Despite of being a sunny month, this April has been a cold one. Everyone was seeking some kind of a getaway from the temperature refusing to get pass the 10-degree mark. Pints of hot whisky, spicy food dinners, last minute holiday packages or growing even longer, bushier beards (male population only). Anything to escape the cold, the wind and the hail. For me, music has always been an ultimate remedy for all the bad in the world.
Luckily, the cold April brought a generous portion of sunny and summery tunes to warm up with. From the deepest gems of deep house (M.ono, Detroit Swindle, Andre Wiken), dancefloor fillers (Peaches, Ossie) through politically charged retro funk (Michael Kiwanuka, King Khan) and neosoul ballads (Gallant, Mayer Hawthorne, Mocky & Jamie Lidell) to oddities like German kraut-funk (Klaus Johann Grobe), Ethiopian punk-funk (Melt Yourself Down) and modern day disco from Greece (Stella). Even Icelandic folk singer, Junius Meyvant offered a wooly hat and scarf of a tune, “Neon Experience”. There’s plenty to choose from, I promise. I mean it’s nearly 70 tracks and that’s with all the fat trimmed away.
On the Polish front we’ve got: Reni Jusis, 90’s pop star turned eco advocate and alternative club diva; Piotr Zioła, a very talented retro looking twenty-something heartthrob; the indie poet Król and Meeting By Chance aka Marcin Cichy, the half of cult electronic, jazz sampling duo, Skalpel.
Here’s to warmer May! Enjoy.
PS. As bonus, at the end of the playlist you will find few tracks by Kayah, one of the most important Polish artists and voices of the last quarter of a century. Her music output kaleidoscoped through soul, pop, disco, funk, dance folk and world music since her solo debut in mid-90’s. She also owns her a record label, Kayax - home to crème de la crème of Polish alternative scene. Her recent project with Transoriental Orchestra focused on Middle-Eastern music and culture. Kayah will return to Dublin for one special night this May. She will join her artistic vision with Irish folk legends, Kila. Tickets and info available HERE …
Your Monthly MixTape is brought to you by Piotrek Czarnecki from No Snobs Allowed.
