It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.
In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.
Here is what I like about Angéline’s latest EP, Back to Pike Place: the percussion is subtle, spare, and compelling, but not overwhelming. Furthermore, her tunes reflect her travels: the rhythms are drawn, in part, from time spent in Cuba; the streetnoises of Havana and London are both incorporated into the larger soundscape; and one song is in her native French. As soon as I heard it, I wanted to know more about her.
For example, consider the steady insistent pulse of Black Butterflies:
And with that I will turn the floor over to her, to share a favorite book, record and drink:
Angéline, dancing.
A Good Read
With no doubt I chose the book I am currently reading: Conversations with Picasso by Brassaï. A few years ago I discovered the world of Art, I became obsessed with painters. I go through phases when I read, watch every documentary there is about a chosen artist; I give myself missions to analyze and understand the artist and the context in which he made his masterpieces. Brassaï reports conversations he had with Picasso in Paris during the war, enabling the reader to understand his complex personality. Brassaï invites the reader to listen to Picasso and his fellow surrealists debating on Life and Art, and I, after every chapter, feel the need to write about it, too frustrated that I don’t get to express my opinion and be in the room with them all!
A Good Listen
The 1st album that came to my mind is Catching a Tiger by Lissie (2010). Again, I get very obsessive with albums I buy and I will play them on repeat until I know every single word of every song. I had only heard one song of this album before buying it but it straight away became one of my favourite. I love Lissie’s broken voice, she sings with her heart and her imperfections make her sound so beautiful, so true. At the time, the pictures of the booklet, the space in the music and the country-folk influences woke up the dream I had to travel the world. Later on, it’s Record Collector I listened to when I went to the Grand Canyon.
A Good Drink
Now that’s a tricky one. I was going to pick Rum, as it just reminds me of my trip to Cuba and those sleepless nights dancing under the Havana sky! But actually, i could never live without coffee!!! I cannot resist the delicious smell, reminding me of those Sunday mornings at home with my family. Since in London I’ve become a coffee addict, my favourite being a single-origin Ethiopian flat white from Department of Coffee and Social Affairs.