10/19 - Lonely Ain't Lonely

Slipping in and out of harmony

Panda Bear - Dolphin

Caught up with the latest episodes of Song Exploder, and fell in love with a new song by Panda Bear. It's sumptuous and hypnotic.

Dirty Projectors - Unto Caesar

On an album full of the most intricate vocal arrangements in pop, the second half of this is basically just bragging masquerading as self-mockery. And I'll take it!

Miles Davis - Fishermen, Strawberry and Devil Crab

For when the midday sun hits and you just want to melt into a puddle of bliss.

Charles Mingus - Open Letter To Duke

1:54 is what it's all about. The city moves around you at chaotic speed, but every now and then there's a synch and it all locks in for just long enough to propel you forward, towards those tip-toeing last notes leading to rest.

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - No Bad News

Will Oldham's voice with Dawn McCarthy harmonies is what sweet dreams are made of.

09/19 - Sure Fatal Doses of Malcontent Through Osmosis

City and polity sounds

Bobby McFerrin - Improvisació 1

I finally got around to watching The Square. I thought it was rather brilliant, as most of Ruben Östlund's oevre is. And I loved how unnerving the recurring Bobby McFerrin vocals were. The last 3-4 minutes of this track are extraordinary.

Tunng - People Folk

Being back in London. Taking the first signs of summer – swifts arriving, warm sunny days in flowering gardens – with the congestion, the hayfever, the crowded commute... People had to run...

Andrew Bird - Imitosis

So many people around me again. Yet, most evenings, a profound sense of detachment and, dare I say it, loneliness. 

Vampire Weekend - Sympathy

The new Vampire Weekend album is finally here. And it's loose, catchy and summery! I listen to it all the time. This song was one of my first standouts. Pure fun.... until you take heed of the lyrics.

John Martyn - Call Me Crazy

John Martyn – master of outros. That thing that happens at 4:25 is basically the aural equivalent of me coming home after a day's gardening and slumping down in a chair in my own garden, blackbirds serenading from the chimneystocks in the evening sun.

08/19 - I Made This Song Deep In My Heart

A third and final Finland-inflected list as I head out on my penultimate leg of the return journey.

Richard Galliano & Michel Portal - Mozambique

The Mushroom Mix CD, a legendary companion on all big group excursions from the Mustarinda house. Full of weird and organic grooves and atmospheres, like this pulsating accordion growth.

Kullervo Kivi - Lapin Tango

What would a Finnish residency be without some Finnish tango?

Forest - Graveyard

The crown jewel of the Mushroom Mix. An unshakeable melody perfectly synched to the recurring themes of the whole residency. Dark, folkloric and posthuman.

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté - Hawa Dole

The wordless, melancholic beauty of the world while bags are being packed. The forest at sunrise, now, a hundred years ago and a hundred years from now. The capercaillie stepping aside from the gravel road as we set off in the morning to catch the Kajaani bus.

Nino Ferrer - Looking For You

Leaving Mustarinda feels like heartbreak. I'm in love with that place, and I miss it terribly already. An inner landscape seeks its match. I'll be looking for you, further ahead.