Good Morning!
We made it to the 77th day of the year. Spring is about to blossom and I don’t know about you but I’m ready for that nice and warm weather so I put together a selection of (mostly) breezy electronic and indie pop in the hope that it will make you feel refreshed and sparkling like a cold glass of topo chico. It is also full of amazing female singers and producers from all over the world so make sure to check them out.
60s: The Girl From Ipanema - Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto (1964)
A classic. This version has only the english lyrics sung by the talented Astrud Gilberto, who filled in for her husband when they were recording because he didn’t know how to sing in english. And of course there’s Getz in the sax and the song’s composer António Jobim on the piano.
“When she walks she's like a samba that
Swings so cool and sways so gently
That when she passes, each one she passes goes "ah!"”
70s: For What It’s Worth - Miriam Makeba (1970)
One of the world’s most famous protest songs. I usually try to add only the original versions of songs, but this cover of “Buffalo Springfield”’s original sounds just as good in a whole different way.
“There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind”
80s: Seaside Weekend - Antena (1982)
Now we have some electronic pop and bossa nova from french-belgian artist Isabelle Antena. This entire album is amazing, it was reissued by Numero Group in 2004 and I’ve been listening to it nonstop for the last few months.
“It's a seaside weekend
No sun, no rain
We feel lazy
We feel funny”
90s: painty paint pots - 800 Cherries (1999)
It’s hard to get cuter than 800 cherries, this is a tokyo-based duo from the 90s with an electronic / indie pop sound backed with soft vocals, ethereal keyboards and adorable lyrics.
“Paint my walls blue, but don't forget smiling sun
Paint my walls blue, but don't forget floating clouds
Paint my walls blue, but don't forget singing birds
Don't you think I can be like a butterfly?”
00s: Pass This On - The Knife (2003)
An addictive and dark electro-pop song by the swedish duo of siblings The Knife. I really like the atmosphere that the song (and video) creates, its both uneasy and comfortable at the same time; the steel drums might stay in your head after listening, tho
“I'm in love with your brother
What's his name
I thought I'd come by
To see him again”
10s: Running Back To You - The Juan Maclean (2014)
A great synth-bass dance song from The Juan Maclean, a project by John MacLean and Nancy Whang (LCD Soundsystem).
“Cuz every time I think
About my life without you
My world goes dark, so dark”
20s: The World Is Big - Σtella (2020)
We’ll finish with some fresh indie pop all the way from Greece. The Break is a really interesting self-produced album by Stella (with a sigma) who was, in her own words, “born beside the sea and raised by a Canadian nanny who waterskied topless”.
“The world is big
But too small for you”
Click here to listen to the playlist on spotify!
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Thanks for reading and listening!