Each week, Audio Taste Test serves up an obscure and independent playlist for your evening, tantalizing your musical palate with flavors from all different soundscapes. Listen on demand here and on 88Nine from 10-11 p.m. every Thursday.
I hope you’re hungry, because this episode serves up a three-course playlist featuring sophistipop to pair with your pumpkin-spice latte, Afrofuturism for your daydreams and a bit of atmospheric bedroom pop for when you want to chill.
Oakland-based singer-songwriter Elujay has a brand new single called “Bomo,” and it’s the vibe of the trendsetter. He blends yacht rock with R&B and soul for when you want to feel fancy in your going-out shoes (or your houseshoes). Vicky Sometami also makes an appearance in the playlist with her modernized crooner-like jazz/blues sound, which has Bob Dylan and Joan Baez undertones if you’re a fan of 1960s folk.
In that vein, French artist Laure Briard collaborated with FJ McMahon on her latest release, Voyage Mental, that embodies yé-yé (the upbeat pop-music genre circulating in France in the 1960s) with a drop of whimsical psychedelia. The track “Golden Sun” is made for picnicking lovers sitting on the side of the riverbank. It’s truly jeune amour.
If you’re looking to take a trip into the cosmos, Afrofuturist and archivist Candice Hoyes released Expecting last week, floating her voice above a bed of harp tones with reverberations that send shivers down your spine. Think Minnie Ripperton and Beethoven collaborating on “Moonlight Sonata.”
My last highlight goes to bedroom poppers Pity Party (Girls Club) and Lucys, who create late-night feelings of longing on their track “I Hope That You Think Of Me.” I appreciate that they’ve collaborated frequently to bring the world a whole heap of lofi melancholy melodies, perfect for those early morning hours.
Happy tasting!
Episode playlist
- Elujay, “Bomo”
- Ganser, “Speaking of the future,”
- Melike Sahin, “Uykumun Boynunu Bukme”
- Vicky Sometani, “Keep Coming Back To You”
- Candice Hoyes, “Expecting (feat. Junius Paul & Makaya McCraven)”
- Isaiah Falls, “HONEYBUTTER (feat. Mahalia)”
- Devon Parkin, “Gutterball”
- Dope Lemon, “Stonecutters”
- FJ McMahon & Laure Briard, “Golden Sun”
- Pity Party Girls Club, “I Hope That You Think Of Me (feat. Lucys)”
- Rawat, “Mun Plak De Na”
- Ed Askew, “Tough Guys”
- Orlando Weeks, “Best Night”
- Marcus Gad & Tamal, “Fruit and Flower”
- Holy Wave, “US 54”
