Music of the Month: August | Zafira
Hello!
I’m not even going to address my absence from here because it’s becoming a little bit of pattern recently but all you need to know is that I’m back with some cool blog post ideas that I hope you’ll enjoy reading as much as I’ll enjoy creating them.
But first I thought we should start with what seems to be everybody’s favourite post to read, an August edition of the much beloved Music of the Month.
It’s been a beautiful month in the music world, for me anyway. I feel like everything I have been listening to these past few months was very ‘listen a few times and then never again’ kind of music but this month, I’ve found a few songs and artists that I know will forever be in my head and my life.
As always, you can check out my entire August playlist here.
euphoria original score - labrinth
I feel like everyone who watched Euphoria is completely infatuated and entangled with the show. Whether that’s the with the oh so very cool editorial-esque makeup or the funky too hot for their own good outfits or in my case, this album.
I only got around to listening to the entire score this August, I had no idea it was even out and available on Spotify. I remember when the show first aired and the one thing (alongside the dreamy cinematography) that really stood out to me was the music and way it seamlessly blended into every scene of the show.
I have a lot of favourites but one I try to very badly sing or I guess hum since it doesn’t really have any proper words is Forever. It’s crazy how good Labrinth is on this album because the only memories I have of his music are from his Earthquake days and that is an entirely different world from this album. I adore We All Knew and WTF Are We Talking For too but this is one score worth listening to the entire way through.
Perdus -
AngÈle
Angèle’s voice is the dreamiest thing I think I’ve heard in a while. It’s so soft and gentle and comforting.
I think French pop music is so underrated in the world of mainly western pop because it’s so unique and not cheesy and every artist always has some sort of unique factor about them rather than all sounding exactly the same.
I guess you could say Angèle’s unique factor is not only the soft tones of her voice but the grace in the way she sings. She sounds so eloquent but still carries a certain coolness.
I heard Perdus on one of her COLORS sessions and I’m in love with it. Alongside her hauntingly beautiful voice, Perdus is still a very modern song with a catchy beat that makes this song so irresistible.
falling for you - jaden smith & justin bieber
Growing up I was never a Justin Bieber fan, I was more of a JLS gal, but there was one song by Justin Bieber that I loved and that was Never Say Never with Jaden Smith.
So you can only imagine how happy the resurface of this very cute duo in Jaden’s new album made me.
This song is the epitome of love, it’s cheesy, upbeat and so very sweet. I think this is probably the best song on CTV 3.
Listen here.
1999 - rich brian
I don’t know why but Rich Brian’s songs always remind of summer.
I’ll have to admit, I don’t think 1999 has anything on Amen and The Sailor but this in my eyes, is a pretty different album to them both.
1999 is what I’d consider more of a pop style album which isn’t what I’d expect from Rich Brian but I think it was interesting to listen to him play with a different genre of music and listen to something so personal.
Obviously Love in My Pocket is my absolute favourite. This song plays in my head 24/7. I love DOA and Sins too. It’s weirdly cool hearing him actually singing too, I don’t think he has the greatest vocals but I quite like his voice anyway.
dreamland -glass animals
I’ve loved Glass Animals since my early teens and I think they’ll forever be one of my all time favourite bands. They have this certain quirkiness about them that I just cannot get enough of.
Dreamland might just top How to Be a Human Being in my list of favourite Glass Animals albums. They took everything they did well in HTBAHB like the beats and the occasional rap verses and really threw it all into Dreamland, thus birthing probably one of my favourite albums to be released this year.
Also I’m the biggest fan of the whole Windows 98/glitch-y vibes on this album.
You have to listen to the album from start to finish to really enjoy it but a few of my favourites are of course Dreamland, Hot Sugar and Tangerine.
Burden - aminé
Other than REEL IT IN, I had never really listened to anything else by Aminé but listening to Limbo has me questioning why I took this long divulging into his music.
This is yet another album I can happily listen to all the way through but I of course have a few favourites that I have on repeat all the time.
Pressure in My Palms (featuring slowthai and Vince Staples), Easy (featuring Summer Walker) and Becky are my faves at the minute but the more I listen the more my favourites change.
Here’s a few other songs I’m also loving and that you should definitely check out:
If you ever want to send me some stuff you’re listening to at the minute then please go ahead, I love listening to new things.
Thanks for reading!
Music of the Month: February | Zafira
Hey!
I can’t believe it’s March already. I feel like I start all my MOTMs like this but it’s crazy how fast time passes as you get older.
Ah finally, it’s spring which means here in the UK we will get some slight sunshine, a few crazy storms, some snow and maybe if we’re lucky, it’ll be over 20°C one day and it will truly feel like we’re on the road to a beautiful summer.
Music wise, this entire February has been one of my favourite months in a while since I’ve discovered some gems and fallen in love with some new releases.
You can check out my entire playlist for the month here but here are a few songs and albums that have impacted my past month in the best way possible.
CHRISTINE & THE QUEENS -LA VITA NUOVA
Like most people, the only song I had heard by Christine and the Queens was Tilted so I decided to explore her music a bit more which ended up being a massive coincidence because it was around the same time she was about to release her new album.
The first song I’d heard from La Vita Nuova was People I’ve Been Sad and I don’t think I can go a day without listening to it anymore. I think it might be my favourite song of all time. I can’t ever imagine getting bored of this. There’s also a stunning version of this that Chris performed for Colors and I listen to it so much that whenever I type YouTube into my search bar, the first link is always to this.
La Vita Nuova has some other amazing songs too. A few of my faves at the minute are Mountains (we met) and Nada. I love how slow and calming this entire album is. The entire album is about vulnerability and I think those two factors really help bring that out.
2. TAME IMPALA - THE SLOW RUSH
Like every other indie kid, I’ve been in love with Tame Impala ever since my late high school/early college days and I love how unlike many other indie bands they’ve been consistently hmm, what’s the word? Not shit?
Indie bands that fit into the Tame Impala sort of genre have the tendency to make music that somehow ends up sounding exactly the same but Tame Impala has this really unique late 70’s/slow disco-y vibes (ugh I hate that word but it fits) that I really really adore.
The Slow Rush has many great songs but some of favourites that I’v enjoyed starting and ending my day with are obviously Breathe Deeper, Posthumous Forgiveness and Borderline which may or may not have become my ideal song to sing a little too loudly in the shower. I think this album feels a little like a non-contact hug which pretty perfect for this current corona virus state.
3. GRIMES - MISS ANTHROPOCENE
I loved how February had this large release of so many new albums and one of had to be Grimes’ new album Miss Anthropocene.
Before she had released the entire album and was releasing a few singles, one of the songs that I was so obsessed with was 4ÆM which I had just recently read that this song was actually based on Bajirao Mastani. If you haven’t seen Bajirao Mastani then you most definitely should. It’s a periodic Bollywood movie which has some of the most breathtaking settings and scenery and obviously, outfits. I’m not too into Bollywood movies but I’m big fan of the periodic/pre-historic ones because the outfits in them are so over the top.
One song that felt a little un-Grimes-y was Delete Forever. A lot of Grimes’ music always has some sort of upbeat techno beat in the background whereas Delete Forever is a lot more slower and quite emotional.
Some other songs I really liked are You’ll miss me when I’m not around and Violence but everything on Miss Anthropocene is just so so good.
4. TO BELIEVE - THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA & MOSES SUMNEY
If you read last months MOTM then you’d know I’ve been really into Moses Sumney this year so when I found out he had a song with the one and only Cinematic Orchestra I was over the moon.
It’s beautiful. It’s so sad but so relaxing at the same time. It’s difficult to really put into words but Moses Sumney and the Cinematic Orchestra are the most perfect and unexpected duo.
5. Gabriel Garzón- Montano - Someone/Agüita/Bloom (Medley)
I’m a huge COLORS Studio fan and they released this medley by Gabriel a few weeks ago and I’m a huuuuge fan.
So in this COLORS show, Gabriel is accompanied by not only 3 other musicians but the prettiest pink/mauve backdrop as well as the funkiest oversized white trench coat. Aesthetically, it’s so pleasing to look at.
The medley is made up of mixture of 3 very different songs and somehow they all flow so well after the other. If anything, this shows the range of talent Gabriel has and I’m excited to see what he releases next!
Also, the best thing about COLORS is that they put most of the studio sessions on Spotify. There’s nothing more annoying than finding a song you like and it not be on Spotify.
6. KING KRULE - OMEN 3
I haven’t listened to King Krule in such a long time but when he appeared on my release radar earlier this February I was more than excited to see what he had been up to.
He has since released his latest album Man Alive! which I am yet to fully listen to but one song I just can’t get enough of on there is Omen 3.
I’ve always loved how calm and almost monotone King Krule’s voice is, I find it quite soothing. In this song however, the entire track feels this way which if you can’t tell by most of what I listen to recently, is something I quite like. It kind of puts you in a trance in someways.
HERE’S A FEW MORE SONGS I’M LOVING
???? - EDEN
Thanks for reading!
