WARMER MIXTAPES #1150 | by Carlos Cipa

Photo by Valeria Pierini

1. Surrogate Sibling | V
This is a new project of a dear friend of mine, on which I play the piano parts. It’s a really beautiful record, I recommend to everyone interested in (Post-)Classical, Electronic or (Post-)Rock Music.

2. David Lang | Death Speaks: No. 1. You Will Return (with Bryce Dessner, Shara Worden, Owen Pallett & Nico Muhly)
Death Speaks is an incredible beautiful song-cycle, which features Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) on vocals, Bryce Dessner (The National) on guitar, Owen Pallet on violin and Nico Muhly on piano. It’s so amazing how David manages to be very Traditional in his writing (in the likes of Schubert, etc.), but still sounds so Modern, so fresh. Shara’s vocals are so beautiful, so unique, something a normal Classical singer often lacks. (I am not a friend of Classical singing...). Amazing music, incredible performance!

3. Maurice Ravel | Piano Concerto In G Major: II. Adagio Assai (Performed by Davide Cabassi with Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana; Conductor: Antonello Manacorda)
The first piece of Music my girlfriend Sophia showed me. Amazing piece with otherworldly harmonies. Ravel is one of my all-time favourite composers, and I think his impact on Modern Music is highly underestimated. His Piano Music and the String Quartet are one of my most important influences.

4. Erkki-Sven Tüür | Show For String Orchestra: 2. Passion (Performed by Tallinn Chamber Orchestra; Conductor: Tõnu Kaljuste)
He’s one of the most interesting composers of our century and this is my favourite piece. Recently he released his seventh symphony, also highly recommended. The Music is so beautiful, also very Modern, but still very Traditional, with influences from all over the Music History. It’s a treat to get lost in his world.

5. Bernard Herrmann | Scene D’Amour (Vertigo Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
He’s my favourite film composer. I really miss this creativity and craft in modern Film Music. The melodies are timeless, whatever movie you watch, he always manages to reinvent himself, but still keeps his own musical language.

6. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Requiem Mass In D Minor (K. 626): III. Sequentia - Lacrimosa Dies Illa (Performed by Budapest Concert Orchestra; Conductor: Tamás Gol)
Mozart. With every piece of his music I listen to, I fall in love more. It’s so beautiful, so funny, so timeless, so masterful. It probably is the best Music ever written and there will never be someone that writes this kind of Genius Music. His influence on Modern Music (Classical, Popular, whatever…) is incredible. My favourite pieces right now are the later symphonies, the piano concertos and the requiem.

7. The Beatles | Tomorrow Never Knows
Recently, I took over the vinyl collection of my parents and now I am finally able to listen to this record on vinyl. Every Beatles record is a masterpiece, but Revolver has a few pieces that are unmatched. The drums on Tomorrow... are so great, they could be on a record of this year. So great!

8. The Beach Boys | You Still Believe In Me
Wow, this record is so amazing, it’s incredible. The instrumentation is so funny and great, I love it. Also the most important thing is the Emotion the Music carries. Emotion is really hard to put into words, as it is something you feel, that’s probably why most of the critics never speak about it, but for me it is the most important thing in Music. For me Music doesn’t have to be super complicated, sophisticated, etc., if the emotion it carries is true and beautiful. That’s what Music is about.

9. BANKS | Brain
Isn’t this one of the most amazing Pop Music tunes of our time? The production, the sound and of course... The voice. Everywhere BANKS is called the new hope, and I guess everyone’s right. I am looking forward to more beautiful and great songs.

10. Thrice | Broken Lungs
This is my all-time favourite band. They've been with me since nearly 10 years. They’re an amazing live band, it’s incredible. All records since Vheissu are completely stunning.

+11. The National | This Is The Last Time
My favourite band at the moment. The emotions carried in this music is gorgeous. It’s so simple but also very complex and beautifully arranged. For me, it probably is the most intersting Indie band at the moment.


+12. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | We Real Cool
What a record. Especially this song (and the last one). The bass guitar is such a great contrast to the rest of the music. The strings are so great.

+13. Converge | Plagues
My all-time favourite Heavy band. It's so musical and emotional.

+14. Steve Reich/Kronos Quartet/Pat Metheny | Different Trains: I. America - Before The War
Steve Reich. He could be the most influential composer of the last century. It’s so sad, that in the German Art Music scene, no one really understands and likes his music (that’t probably they’re biggest problem…). His music is so beautiful, so unique, so futuristic, so modern, so timeless and so important. Music For 18 Musicians is now nearly 40 (!!) years old, and still sounds as if it was written today. Different Trains was the first piece I got to know of him and I instantly fell in Love.