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Sanvari’s waking to winding down playlist
“This playlist was curated to give you something to cherish and hold you still enough to feel your life as it stands right now”
words – sanvari
location – edinburgh, united kingdom
Our brains have a strange way of making sense of things we initially can’t fathom. Flashback to my first year of college, a random summer evening filled with fits of laughter ignited by references to the song “Shot me Down” by David Guetta and Skylar Gray. Our shenanigans led to the assembled company blessing us with the advice “You guys are lucky. Just keep exploring good music.” For a long time, none of us understood the good luck we were bestowed with. And, for longer still, I didn’t understand why my brain remembered this experience so precisely. But years later, scrolling through my playlist named “Treasure, Oh Treasure!,” I suddenly understood why. Exploring music was/is/will be a big part of my life. I get stuck without music. I remember phases of my life through music, where songs serve as the timeline to my existence.
This playlist was curated with a similar intention in mind – to give you something to cherish and hold you still enough to feel your life as it stands right now. I, as the curator, hope this reaches out to you and speaks you words of comfort when in need, builds an ambient bubble of music to thrive within and tickles your running feet into sync before it eases you into the night. The playlists below, When waking up, When working, When running and When winding down, offer you a companion to see you through a whole day; I hope you enjoy bringing them along on your journey.
When waking up:
01_Parekh and Singh
A pop duo from Kolkata, India, consisting of Nischay Parekh and Jivraj Singh. Their songs have a subtle pop that sneaks up on you and incites a fun dreaminess. One of my favourites is “I love you Baby, I love you Doll,” which radiates a hazy heartache wrapped up in selfless love.
Songs: I love you Baby, I love you Doll; Ghost; Panda.
02_Mild Orange
A New Zealand based band of four – consisting of Josh Mehrtens, Josh Reid, Tom Kelk and Jack Ferguson – Mild Orange has a chilled, dreamy pop vibe. Mild Orange, as the band describes it, belongs to the genre of “melting melodies.” A favourite track is one of the later releases “Freak in Me.” It could make you dance with your shadow as it flows in happy undertones resembling the British summer.
Songs: Freak in Me; Some Feeling; Selfish Lover.
03_The F16s
I remember stumbling upon “Moon Child” with Spanish translations. I thought the song was beautiful in not just one but two languages; I couldn’t help falling for it. The F16s, as I later found out, are an Indian band, based in Chennai. Their sound encases an indie rock vibe with pockets of retro and rock ‘n’ roll.
Songs: Moon Child; Jacuzzi; Trouble in Paradise.
When working:
01_Explosions in the Sky
Explosions in the Sky are a band who resemble the post-rock genre of music. The ‘right’ way to listen to them is to read the name of the song, shut your eyes and let the music guide you. You might stumble upon an absolutely beautiful string of wishful thinking and a sneak peak of your ideal life – and it only gets better.
Songs: Your Hands in Mine; Hello, Is this Your House?; The Only Moment we are Together.
02_Petit Biscuit
Mehdi Benjelloun, AKA Petit Biscuit, is a music producer and DJ from France. His electronic music finds grounding in the tropical house genre of music, mixing a tinge of classical piano with techno beats and vocals. My favourite track has to be “You, in which Benjelloun creates gradual consent while giving more variations to get comfortable with by adding elements over elements.
Songs: Sunset Lover; You; Night Trouble.
03_Ólafur Arnalds
Ólafur Arnalds’s music slowly and smoothly fills your surroundings with a calming depth. His music is atmospheric and sits somewhere between classical and electronic.
Songs: This Place Was A Shelter; Only the Winds; Saman.
When running:
01_The Kooks
The Kooks are a pop rock band from Brighton, England. As a teenager, I was absolutely fascinated by the blue waters and pink flowers flooding the “Shine on” music video. My favourite from the band, it’s a happy pop rock track with a catchy chorus.
Songs: Shine On; Bad Habit; Junk of the Heart.
02_Dead Emerson
The story of Dean Emerson taking his stage name from his phone’s autocorrect is as impromptu as the genre of his music. The singer likes to leave a blank space for his sound to fall into. His voice has its own rawness, tinged with deep and pixelated endings.
Songs: Siddhartha; Sucker Punch; Long Walk Home.
03_Girl in Red
Marie Ulven Ringheim, AKA Girl in Red, is a singer/ songwriter from Norway. Her music has an underlying synth, layered with pop beats and sprinkled with lyrics alluding to the various shades of love and heartbreak, along with her queerness. My favourite piece from her work remains “We Fell In Love in October,” as it has a way of pushing my perspective to zoom out and feel everything in a third person narrative.
Songs: We fell in Love in October; Girls, Bad Idea!
When Winding Down:
01_Ditty
Aditi Veena, AKA Ditty, has a connection with nature which is evident in her effortless songwriting. It is poetry turned into song, in a voice so clear and rustic it almost forms a genre of its own. Her songs are a kind of melancholy that is seen with a haze of beauty rather than in sombre nativity.
Songs: Deathcab; History of us; Eulogy for a Sparrow.
02_Peter Cat Recording Co.
A group of five, Peter Cat Recording Co. could be described as fundamental Jazz, thanks to the possibilities of their sound that may or may not be identified. My first introduction to the band was with their song, and particularly the music video for, “Where the Money Flows” It spoke of the act of demonetisation in India at a time when no one else dared.
Songs: Where the Money Flows; Copulations; I’m This.
03_Aquilo
“So Close to Magic” is the song that made me find words for a feeling I later ended up describing as “future-nostalgia-consciousness.” I mean this to be the conscious awareness of a particular feeling to turn into nostalgia in the future. Aquilo is a duo, consisting of Ben Fletcher and Tom Higham, from Lancashire, England. The music they create flows smoothly in and under so many layers it’s impossible not to feel a number of zen-like side effects upon every listen.
Songs: So Close to Magic; You there; Silhouette.
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