Recently I was at a youth festival/conference as part of a team that run a music café and venue called The Lounge. I spent the week working with brilliant musicians and was part of a Q&A panel on the last day of the festival. The last question was “What are you listening to at the moment?” We all gave brief answers, that I’m sure were useful, but I thought it would useful to write a brief blog on what I’m enjoying at the moment and why.
Billie Eilish
WHY: I first came across Eilish through a series of memes of her song Bad Guy. I listened to her song and watched her Glastonbury set and loved her style. Her basslines are great and her synth riffs catchy. And Bad Guy contains one of my favourite recent lyrics:
My mommy likes to sing along with me
But she won't sing this song
If she reads all the lyrics
She'll pity the men I know
STAND OUT ALBUM: WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?
Anna Thorvaldsdottir
WHY: Thorvaldsdottir’s music is beautiful. A soft soundscape of harmony, dark and haunting flourishes, glimpses of beautiful melody. I first heard her music on Q2’s Meet the Composer and loved it ever since.
STAND OUT TRACK: Transitions
Andy Kyte
WHY: I had the privilege of meeting Kyte a few years ago when he performed at The Lounge. He has long pursued great song writing and composition within a contemporary Church setting — in an era when there has been much music happy to simply create poor imitations of existing music. His latest album looks at the theological concept of Hope Deferred and is well worth a listen.
STAND OUT ALBUM: Hope Deferred
Poppy Ackroyd
WHY: Ackroyd is a Brighton based composer/performer. I love her use of multi-media and hopefully will get to see her live soon where she uses projections alongside her live performance.
STAND OUT ALBUM: Sketches
So there are a few of my favourite artists and there are many more I haven’t covered. Who are you listening to?