The Plug’n Play: October (‘23)
November 1, 2023
You can listen to the full playlist on Apple Music, Spotify, or Tidal
The Monthly Recap:
Throughout the month, Kevin and I select some of our favorite releases for the Plug’n Play Playlist. In a lot of ways, this playlist is an extension of our text thread where we send new music to each other throughout the month. We hope you dig it!
Songs 1-15 were selected by Kevin. Songs 16-27 were selected by me, Stanley. As always, we hope you find a song you like and check out the larger body of work (and don’t put the playlist on shuffle!).
Jonathan L. Seagull — Sampha
Over the past few years, I’ve been a fan of Sampha from afar; he’s the type of artist whose name I get excited to see on an album’s feature list. I listened to Process, his 2017 album, and enjoyed it for the most part, but rarely returned to it. But, with the release of Lahai, Sampha’s latest album, I might be his biggest fan ever. Lahai’s incredibly well done on many fronts: songwriting, production, dynamics, mixing, pacing, and so on. Jonathan L. Seagull was a standout track for me on the first listen, but picking one (or three) songs to talk about feels like shortchanging the album. I’ve returned to this album almost daily since it’s release — it’s the type of sound I’ve been looking for.
Trippin — 2nd Exit, Imaginary Friend
I’m a fan of collaboration; of artists working to meld their worlds, bringing what they have to offer, how ever incomplete that might be. 2nd Exit — the collaborative effort between London-based artists Alfa Mist and Lester Duval — is but one example of the possibilities that come from collaboration. Alfa Mist’s keyboard playing — often playing long, sustained chords — fits perfectly alongside Lester Duval’s slight drag on the drums, all of which leave space for the vocals to shine. All Out, their new EP with Imaginary Friend, sees the collective channel the spirit of the Soulquarians at times, and Slum Village at others (two of the great collectives in the history of music). It’s a fantastic display of artists coming together to make something beyond the limits of what they could do alone.
