights in London a couple of weeks back; he isn't really a fan of EDM, but even he searched the album the second he got home. If you knew my boyfriend, you'd know how much that says about this album, he really isn't into this music at all... he likes to call it 'bang bang thump dance music', yeah, I know...

So, go listen!
Watch the DVD as well, Bonobo actually plays bass guitar live, which I think is awesome! Especially considering critics like to say producer/DJs can't actually play music... (I am doing my dissertation on this, touchy subject!!)
I suggest very good speakers or headphones!

Much Love,

Chloë

XO