Monthly Playlist - September 2019

The Breaking More Waves monthly playlist has been running for a while now, but with the site sent to the retirement home for elderly blogs, the playlist, the Breaking More Waves Twitter feed and Instagram will become the main focus of my online music presence, for the time being at least.

In putting together a playlist (or ‘curating’ one if you want me to sound pretentious) I’m following a few basic rules:

1. New music. 

This is a new music playlist. Exactly what is new is open to your personal interpretation, but this is mine. Generally the songs have been released in the preceding month, but occasionally they may have been around a little longer than that.

2. Length. 

The playlist should be not much more than an hour long. Pre-internet when a mix-tape really was an actual physical mix-tape rather than just a collection of songs on line it would be generally be on a C60 or C90 cassette. C120s might have given you 2 hours of music but the tapes were generally poor quality, as to get an hour of music on each side the tape itself was thinner, meaning the tape was more fragile and the quality of the sound was weaker, often with ‘print-through’ echo. 60-90 minutes of music is probably enough for most attention spans and any more music than that in one volume can feel overwhelming.

Also, I make the playlist for my own listening as much as yours, often listening on my commute to work which is generally 45 minutes to an hour. Therefore the 60 to 90 minutes timeframe works for my journey there and back and probably does for most people as well.

3. Monthly updates only. 

So many playlists update weekly it can be difficult to keep up. I like the idea of knowing that at the start of the month there is a new collection of music delivered to me. It’s not too much but it’s not too often. I also believe good music needs time. This doesn’t have to be rushed.

4. Just music I like.

Like Breaking More Waves blog the playlist only contains music I like. I don’t care if it’s something on a major label that you’ve probably heard already or something that is self-released that has received no attention whatsoever. To use a cliché; I make this for myself and if anybody else likes it, that’s a bonus.

5. Commentary on the blog.

I’ll post about the new playlist on the blog here. There’ll be a bit of commentary with it, although to ensure this post isn’t too long I’m keeping it to a minimum this month, except to say that some of my highlights are the new upbeat 60s styled tune from Michael Kiwanuka, Sofi Tukker’s track which is taken from their excellent new house-pop EP Dancing On The People and an absolute beauty from Celeste.

This playlist also contains a handful of newly released tracks from artists playing Portsmouth’s Dials festival (Another Sky, Walt Disco, Eyesore & The Jinx), a fully independent new music discovery event that I help book and run. This year the festival takes place on Saturday 5th October on Albert Road, Southsea, Portsmouth in 5 venues with a single wristband giving you entry to all venues, subject to capacity. Find out more about the event and get your advance ticket for £20 for a fantastic day and night of new music, by clicking here.

October’s Playlist (Click here to listen to the playlist and / or follow)

1. Michael Kiwanuka – You Ain’t The Problem
2. Georgia – Never Let You Go
3. Mind Enterprises – Monogomy
4. Celeste - Strange
5. Charlotte Lawrence – Navy Blue
6. Princess Nokia – Sugar Honey Iced Tea (S.H.I.T)
7. The Wha - Innocents
8. Sofi Tukker – Purple Hat
9. Another Sky – Capable Of Love
10. Nia Wyn – Stay In Your Lane
11. Sports Team – Fishing
12. Master Peace – Night Time
13. Eyesore & The Jinx – Leisure Time
14. Maisie Peters – This Is On You
15. Elizabeth – Beautiful Baby
16. Lizzo – Truth Hurts (featuring AB6IX)
17. Sinead O Brien – A Thing You Call Joy
18. Walt Disco – Dancing Shoes
19. Oh Wonder – Hallelujah
20. Tindersticks – The Amputees
21. Angel Olsen – Lark
22. Moyka – Bones (Acoustic)
23. A Winged Victory For The Sullen - The Rhythm Of A Dividing Pair
24. Saint Jude – Head Is Spinning

A couple of the tracks on the playlist stream below:

Sofi Tukker - Purple Hat



Celeste - Strange

The End Of Breaking More Waves (Almost)

After 3577 posts (all written by myself) and over 11 years of music blogging, today is the day when I announce that Breaking More Waves is finishing. Or rather, almost finishing.

The reason? After experiencing an unexpected heart attack due to a congenital defect in 2018 and then undergoing major open-heart surgery I have been through a slow process of revaluating what I do with my remaining life and have come to the conclusion that I would like to dedicate more time to other aspects of it. The blog is very time consuming for something that is of such little importance.

However, that’s not to say I’m finished with music. I continue to love singles, albums, gigs, festivals and reading about it all and will continue to be an active participant in all things related to those.

I’ll also continue to occasionally write about music elsewhere. 

The blog won’t totally stop either. I still plan to update my Spotify monthly playlist with new music (you can find that by clicking here) and I’ll comment on those updates using the blog, so there still will be the occasional post but it will just be once a month. 

So I'll see you at the end of September, but for now, that’s all folks.

Robin

New Music: Oh Wonder - Hallelujah

“There’s a crown covered in glitter and gold, I’m gonna wear it whether you like it or not.” With those words (and a few more) Oh Wonder kick away the self-doubt and fly high with Hallelujah, the first song to be released from their forthcoming third album.

Don’t be fooled by the gentle opening piano chords reminiscent of Aphex Twin’s Avril 14th on the songs intro though, for this one follows its own pop-path. It’s a path lined with strings, a thumping hyperactive beat and spacey layered vocals in a garden of utter delight. 

Oh Wonder’s songs have often carried a message and a sense of hope; their debut of album in 2015 got me through a pretty tough time. If you’re finding that you're questioning yourself and the cynics are kicking you down do watch this excellent one shot video, it might just help a little. 

It's fantastic to have Anthony and Josephine back. They're a band that should be available on prescription, they're that good for you.

Oh Wonder - Hallelujah