WARMER MIXTAPES #1480 | by Paul Humphries [Project Alfie]

1. Prince And The Revolution | Purple Rain (Purple Rain Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
A friend gave it to me on a CD and it reminds me of when I was 18 and starting Music College and you would feel like you’re in a film. For me it's the build of the song, every element has a section that builds until it comes more and more emotional, until he screams at the end. I got to see it in 2006 in the O2 and it was one of those moments where you held your breath.

2. Michael Jackson | Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
I was a massive MJ fan as a child. The first time I heard it was on vinyl, I was 15, discovering my parents vinyl collection. I used to try impersonate him. That record has such energy, it makes me feel excited every time I hear it now.

3. Common | The Light
Hearing this really musical Hip Hop with drums and soul... And I love the story telling of the album Like Water For Chocolate. I was obsessed with this period.

4. Skunk Anansie | Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)
My brother gave me this CD and I listened to it on repeat about 14 times. You have an understanding of the lyrics, but at a young age you haven’t been through heartbreak. It always makes me feel like I’m in the room having a conversation with myself, I still hear it and the lyric makes me feel anger at myself. You know when you love someone and you have that fake conversation with them, but you really want that real conversation that you had. You still love them, but you know that they are not good for you. This is why I did my own version of it.

5. Stevie Wonder | You And I (We Can Conquer The World)
Talking Book and Inner Visions, both those albums just remind me of the womb. I grew up in the countryside, but all the Music I grew up on was Soul, R&B. I didn’t have the Rock Music that other people had. Stevie Wonder is my mum’s favourite singer. The Sun comes out when I hear You And I (We Can Conquer The World), it takes me to a special place.

6. Chet Baker | My Funny Valentine (Mitzi Green Cover)
I grew up listening to Sinatra. His interpretation is just magical. A lot of people mock his voice for sounding like a woman’s, but I think his voice is unique, no one sung like Chet Baker until Chet Baker. If you haven’t seen it already, check out Let's Get Lost, it's a great documentary on him.

7. Donny Hathaway | A Song For You (Leon Russell Cover)
When I was about 19 I went to College and my teacher said I sounded like Donny Hathaway. I hadn’t heard him before. His voice is so emotional, which made sense as he later committed suicide, he obviously was dealing with a lot of emotions within himself.

8. The Police | Message In A Bottle
My Dad had all the records on vinyl and this was one of the songs we used to play with my band when I was young. It was the one of the first songs I used to learn how to sing with a guitar and drums. This song made me fall in Love with trying to get a reaction from an audience. There are so many pauses that creates that interaction with an audience.

9. N*E*R*D | Provider
When this track came out I had never heard anything like it before, it had Hip Hop things and a band element to it. It reminds me of being with my friends and the room spinning around me.

10. Frank Ocean | Sweet Life
The Sun's so shinning. It takes you to that care free place, your own personal desert island. Even on a normal English rainy day it takes you to the Sun. The lyrics are ironic in a way, as it is the perception of what the Sweet Life actually is?... But everyone wants to be in that place. The happiest people can also be the saddest, as they know how to feel.

+11. HAIM | Falling
It reminds me of travelling and the Summer, it feels hot when I hear it.

+12. The Beatles | The End
It's the last track on Abbey Road album… The beauty of listening to this when I was a child... Every Music is New Music, you don't have a context. I was obsessed with Frank Sinatra  - Someone To Watch Over Me. Last proper Beatles album and it's called The End.

+13. D'Angelo | Africa
I love this song because everytime I hear it I’m walking down a beach. It is him telling his story. Africa is my descent... And here I am far from home. When someone can give you an insight to the way you feel... To me that's a beautiful thing.