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portraitandplaylist · 2 years
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Side A: Giovanni
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What does music mean to you? How does it make you feel?
So music to me is like the embodiment of human emotions and thoughts and yeah, at the same time it is still something really universal and ethereal because, I don't know, it's the middle of the emotions and the tangible things that we have as humans. And I don't know, it just makes me feel good, man. Like good and sexy, nostalgic, sad, then still sexy then sexy and sexy and sexy and sexy. That's it.
How big of a part does music play in your life and career?
To me, music is definitely one of the biggest part of my life because well, career wise, I would love to work in the music industry. I'm an aspiring artist and yeah, it would be amazing, but I think that whatever plan God has in store for me, definitely music will be a big part of it and it will influence my life a lot. So yeah, it just means a lot. And I wouldn't know how to explain it with words.
What's a song you know word for word, bar for bar?
The song I know word for word, bar by bar - okay my Italian came out - is Mama Saturn by Tanarélle because I don't know, I've listened to that song too much and it's just speaks to me in a different level. It's - wow. Yeah.
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Do you collect vinyl? If so what do you enjoy about it? And if not, how come?
I sadly do not collect vinyls because I don't have the player thing - I don't know how to say in English - and they're expensive, but I would love to and I'm really sad that I don't, but I still support my favourite artists by buying tickets for them.
Tell me about your favourite concert that you went to.
I've been to many concerts I enjoyed, no bad concerts, but I think as of lately, Mahmood. My favourite Italian artist came to London [on] May 2nd. It was my birthday so it was really special to me. I had a birthday hat on and so he said happy birthday to me and yeah, that's why I think it was probably the most special, and everyone was Italian in the venue, you know? So it felt like I had a piece of home in that venue that night, so yeah.
Your favourite lyric?
You'd kneel down to the dry land / Kiss the earth that birthed you [Frank Ocean, Pink + White]
Give me the name of a playlist you made with no context.
R&B TO PLAY IN A BENZ
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What are your desert island disc albums?
So I have Blond by Frank Ocean for my 'being sad' moments. Ghettolimpo - to remind myself where I'm from - by Mahmood and 4U by Ojerime, 'cause it's a sexy album.
Tell me about music your parents played while you were growing up.
So my mom and my dad were really different in taste. In fact, my dad brought me to the old school Italian music, so like Domenico Modugno, Fabrizio De André; while my mum was really like thee singers, you know, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner. She used to play all of that. And yeah so I grew up with that type of music. And then when I started listening to my own music, a lot of R&B and stuff, they started to listen to that music as well, so yeah.
Briefly talk me through the songs you put in this playlist, what do they mean to you.
My first song is Ghettolimpo by Mahmood because it's just a work of art that song speaks about like his personal life, how he grew up and his relationship with religion and faith, but also just music in general and chasing his dreams, growing up without his dad. 
And then there's Pyramids by Frank Ocean because that song is just simply the greatest song of all time.
SUMMER SALT by Smino because it's my summer song. And Smino was definitely one of the biggest influences in my life.
Out Of My Way by RIMON, cuz that's my party song, it's my favourite party song. 
'A capa e 'o core by SVM & LaHasna is a Neapolitan Italian song. And I love how the lyrics are so angry, but  the song is just - I don't know - it's like you're on a wave, you know, it's so nice. 
And then there's I Know Now (2003) by Ojerime, which is - listen, guys, listen, I don't owe any explanation. 
No Angel by Beyonce because it's underrated as fuck and that's one of her best songs and I don't know, I just love the switch, the beat switch and what she does with her voice. 
Mama Saturn by Tanarélle, 'cause that's a song I know word for word.
Burn by Jorja Smith, 'cause it speaks to me, I'm sure she wrote it for herself and for every person that you know was going through something, especially as a teenager sometimes. 
And the last one is Amore che vieni, amore che vai and it's an Italian old school song, which my dad used to play in the car all the time, so yeah.
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portraitandplaylist · 2 years
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Side A: Malachi
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What does music mean to you? How does it make you feel?
Music is I think - in the most cliche way possible - it's a part of me. It's who I am. I don't think I'd be the person that I am without it. I think that it's shaped me into the man that I am today and I think it's been like a sort of father figure to me, I guess. It's raised me to be the person I am.
How big of a part does music play in your life and career?
I'd say it's pretty much my entire life, 'cause it's my job. It's what I do. I think everything that I do revolves around music, I quite simply just couldn't imagine doing anything else but that, so again - as cliche as it is - music's my life.
What's a song you know word for word, bar for bar?
It's either gonna be Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe by Kendrick Lamar or Only Love by Ben Howard.
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Do you collect vinyl? If so what do you enjoy about it? And if not, how come?
So I do, but not on a regular thing. It's more like when I see a vinyl that I like, I'm like "you know what let me grab that real quick." But I'm not an avid collector, just every now and then.
Tell me about your favourite concert that you went to.
It would probably be a festival that I went to - the Great Escape festival this year - I went to go and see Bawo. And that was incredible for me. I'm a massive fan, so yeah that was cool.
Your favourite lyric?
Favourite lyric I think is "If shit hit the fan, is you still a fan?" It's on Mortal Man by Kendrick Lamar.
Give me the name of a playlist you made with no context.
Rest In Peace iPhone 4S
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What are your desert island disc albums?
To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar, Melt My Eyez See Your Future by Denzel Curry and KTSE by Teyana Taylor.
Tell me about music your parents played while you were growing up.
So my parents played an awful lot of - a very diverse mix of music. It went from songs by Aaliyah to Marvin Gaye to Luther Vandross, just loads of music like that. I think that's sort of what shaped me into the music listener that I am today.
Briefly talk me through the songs you put in this playlist, what do they mean to you.
So two of the songs on my playlist: Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe and No Role Modelz by Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole are the first two songs that I'd listened to by those artists, 'cause my friends were showing me them back in secondary school, but I'd never listened to that sort of music before so I think those two songs are a massive part of me listening to rap, I guess.
Starts with a Text by Bawo was the first song that I listened to by him and then immediately fell in love with all of his music.
I've got Golden by Tyler, the Creator, because I was going through it in college.
Close To You by Frank Ocean, because that sort of gave me an idea of what sampling was like, because the original song is by Stevie Wonder that he performed live on a TV show but I can't remember what one it was.
I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye, 'cause it was the first song that I learnt on guitar.
There's a song by Aaliyah - Are You That Somebody, because my mum used to play that song religiously in the car whenever we were driving around anywhere.
Good Life by Kanye West and T-Pain because I just can't get enough of that song and I was listening to it all the time as kid.
Serious by JME was the first song that introduced me to Grime. So that's - I gotta love that song.
And last but not least Only Love by Ben Howard, because it's the second song that I learnt to play on guitar.
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portraitandplaylist · 2 years
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Side A: Henny
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What does music mean to you? How does it make you feel?
So to me, music means connection. It's like reaching out and tugging a string on someone else's heart and then feeling it resonate back within you. So yeah, I feel like that's what music is, making a connection. The beauty in that. [It] connects cultures, [it] connects people.
How big of a part does music play in your life and career?
So for me personally, I feel like music has always been a part of my life. Like as a kid, I was always singing and humming, whatever song was in my back pocket for that day, week, month. So it's always just been something close to my heart. And as far as career, it's never been part of my career until recently, the pandemic kind of forced a lot of people to kind of reshape their lives. So I just made the moves to be closer to doing what I love, which is reviewing music, talking about music. So yeah, now it's a part of my career, but [it] hasn't always been.
What's a song you know word for word, bar for bar?
The song that I know word for word, bar for bar, 'cause I used to sing it at karaoke is Ego by Beyonce.
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Do you collect vinyl? If so what do you enjoy about it? And if not, how come?
So I do collect vinyl, I haven't showed too much of my collection, but I feel like the whole process is like forming that connection to music because of how tactile collecting is - like sitting down and it forces you to be more present and in the music. I guess what I enjoy about collecting vinyl is the fact that it is tactile. It forces you to be present in the moment and actually like listen to what's coming out of the stereo. I notice that like when I'm listening to music, just off my phone with my headphones on, I use it more as background music to like focus on something else. But if I have it playing over the stereo, it moves you differently. There's more of an atmosphere to it and I think that's like the magic in vinyl.
Tell me about your favourite concert that you went to.
I haven't gone to many in my life. Don't drag me! But my favourite concert would have to be Kelela, I went to go see her back in 2017 and it was just incredible. Super small venue in Seattle - it might have been at Neumos in Seattle, but it was a super small venue and it was wild seeing how she could command the whole space with just her voice and then her two backing vocalists. And it was surreal to look around and watch other people be so moved by her as well. You were looking around and just watching people's faces come to revelation and it was a moment. I feel like everyone in that space grew together as a collective, as corny as that sounds, that's how amazing her concert was. But yeah, that has to be my favourite.
Your favourite lyric?
Favourite lyrics come from last call by Tinashe, and it's on the pre-chorus where she sings, "Can't just be friends it hurts way too much / Guess that's just life / You left me with not enough" and then she goes into "Pouring my heart into your cup / And every time I think you're done you come around" and then it goes into the chorus and she says "Using me up / Last call."
Give me the name of a playlist you made with no context.
Sourdough
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What are your desert island disc albums?
Okay, so my three desert island discs are gonna be Never Say Never by Brandy, 'cause it was very formative - came out in my youth, so I would absolutely need to have that. Next one would be Songs For You by Tinashe, that is thee album. And then the last one - just to kind of balance things out and get some male energy in there I would have to do Voodoo by D'Angelo.
Tell me about music your parents played while you were growing up.
Okay so growing up, my mom had a massive CD collection, but the one thing that I heard the most was Love Deluxe by Sade. And she had this extra CD that came with that CD and it had these untitled house mixes. So that would be our Saturday cleaning. She would put it in and it was like, 15 minute long house mixes - but yeah, those were my favourite.
Briefly talk me through the songs you put in this playlist, what do they mean to you.
Number one we have Where I Wanna Be by Donnell Jones, grew up listening to that one. Could possibly be considered baby making music, but to me it's just nostalgic.
Next we have Out of Time, but the Kaytra remix because nobody does a remix like Kaytranada. It's just incredible what he did with that song. The Weeknd is great, but that collaboration, *chefs kiss*. 
Next we have U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To) by Brandy, because the production on this was insane and I feel like this was one of those key moments in history, in which R&B was becoming ultra contemporary, borrowing a lot from hip hop and making it pop. I was obsessed with this song. I used to steal my aunt's CD and play this on repeat, on a Walkman.
Next is Grindin' because the beat is iconic, many a desk in school were beat up with the Grindin' beat, sorry to all of my teachers.
On The Radio, the long version by Donna Summer, because nobody does a build like Donna Summer.
Big Titties by Rico Nasty and Kenny Beats featuring Bauer and EARTHGANG, because the production is nasty.
Next, we got If We're In Love by Róisín Murphy, I still don't know if I'm saying your name right so if you see this Róisín, I'm sorry. I don't know. Roy-Raisin-Róisín your song is amazing. That's why it's on here.
Next, we got Trina by Smino because I think this is one of the - no one does like a lady jam like Smino, to be honest. That's our short king.
Orbit, but the Live from Air Studios Version by NAO because she ate that up. She really ate that up, brings me to tears every single time I hear it.
And then lastly, quintessential, Janet Jackson - Funny How Time Flies, 'cause how can you not?
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portraitandplaylist · 2 years
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Side A: Annabelle
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What does music mean to you? How does it make you feel?
Music means the entire world to me. It is the way that it is easiest for me to understand and communicate feelings. It just means the world to me. Music makes me feel everything. I think the songs that are the most powerful to me, I get this feeling in my chest of being uplifted and I feel like a heat and like a fire in my chest and it's very freeing.
How big of a part does music play in your life and career?
For my entire life music has played an enormous role in my life and how I view the world. Most recently it's taken the front seat and the most important thing in my life because it's also my career. So for me, music has been there for me throughout my whole life and it's probably been the most consistent thing in my life.
What's a song you know word for word, bar for bar?
A song I know bar for bar is E.Coli by The Alchemist and Earl Sweatshirt.
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Do you collect vinyl? If so what do you enjoy about it? And if not, how come?
I do collect vinyl. (You might be able to see it.) It means a lot to me because it's a physical reminder of the music and the albums that I have. You have the physical art and it's just a cool way for artists to express themselves through their albums. I really just enjoy everything about it. I think that I have a lot of my vinyls as gifts, so it reminds me of the people in my life, around me as well. And I remember every vinyl where I got it from, they all just hold it a special story in my heart.
Tell me about your favourite concert that you went to.
My favourite concert I've ever been to was FYF Fest in 2017 when I saw Frank Ocean. A Tribe Called Quest went on right before him, it was right after Phife passed away - and I'm pretty sure it was their last performance as a group - and then Frank Ocean went on right afterwards. I saw him with all of my high school best friends right after we had graduated and we were about to leave and go separate ways. So it was very special to me because of the people I was with, and also because it was Frank Ocean live and he was amazing.
Your favourite lyric?
I have a lot of favourite lyrics. My favourite lyric right now is "High as hell in that spaceship, I am not landing" from BabyTron. I think one of my all time favourite lyrics is probably Erykah Badu, "You can't be what I need you to
And I don't know why I fuck with you."
Give me the name of a playlist you made with no context.
if my life was a tv show
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What are your desert island disc albums?
It would be Blond, Mama's Gun and Yes Lawd! by NxWorries.
Tell me about music your parents played while you were growing up.
An album that my parents played when I was growing up - the first thing I can think of is my mom would always play 808s and Heartbreaks for me and so songs like Love Lockdown and Heartless were the foundation for my understanding of hip hop and the soundtrack to so many significant moments of my childhood. So 808s.
Briefly talk me through the songs you put in this playlist, what do they mean to you.
 So my playlist consists of 10 songs that are all really special to me in different ways. The first song is Ooh La La by Faces. This is a song that reminds me of my dad, it's in one of his favourite movies, which is called Rushmore, so this song always reminds me of my dad and I think it's a really beautiful song about wisdom and growing old. 
  The next song is Soak Up The Sun by Sheryl Crow which is one of the biggest song memories I have from my childhood. It's just a really joyful song. It always uplifts me and I have really good memories of singing this in the car with my parents. 
     The next song is Whoopy by Westside Gunn, it is one of the first Westside Gunn songs I ever heard. It was a really big shift in my history with hip hop. And this song also reminds me of my best friend Solomon. 
   The next song is Rest by Diz. Diz is the artist I manage, and I remember hearing Rest for the first time and really hearing like the seed at the beginning of a young legend in his music. And so the song is really significant to me in my music career and I also just think Diz is like the greatest artist alive. 
    Next is Yes, I'm changing by Tame Impala. This song was really important to me in high school especially, I was going through a breakup, I was getting ready to graduate, move to college, and there was a lot of change going on and this song really helped me accept change and embrace it and be excited about what was to come rather than fearing the unknown. 
   Next is Green Eyes by Erykah Badu. This is my all time favourite song. I think that this song is incredible with storytelling. It goes through a rollercoaster of emotions and her Tiny Desk performance of this is one of my favourite performances of all time. I think the song is just so beautiful. 
  Stay Together by Romero Mosley and Iman Omari - this is my favourite song of the past six months or so. I think it's a super underappreciated R&B song. I think the vocals on it are beautiful and I just feel really passionately about this song. I really don't know what it is. It's just so good.
  Next is Pisces by 454. I am a Pisces, so that really resonates with me. I love 454. He is one of my favourite artists right now. I think that he is just a pioneer in his sound. 
  Happy from Pharrell Williams. This is one of my all time favourite songs. It makes me feel so happy and I recently watched an interview with him talking about it and he really just breaks down [that] yeah, this song might be popular and overplayed, but what it really comes down to is just this song feels like overwhelming, pure joy; and I agree - it's such a happy song. 
   Lastly is Saturday by extremely bad man. This is a song that I wish everyone in the world could hear. I just think it has such a sunny feeling. The first time I listened to it, I was driving in my car with the windows down and the sunroof open. And that's exactly what it feels like, so this is the song that  I would want everyone in the world to hear. And that's my playlist.
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portraitandplaylist · 2 years
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Side A: Alicia
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What does music mean to you? How does it make you feel?
Music is my coping mechanism. It's basically what I use to get through everything, like anything that I'm going through. When I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm overwhelmed. That's what I go towards. That's what I always want to use, I don't know if that makes sense. It's basically the thing that I lean on when I don't have anything else.
How big of a part does music play in your life and career?
In my career, not so much, but in my life, it's a huge part. It's how a lot of life lessons were taught to me. It's the background of a lot of bonding time with my family. Every part of my life - every good memory, every bad memory - has a song associated with it. It's usually in the background of every part of my life.
What's a song you know word for word, bar for bar?
It has to be one of two songs and this is gonna sound really dumb, but it's either gonna be First Heartbreak by Tori Kelly or Mockingbird by Eminem
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Do you collect vinyl? If so what do you enjoy about it? And if not, how come?
Yeah, so I do collect vinyl and I really just love that records are like the way that you can make music - which is like an art form that's not necessarily tactile - something you can hold. It's cool to listen to music on my phone, 'cause it's so accessible and easy, but when I'm listening to a record or I'm holding a record, it just feels like I have piece of what the artists made in a way that listening on my phone doesn't give me.
Tell me about your favourite concert that you went to.
So there's this Dominican artist, his name is Romeo Santos. He used to be in this bachata group called Aventura and he recently - pre pandemic - did a show that was at MetLife stadium, [it was a] massive stadium show and he played for five hours and he brought out so many of the bachata genre's OGs that it was probably the best experience of my life, and I just remember going home, like, "did that actually really happen and was I actually there?" because it just felt so life altering and massive. It was so cool.
Your favourite lyric?
I don't know why whatever is coming to mind right now, all I can think about right now is Adele's song All I Ask from 25 and it's the part where she goes, It matters how this ends/'Cause what if I never love, again? I don't know, she was on to something with that one.
Give me the name of a playlist you made with no context.
hard for me to say
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What are your desert island disc albums?
It's gonna be Lemonade by Beyonce, Utopia by Romeo Santos and The Emancipation of Mimi by Mariah Carey.
Tell me about music your parents played while you were growing up.
I can think of two artists, there's one album, by one of the artists. It's called Quien Dijo Ayer by Ricardo Arjona. But then my mom was a big Ana Gabriel fan, so she used to listen to a lot of Ana Gabriel, especially when we were cleaning.
Briefly talk me through the songs you put in this playlist, what do they mean to you.
So I chose the songs in my playlist by basically going through songs that were my favourite song at some point in my life or songs that still are my favourite, songs that I blast in my room, songs that I know every word to, songs whose lyrics get me hype or songs whose lyrics got me through something or just songs that I've had on repeat because they came out and had been stuck in my head.
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portraitandplaylist · 2 years
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Side A: Will
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What does music mean to you? How does it make you feel?
Music's such a big part of my life. It sounds weird, I kind of set myself milestones in my life to do with music. If I've ever got university assignments coming up or anything, I'll be like, "Once you've got this out of the way, you've got a gig coming up." It's how I kind of set myself goals - I know I've got a sick gig coming up. Music is just such a big part of it. I've played instruments in the past. I've played drums in the past and I'm always listening to it and yeah, I love it. My whole family is really into music as well. And it almost just feels like part of my DNA at this point, to be honest.
How big of a part does music play in your life and career?
It is just a big part of my life, but career - I've always thought about maybe doing something related to music, cause I'm a marketing student, so I've always thought it would be cool to do some kind of marketing, for like a music firm or something. Working in music would be nice, it's just so hard to reach that stage. But if I'm dreaming maybe I can get into music at some point or work in the music field. That would be pretty cool.
What's a song you know word for word, bar for bar?
I'm gonna have to probably say - when I was like 14, 15 years old, I used to listen to so much Logic back in the day, I can't say I listen to him much now, but I used to love Logic - I think it's, there's two songs by him I mainly know. It's either Fade Away off of The Incredible True Story or his song All I Do, which was I think only just added to Spotify recently, but that's a really good song. And I'd say still check that song out. That's a good song.
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Do you collect vinyl? If so what do you enjoy about it? And if not, how come?
I collect a lot of vinyl. I think I've been collecting since I was 15 years old. So I think the first vinyl I ever got was actually from my parents. That's how I got into vinyl collecting. And I think it was the Coldplay album with - I dunno what album it was, but it had a music video of a bunch of monkeys dancing - I know it was that album, whatever that was. So I got that, that was my first ever vinyl. I think the next one was also from my parents and it was, Ed Sheeran - Divide as well, I think. But since then, over the last five years, I've kind of been building up my collection into genres I like a bit more, so I've been buying a lot of Hip Hop, a lot of R&B records. And I think my records [are] over like 70, 80 vinyls at this point. I love collecting vinyls and I think the reason why I do it as well is just it's I feel like vinyls are almost an experience. Anyone can just get their phone, slap on Spotify or Apple Music and just play music, but vinyls give you that authentic feel. I don't even know if it's the sound as such, it's just the whole process of getting the vinyl, flipping over to the B side. It's just a really cool experience and yeah, I'd recommend everyone get into vinyl collecting, to be honest.
Tell me about your favourite concert that you went to.
This is probably the hardest question yet. I haven't been to loads, but I've gone to a lot of my favorite artists now. So I've seen Slowthai a few times. I've seen Loyle Carner a few times, Cavetown, Rex Orange County a few times, but I think gig that really, really blew me away was seeing Childish Gambino, at The O2 in London, it's just unbeatable. I idolize Donald Glover so much and to see him live - admittedly I wasn't the standing, I was sat down, but even still, that gig was that gig was incredible. He's such an icon. And I would do anything to watch that again.
Your favourite lyric?
This isn't gonna be the conventional answer for "favorite lyric." I'm really weird, how my brain processes lyrics and music. I don't remember lyrics. Other than, like I said, a few songs if I listen to [it] a hundred times, but I know some people listen to songs like three times and pick up on it instantly, my mind just doesn't work like that. And I think it's 'cause I was a drummer in the past, whenever I listen to music, I always listen to the beat of the music. So I always hear the drums, maybe the snares, the bass drum or the toms and stuff. My mind just subconsciously automatically goes to the drums itself. I just don't really pick up lyrics. I honestly just, can't say I have one off the top of my head to choose from.
Give me the name of a playlist you made with no context.
hotboysummer
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What are your desert island disc albums?
So if I had to pick three albums, I'm trying to think the first would Not Waving But Drowning by Loyle Carner. Second would probably be Because the Internet by Childish Gambino. And I reckon the third would be - I listen to a lot of indie, bedroom pop. So probably Sleepyhead by Cavetown for the third one.
Tell me about music your parents played while you were growing up.
So both my parents, they used to love the movie Amelie which is a French film that I'd highly recommend. My mum in her car, I remember she always used to play the CD of the Amelie soundtrack. I'd probably say that was kind of what I'm used to. My dad used to play a lot of James Blunt back in the day, so maybe one of the older James Blunt albums as well.
Briefly talk me through the songs you put in this playlist, what do they mean to you.
When I was compiling the playlist and the songs, I kind of wanted a bit of everything. I listen to a lot of bedroom pop and stuff, that's the kind of music I listen to when I want to chill. Then I have bunch of rap on there. I kind of just picked stuff that was from when I was growing up, like the main artists I used to listen to. I used to listen to so much EDEN in the past. More recently in the last year, since the Pony era, I've been listening to Rex a lot more. Loyle Carner - I'm a huge, huge fan of who I've seen at Glastonbury a few times. I just picked out a bunch of artists that just mean a lot to me personally. So I've met Loyle Carner in person before. He was absolutely amazing, he's such a nice guy. I met Rex the other week at his London popup show. Then I guess the one other that wasn't like normal music was One Summer's Day which is, I can't remember the composer - Joe Hisaishi, I think, for Spirited Away, but Spirted Away was such a big part of my childhood, so that album, all the music, just means a lot to me. It tears me up whenever I listen to it, 'cause I love that movie so much. But yeah, like I said, I just picked a bunch of songs that I loved, from artists I've loved throughout the years. That's the gist of it.
Watch Will's interview below on TikTok.
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