Those who have experienced the Irish summer know how capricious and unreliable it can be. It never disappoints to disappoint and you can count on it when it comes to spoiling your weekend BBQ  by bringing wind and rain along or enhancing the festival experience with yellow and orange weather alerts. How about relentlessly  teasing everyone stuck at work with sunshine and clear skies outside? This year it has been exactly that. Still, with my tendency for denial, I refuse to believe that this  summer has been completely cancelled already. 

“The summer's song is in your heart” sings unusually cheery Connor O’Brien of VILLAGERS.  It is true that music can greatly enhance one’s feelings. Therefore, “Summer hits” is not only serving as a mere summary of the best music of the past two months. These tunes are here to stay with you for the rest of the summertime; to make it last longer, at least in your heart. And this playlist has summer written all over it, sometimes literally thanks to HAIM, THE CRANBERRIES, SUMMER CAM, LOAH and Mr O’Brien as mentioned above. 

Depending on what conveys that summer feeling for you, I think we’ve got you pretty much covered. Personally, I like the vintage warmth of lo-fi rock by the likes of SUMMER SALT, DAS KOPE, BODYWASH, MUUNJUUN, LOS RETROS and FRANKIE COSMOS. Appearing to be both intimate and atmospheric at the same time, they manage to convey certain sun-filled, breezy, careless magic. On the other hand, I also adore the soft cushion-like, deep house tracks and their ability to turn time into pockets of looped sunshine (check out THE REVENGE, ROSS FROM FRIENDS, ROLAND TINGS and SUMO). 

 “Summer Hits” mixtape is also filled of other summertime flavours; Balearic vibes (MIND ENTERPRISES), psychedelic fuzz (DIIV), beach themed mellowness, dubby spaces (BLONDE REDHEAD), sun-bathed slow pop (CURIOSITY, VANITY FAIRY and CLAIRO) that will rub the tension out of your shoulders; and campfire charm the acoustic of folk songs (DEVENDRA BARNHART, TAHITI 80, JUNIUS MEYVANT, ANDREW BIRD). 

For those afterhours cooldowns there’s plenty of sultry and smooth r’n’b and soul moods to fill your evenings with (JRN WILLIAMS, SUNKEN, SNOH AALEGRA BLACK PUMAS, EZRA COLLECTIVE, MAYER HAWTHORN, RAPHAEL SAADIQ, ARLO PARKS, ROSIE LOWE). Elsewhere, the poolside party continues with synth-laden, funky vibes of AMASON, TOPAZ JONES, TUXEDO, BLUES LAB BEATS, SERAMIC and MICHAEL KIWANUKA. Hand to heart, I haven’t done little selecting this time. The playlist practically have put itself together without my help. 

 In our “Travel” section you’ll find some Middle Eastern flavours from SOUAD MASSI, tropical vibes of QUITAPENAS, masala indie pop of LIFAFA and sub-Saharan sounds of TINARIWEN. And for those who prefer to stay local,  GIF, JUST MUSTARD, LOAH, PILLOW QUEENS are some of the emerging Irish acts to check out. No playlist of ours would be complete without some Polish tunes either. HANAKO, KONIEC LATA, PIES and ZOUZY be representin’ this time.

And, what kind of summer it would be without few serious bangers and festival anthems. THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS, MELT YOURSELF DOWN, BLANCK MASS, BURIAL, FRIENDLY FIRES, SAMPHA THE GREAT and DJ SHADOW delivered few of those, making sure we don’t doze off and sleep thought the rest of the season. Similarly, indie bands like CARIÑO, SQUID, BLACK MIDI, THE CHATS, SLEATER-KINNEY, VIVIAN GIRLS continue to keep us going with their alternative kicks.

Depending on what conveys that summer feeling for you, I think we’ve got you pretty much covered. Personally, I like the vintage warmth of lo-fi rock by the likes of SUMMER SALT, DAS KOPE, BODYWASH, MUUNJUUN, LOS RETROS and FRANKIE COSMOS. Appearing to be both intimate and atmospheric at the same time, they manage to convey certain sun-filled, breezy, careless magic. On the other hand, I also adore the soft cushion-like, deep house tracks and their ability to turn time into pockets of looped sunshine (check out THE REVENGE, ROSS FROM FRIENDS, ROLAND TINGS and SUMO). 

 “Summer Hits” mixtape is also filled of other summertime flavours; Balearic vibes (MIND ENTERPRISES), psychedelic fuzz (DIIV), beach themed mellowness, dubby spaces (BLONDE REDHEAD), sun-bathed slow pop (CURIOSITY, VANITY FAIRY and CLAIRO) that will rub the tension out of your shoulders; and campfire charm the acoustic of folk songs (DEVENDRA BARNHART, TAHITI 80, JUNIUS MEYVANT, ANDREW BIRD). 

For those afterhours cooldowns there’s plenty of sultry and smooth r’n’b and soul moods to fill your evenings with (JRN WILLIAMS, SUNKEN, SNOH AALEGRA BLACK PUMAS, EZRA COLLECTIVE, MAYER HAWTHORN, RAPHAEL SAADIQ, ARLO PARKS, ROSIE LOWE). Elsewhere, the poolside party continues with synth-laden, funky vibes of AMASON, TOPAZ JONES, TUXEDO, BLUES LAB BEATS, SERAMIC and MICHAEL KIWANUKA. Hand to heart, I haven’t done little selecting this time. The playlist practically have put itself together without my help. 

 In our “Travel” section you’ll find some Middle Eastern flavours from SOUAD MASSI, tropical vibes of QUITAPENAS, masala indie pop of LIFAFA and sub-Saharan sounds of TINARIWEN. And for those who prefer to stay local,  GIF, JUST MUSTARD, LOAH, PILLOW QUEENS are some of the emerging Irish acts to check out. No playlist of ours would be complete without some Polish tunes either. HANAKO, KONIEC LATA, PIES and ZOUZY be representin’ this time.

And, what kind of summer it would be without few serious bangers and festival anthems. THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS, MELT YOURSELF DOWN, BLANCK MASS, BURIAL, FRIENDLY FIRES, SAMPHA THE GREAT and DJ SHADOW delivered few of those, making sure we don’t doze off and sleep thought the rest of the season. Similarly, indie bands like CARIÑO, SQUID, BLACK MIDI, THE CHATS, SLEATER-KINNEY, VIVIAN GIRLS continue to keep us going with their alternative kicks.

Indie fans also rejoiced with the arrivals of new albums by HOT CHIP, THE RACOUNTERS, THE BLACK KEYS, BON IVER, THE FLAMING LIPS and THOM YORKE. In addition, METRONOMY, TOOL, LANA DEL REY, PIXIES, ANGEL OLSEN and WILCO are among the artists who have new LP’s scheduled for release in the very near future. But more on this topic next month. 

In other news, we have witnessed yet another spat between the Gallagher brothers, as both LIAM and NOEL have released new music and had an usual media scuffle. Somewhere else, another clash of the titans, although much more friendly, happened in a form of “Gone”,  an collaboration between pop divas, CHARLIE XCX CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS. But it was MADONNA, the reigning Queen of Pop, who got everyone talking after her 14thstudio album, “Madame X”, dropped in June. Infused with global flavours the record has been described by the critics as Madge’s most focused work in years.

That’s the summer of 2019 in a nutshell, filtered through my selector’s sunglasses and headphones. I hope it is a good one for you all. Filled with sunshine, love, great moments and awesome tunes. And nothing manages to spoil it. 

(SUMMERTIME) LOVE,

Piotrek