WARMER MIXTAPES #1188 | by Maaike Lebbing [Kito] and Reija Lee Thomas [Reija Lee] of Kito & Reija Lee
SIDE A | by Maaike Lebbing
1. Kate Bush | Army Dreamers
Kate Bush is a goddess and she let no boundaries hold her back in the way she wrote Music and performed. This song is such a big inspiration to me, and the Music Video is one of the best I’ve seen. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you look it up right now! A big thanks to my mum for playing Kate Bush so much when I was a kid.
2. DJ Blaqstarr | Shake It To The Ground (feat. Rye Rye)
This is the song that made me want to release Music on Mad Decent. I am so crazy about what Rye Rye and Blaqstarr were doing at this time.
3. Vybz Kartel | Yuh Love
My friend Belinda and her man Smutlee did their first dance to this song at their wedding with Martelo, Diplo, Jackmaster and Oneman as their wedding DJ’s. It was kind of the greatest first dance I’ve ever seen! And this song is magic and will forever remind me of this day.
4. Kito & Reija Lee | Sweet Talk
I know it’s one of my own... But I feel the need to put it in here because this song has been a life line for us. We released it with no expectations and no real push from the label and so much has come from it – it’s been sampled by Trinidad James on his track Females Welcomed (released on Island Def Jam), taken for a Victoria’s Secret campaign and sold over 100,000 copies on iTunes. It’s like our guardian angel – this song was our bread and butter for 2013.
5. Laurie Anderson | O Superman (For Massenet)
I had an epiphany listening to this song when Feadz showed me the record in his studio. Laurie Anderson is like my 1980’s Spirit Animal/Make Believe mentor. She’s incredible. Can we all just take a moment to acknowledge that this single was number 2 in the UK charts in 1981?! It’s an 8 minute song with no beat - you would NEVER see a song like this grace the top 10 right now! It’s a masterpiece.
6. Skream | Midnight Request Line
This is an obvious choice but it felt wrong to not include it. I don’t even think I need to include a story... The track says it all.
7. Madonna | White Heat
The whole True Blue album makes me think of my sisters. I remember choreographing dances to songs on this album and performing them to my parents. My oldest sister Josephine used to have this book that was the Holy Madonna Scrapbook. She’d cut out every picture and article she could find of Madonna – it was huge. One day she let me take it to School to show my friends. I was getting a lift to School with my friend’s mum and she wanted to see the book so I showed her - and there was a topless photo of Madonna holding a cat on one of the pages. My friend’s mum was tutting and shaking her head and I was so embarrassed that I ripped the picture out and then I had to pray that my sister didn’t notice – which she did.
8. Burial | Southern Comfort
When I was 19 I left Australia to go stay with some Internet friends in Athens. I used to make Music with these guys online and so it made sense to me to go hang with them. I’m pretty sure my mum thought I was mad. Thankfully it was an amazing trip and we got along so well. These guys introduced me to Burial’s Music and it was such a huge inspiration for me. I listened to the South London Boroughs EP so much while I was traveling and returned back to Australia determined to make better Music. I also returned wanting to move to London...
9. luke.envoy | Honour Kill
This song blew my mind when it came out. So bass-heavy. I remember playing it in a club in Perth (Australia) and people were running up to me asking what the hell this music is that I’m playing and did I have the turntable on the right speed?
10. Art Of Noise | Moments In Love
I think I might like to get married to this song. Also, it can be played at my funeral. And if I ever do an ice-skating routine, or walk the runway in a fashion show: it will be to this.
SIDE B | by Reija Lee Thomas
1. Daft Punk | Something About Us
It has to be one of my all time favourite songs. It’s irresistibly sexy, and the lyrics are so on point and relatable. The intensity of Love/Lust is so well described. So simply, but perfectly.
2. Major Lazer | Get Free (feat. Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors)
Absolutely my number 1 song of last year. What an amazing vocal melody and delivery by Amber Coffman. I love songs I can sing along to and get lost in. This is one of them.
3. M83 | Kim & Jessie
This was almost impossible to choose only one song from M83, as they are one of my favourite bands. I love the older Ambient, Droney stuff from Digital Shades, but also their more Poppy stuff from Saturdays = Youth and Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. I had to choose the song Kim & Jessie cos it just stuck with me and reminds me of being 21, when I first moved out of home across the country to Tasmania. It was a hard time in my life, but this song is one of the good memories.
4. Drake | From Time (feat. Jhené Aiko)
That line. I love me enough for the both of us. Amazing. Sometimes I hear a line in a song and just think God, I wish I’d written that.
5. Aphex Twin | Alberto Balsalm
There’s a lot of Aphex Twin songs I like, but there’s a funny story with this one... When I was growing up my older brother was a huge Musical influence on me. He is 6 years older than me so I was lucky enough to be exposed to Music I probably never would have known about at such a young age. We shared a computer and I used to go through all his music and burn CDs with all my favourite songs. This song stuck with me forever. But unfortunately you lose things and change computers and forget songs... And until last year, I couldn’t for the life of me remember what it was called. I searched for about 8 years trying to find this song, I asked him a million times, trying to hum the melody, but to no avail. Then one day last year, when we were drunk and playing old nostalgic Music, I asked him one last time and he actually remembered. It was a pretty special moment to hear it again!
6. Sigur Rós | Sæglópur
Another one of my all time favourite bands. The first time I heard Sigur Rós I was about 14, listening to the ( ) album. I was just mezmorized. I can’t think of many other moments when I have been that blown away by a piece of Music. Sæglópur came out on their next album Takk. It’s still my favourite. It’s the kind of Music I can just think to. It’s contemplative and I love that. Sæglópur has a stunning Music Video as well.
7. Warpaint | Love Is To Die
Absolutely loving this song and their new album. Just saw them live a few weeks ago – unbelievable. An all girl band too, very cool!
8. Bon Iver | Perth
Yes, it’s named after the city I’m from but that’s not why I chose it! Haha. Each song on the Bon Iver album is named after a different place, where they were inspired or wrote it. What an awesome concept. I’ve been listening to Bon Iver for a while so I have a lot of memories associated with their music, but mainly it reminds me of my boyfriend as it was one of the things we bonded over when we first met.
9. Shockone | Light Cycles
My brother is a huge inspiration for me and I couldn’t not include one of his songs. This is my favourite one off his album Universus. It’s rolling, epic, contemplative. I think the title is so perfectly descriptive of the sound as well.
10. Pink Floyd | Goodbye Blue Sky
Can I just include the whole The Wall album as a song? Haha... I just had to include this in my list. Thanks to my uber cool parents, I grew up with Pink Floyd basically burnt into my ears from birth. The Wall was always my favourite album growing up. It’s an amazing story – beautifully told through incredible Music. One of the greatest concept albums of all time. (The film that goes with it is also a worth a watch).
1. Kate Bush | Army Dreamers
Kate Bush is a goddess and she let no boundaries hold her back in the way she wrote Music and performed. This song is such a big inspiration to me, and the Music Video is one of the best I’ve seen. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you look it up right now! A big thanks to my mum for playing Kate Bush so much when I was a kid.
2. DJ Blaqstarr | Shake It To The Ground (feat. Rye Rye)
This is the song that made me want to release Music on Mad Decent. I am so crazy about what Rye Rye and Blaqstarr were doing at this time.
3. Vybz Kartel | Yuh Love
My friend Belinda and her man Smutlee did their first dance to this song at their wedding with Martelo, Diplo, Jackmaster and Oneman as their wedding DJ’s. It was kind of the greatest first dance I’ve ever seen! And this song is magic and will forever remind me of this day.
4. Kito & Reija Lee | Sweet Talk
I know it’s one of my own... But I feel the need to put it in here because this song has been a life line for us. We released it with no expectations and no real push from the label and so much has come from it – it’s been sampled by Trinidad James on his track Females Welcomed (released on Island Def Jam), taken for a Victoria’s Secret campaign and sold over 100,000 copies on iTunes. It’s like our guardian angel – this song was our bread and butter for 2013.
5. Laurie Anderson | O Superman (For Massenet)
I had an epiphany listening to this song when Feadz showed me the record in his studio. Laurie Anderson is like my 1980’s Spirit Animal/Make Believe mentor. She’s incredible. Can we all just take a moment to acknowledge that this single was number 2 in the UK charts in 1981?! It’s an 8 minute song with no beat - you would NEVER see a song like this grace the top 10 right now! It’s a masterpiece.
6. Skream | Midnight Request Line
This is an obvious choice but it felt wrong to not include it. I don’t even think I need to include a story... The track says it all.
7. Madonna | White Heat
The whole True Blue album makes me think of my sisters. I remember choreographing dances to songs on this album and performing them to my parents. My oldest sister Josephine used to have this book that was the Holy Madonna Scrapbook. She’d cut out every picture and article she could find of Madonna – it was huge. One day she let me take it to School to show my friends. I was getting a lift to School with my friend’s mum and she wanted to see the book so I showed her - and there was a topless photo of Madonna holding a cat on one of the pages. My friend’s mum was tutting and shaking her head and I was so embarrassed that I ripped the picture out and then I had to pray that my sister didn’t notice – which she did.
8. Burial | Southern Comfort
When I was 19 I left Australia to go stay with some Internet friends in Athens. I used to make Music with these guys online and so it made sense to me to go hang with them. I’m pretty sure my mum thought I was mad. Thankfully it was an amazing trip and we got along so well. These guys introduced me to Burial’s Music and it was such a huge inspiration for me. I listened to the South London Boroughs EP so much while I was traveling and returned back to Australia determined to make better Music. I also returned wanting to move to London...
9. luke.envoy | Honour Kill
This song blew my mind when it came out. So bass-heavy. I remember playing it in a club in Perth (Australia) and people were running up to me asking what the hell this music is that I’m playing and did I have the turntable on the right speed?
10. Art Of Noise | Moments In Love
I think I might like to get married to this song. Also, it can be played at my funeral. And if I ever do an ice-skating routine, or walk the runway in a fashion show: it will be to this.
1. Daft Punk | Something About Us
It has to be one of my all time favourite songs. It’s irresistibly sexy, and the lyrics are so on point and relatable. The intensity of Love/Lust is so well described. So simply, but perfectly.
2. Major Lazer | Get Free (feat. Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors)
Absolutely my number 1 song of last year. What an amazing vocal melody and delivery by Amber Coffman. I love songs I can sing along to and get lost in. This is one of them.
3. M83 | Kim & Jessie
This was almost impossible to choose only one song from M83, as they are one of my favourite bands. I love the older Ambient, Droney stuff from Digital Shades, but also their more Poppy stuff from Saturdays = Youth and Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. I had to choose the song Kim & Jessie cos it just stuck with me and reminds me of being 21, when I first moved out of home across the country to Tasmania. It was a hard time in my life, but this song is one of the good memories.
4. Drake | From Time (feat. Jhené Aiko)
That line. I love me enough for the both of us. Amazing. Sometimes I hear a line in a song and just think God, I wish I’d written that.
5. Aphex Twin | Alberto Balsalm
There’s a lot of Aphex Twin songs I like, but there’s a funny story with this one... When I was growing up my older brother was a huge Musical influence on me. He is 6 years older than me so I was lucky enough to be exposed to Music I probably never would have known about at such a young age. We shared a computer and I used to go through all his music and burn CDs with all my favourite songs. This song stuck with me forever. But unfortunately you lose things and change computers and forget songs... And until last year, I couldn’t for the life of me remember what it was called. I searched for about 8 years trying to find this song, I asked him a million times, trying to hum the melody, but to no avail. Then one day last year, when we were drunk and playing old nostalgic Music, I asked him one last time and he actually remembered. It was a pretty special moment to hear it again!
6. Sigur Rós | SæglópurAnother one of my all time favourite bands. The first time I heard Sigur Rós I was about 14, listening to the ( ) album. I was just mezmorized. I can’t think of many other moments when I have been that blown away by a piece of Music. Sæglópur came out on their next album Takk. It’s still my favourite. It’s the kind of Music I can just think to. It’s contemplative and I love that. Sæglópur has a stunning Music Video as well.
7. Warpaint | Love Is To Die
Absolutely loving this song and their new album. Just saw them live a few weeks ago – unbelievable. An all girl band too, very cool!
8. Bon Iver | Perth
Yes, it’s named after the city I’m from but that’s not why I chose it! Haha. Each song on the Bon Iver album is named after a different place, where they were inspired or wrote it. What an awesome concept. I’ve been listening to Bon Iver for a while so I have a lot of memories associated with their music, but mainly it reminds me of my boyfriend as it was one of the things we bonded over when we first met.
9. Shockone | Light Cycles
My brother is a huge inspiration for me and I couldn’t not include one of his songs. This is my favourite one off his album Universus. It’s rolling, epic, contemplative. I think the title is so perfectly descriptive of the sound as well.
10. Pink Floyd | Goodbye Blue Sky
Can I just include the whole The Wall album as a song? Haha... I just had to include this in my list. Thanks to my uber cool parents, I grew up with Pink Floyd basically burnt into my ears from birth. The Wall was always my favourite album growing up. It’s an amazing story – beautifully told through incredible Music. One of the greatest concept albums of all time. (The film that goes with it is also a worth a watch).
