WARMER MIXTAPES #356 | by Suren Seneviratne [My Panda Shall Fly]

I have selected below some amazing, soulful and irresistable music from the decades. Hope you enjoy.
Photo by Joseph Tovey Frost.

1. D. Train | You're The One For Me
This song is just incredible. Such genius of songwriting, every part of this song must be so fun to play. The extended mix is also such gold. Even normally the song is so long but I couldn't imagine getting bored of it. It isn't repetitive or boring, it keeps the mad groove all the way throughout. Just imagine being in this band playing this song live during the height of their careers in the 80s! Fun fun fun.

2. Michael Jackson | Ben
A song which I thought MJ sang about his pet monkey - but just now discovered that it wasn't written by him nor did his monkey go by the name of Ben. It is still such a nice song, and Michael has such a brilliant voice at such a young age. My girlfriend doesn't like this song but I listen to it anyway (on headphones).

3. Shanks & Bigfoot | Sweet Like Chocolate
I think this was probably the track that really blew UK Garage into the mainstream for me. I must have been in my earliest of teens, with curtains on my hair, spots on my face, GCSE's round the corner but always a 2-step groove on my mind. I was all over it. It's the genre that really got me into what I am doing today. Although I was too young to be enjoying this type of music whilst clubbing it was still the soundtrack to everyone's summer for a very long time. This song topped the British chart at #1 and was there for what felt like weeeeks. The video was also quite funny and is a great timestamp of the CGI of that time.

4. Grovesnor | Nitemoves
I love this track. I think this guy used to be in Hot Chip or something. But this song has everything = such good singing, tastefully auto-tuned, gentle Rhodes piano intro which drops into the juiciest drum machine double-tempo dance fun. Although it is just another love song (of which there are currently 45,863,566,931 in the world) it is still a classic. He is good.

5. Phil Collins | In The Air Tonight
Although this has always been a favourite of mine, I heard this on the radio while I was downstairs washing some dishes and it sounded so damn good. The intro is suprisingly long, especially for a song so often overplayed on commercial radio but it is such a dream. The most subtle drums plink and plonk alongside a smooth string section which all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the hugest, loudest power rock drums blast in and you just cannot resist pretending to sing along or playing the air drums along with it. I do both. Win.

6. Jim Moray | Fanny Blair
Wow. I actually don't know how I stumbled across this a few years ago but it is so beautiful, it just grabs you right from the moment you hear him take his first breath before he renders, for me, one of the best folk songs you could ever ever hear. What is so satisfying is hearing him sing his first line acapella and then accompanied by some sort of weird instrument, which goes into a tale of some girl talking about some other guy. And when you think it cannot get any better it ends with a strange xylophone part that is so out-of-tune but somehow works really well, and it also has strange wind noises in the background. It is too good. I have it on repeat.

7. Cesária Évora | Angola (Carl Craig Mix)
This song is a beast. I was recommended it by my engineer Asier. It's just ridiculous how Carl Craig - the legend that he is - literally transforms the original into such a groovin', mad funky, dope-ass, unforgettable, hypnotizing dancefloor rhythm. At around 8 minutes, it's something that really must be heard in a club, which I unfortunately haven't had the pleasure of experiencing (yet). A light intro backed with crisp claps turns into a techno frenzy of poly-rhythmic chaos and sonic pandemonium. If you haven't heard this before JUST WAIT FOR THE SYNTH LINE. I heard that people literally went crazy after hearing this, and ran away.

8. Mr. Fingers | Can You Feel It?
It's something I love... Always quite a classic sound... It's one or two simple chords over a big fat juicy bassline... And it has those truly authentic 909 ride cymbals going on which I can never say no to... Especially in this track. It is such classic House music; with it's repeating vocal samples, catchy synth riffs and deep snare action etc. I've been getting a hold of a lot of classic Chicago and Acid House recently and plan on doing some epic two hour sets or something real soon, and this anthem will no doubt feature during peak time.

9. Jazeboo | Acapulco
A while back I used to fall asleep to a playlist of random chill out music I found on YouTube - in the hope of having really nice dreams. And no matter what time I would randomly wake up at night (to urinate) chances are that this song would be somehow playing at that time. I don't even think I've fully listened to it to the end, just that opening piano melody line does it for me. It's also one of those chill out tracks that isn't actually slow or soft or just crap at all. It's a wonderful tune you can tap along to, asleep or awake. I am going to listen to this tonight as I sleep.

10. Shpongle | Divine Moments Of Truth
This is one hell of a track. To begin with, it starts with the most random mixture of ambience, heavily reverbed bird calls, scary male vocals and backwards singing and slowly but surely morphs and evolves into a living, breathing, panting creature - howling, whistling and crying - moaning out the most beautiful palette of sounds you could ever hear in the same song EVER. A few minutes in and you remember nothing of the begining but are thrown into a world of sonic fury, changing time-signatures, FX toggling, chanting, meditative marimba, robot voice and tribal scat. My friend also pointed out that the title abbreviates into DMT - which I have been told to take as you are listening to this for ultimate multi-sensory pleasure. Recommended.