WARMER MIXTAPES #423 | by Kimbra Johnson [Kimbra]
1. Cornelius | Music
I feel instantly joyful whenever I hear this song or anything off this album (Sensuous) for that matter. Aside from the incredible production and clarity to this track, it evokes emotions of wonder and youth and I love way the way it builds from a simple guitar stab into a symphony of syncopated rhythms and walls of lush synths. The depth to this song has me discovering something new with each listen.
2. Silverchair | Across The Night
This song blew my mind the first time I heard it. It feels more like 6 or 7 individual songs meshed into one incredible masterpiece. The string arrangement by Van Dyke Parks is extraordinary (and has put him on my list of top people to work with) not to mention Daniel's incredible vocal melodies on this song. This album will always mean so much to me and take me back to teenage years growing up as a Daniel Johns fanatic. What I love most is the element of surprise all through this track, the way they throw you off with multiple chord changes and confusing movements that are just so perfect and satisfying at the same time. It is gold.
3. Sam Cooke & The Soul Stirrers | Come Let's Go Back To God
I only discovered Sam Cooke's gospel album more recently but I've always loved his voice. This song goes right to my core, it's so emotional and raw. The primitive sounding A Capella vocals of the Soul Stirrers mixed with Sam's heart wrenching voice soaring overtop really captures a deeply spiritual moment. It gets really heavy when he lets loose towards the end, this song quite literally takes me back to the true heart of God in my moments of distraction.
4. Mew | Snow Brigade
I am huge fan of Mew, they float in and out of pounding aggressive riffs then into floating childish melodies, and make it sound completely coherent. The production is huge and the emotion behind this song is even huger. I want to both punch my fist in the air and pick flowers in a fields when I hear this track, it's all nostalgic and forceful at the same time.
5. Minnie Ripperton | Only When I'm Dreaming
This lady's voice is so dreamy to listen to and takes me to a Disney-like world, the way she flies between octaves is of course delightful but the depth to the songwriting is also so impressive, as well as all the sonically interesting moments throughout this song. It travels effortlessly between light and dark moments, and is just perfect.
6. Prince And The Revolution | Under The Cherry Moon
It is virtually impossible to pick a favourite Prince song, but this is my current favourite. This song is so sexy and wildly romantic in the way it moves and almost takes on a Latin feel with the piano, but Prince's vocal in this song just kill me everytime. I am constantly astounded at his ability to pull off intimate ballads like this with such class. He is the best.
7. Department Of Eagles | Floating On The Lehigh
I'm a big Grizzly Bear fan but this record by Department Of Eagles I found simply wonderful, maybe even my most favourite of them all. This song is so summery and transcends me into a fantasy land when I hear it. It starts with a fragility but eventually breaks into a huge wall of sound, there's a real agression towards the end and all the lifts and falls are so perfect while avoiding any real formulaic song structure. These guys are amazing.
8. Janelle Monáe | Sincerely, Jane
This track is so fierce and feminine, I think it showcases Janelle's voice incredibly and the doo wop backing vocals with the sassy call responses are right up my alley. I love the double bass groove on this song, and the clash of organic and processed sounds with the 808esque drums and the stabbing horns. It has almost a James Bond feel, with an anthemic lyric of hope and revival. Are we really living or just walking dead now?... I love it.
9. D'Angelo | Untitled (How Does It Feel?)
There's no way I can go past this track. The drunken groove, the lazy guitars and D'Angelo's incredible vocals. The first time I heard this I was absolutely hooked, it just had me hypnotized, and the way it kept building and building so patiently to this huge catharsis at the end. Breaks me every time.
10. The Mars Volta | Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt
This song takes me back to the first time I played The Mars Volta as a 14 year old, and how confused I felt afterwards but so insatiably drawn to keep listening and dissecting the songs, it was so powerful and Psychydelic at the time and this album became my life for a while and challenged the whole way I listened to music. This track in particular is just incredible and has the fattest groove. It makes me want to jump up and down and swing microphones around.
