Track of the Weekend #123: Sufjan Stevens - “No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross”

We’ve been busy hooking some new things up this week here at the Whyd studio. There are lots of screwdrivers laying among bits of wire. Something truly awesome is coming, and we can’t wait to tell you about it…

But it is also the cat days of winter, where the cold is damp and the rain gets stuck in the air, giving up its quest for the ground. For those of us who are riding out the end of the winter, a melody has resonated. The delicate voice of Michigan’s own Sufjan Stevens delivers a heartbroken message across his signature strums and hums. “No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross" is his grief pure, a window into the place where the love for his lost mother is hiding in a corner, knee-deep in tears. He lays is bare and clear:   

Fuck me I’m falling apart

Thanks to dominique lutier for grabbing this for us! 

Track of the Weekend #121: L’Impératrice - “Vanilla Fraise”

The cold is instilled in our bones here in Paris. Our breaths smoke like dragons. Les chauffages are bien allumés. Luckily for us, there is sound, and when that sound is beautiful, with a little boogie, it’s enough to shake the chill from our souls. 

This week that funk is “Vanilla Fraise" (Strawberry Vanilla) by L’Impératice, a light-hearted romp that is reminiscent of the glory days of Rinôçérôse or Air, French electronica at its most delicious. It’s easy to see why it was the most popular track on Whyd this week. 

Thanks to Cédric L. for sharing it with us!  

Milky Chance Interview: Passion, Spontaneity, and Creating “Sadnecessary”

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You know their song “Stolen Dance,” you know how well it rhymes with their name, but what else do you know about Milky Chance? The German duo answers your questions in this Whyd interview:  

Your humble beginnings are well-documented. When you were in your home-made studio cutting “Sadnecessary" what were your realistic expectations?

We did not have any expectations. We just enjoyed the time making music and producing. There was nothing special we wanted to achieve. Music was just always our passion! 

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How long had you been writing the songs on “Sadnecessary?” The depth of the lyrics implies that they are polished, or were those songs more spontaneous?

Stolen Dance took two and half years to write! We had some parts very early but the rest came to us very late. But there were other songs who came into existence in the studio within 15 minutes. In whole the album took us about two years… in any case, sometimes there are these strong feelings that make you write a song in a very short time. 

You probably get asked this all the time, but where does the name Milky Chance come from?

There is no story behind the name but there are often days when we ask ourselves how we came up with this stupid name :)

It was just that we had always several bands where we played, and we had written down some potential names and there came the day we had to choose one - we decided spontaneously! 

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What was the best concert you have ever attend?

One of the best we’ve been to was the concert of James Blake, last December. 

What was it like to perform at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC?

It was our first gig in the USA, so a very big step for us! 

Track of the Weekend #120: THYLACINE - “Closing” feat. Dyllan

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Heavy wet snowflakes are falling here in Paris, and winter feels real. There is an indoor feeling, something cozy and warm, calling for a musical cocoon to envelop us. A perfect track for that cocoon is this week’s Track of the Weekend. “Closing" by THYLACINE feat. Dyllan is steady like the ocean waves, elevated on the wings of a soft, angelic voice until it drives through the build and attaches itself firmly into your memory.

The emerging French artist THYLACINE (which was the largest marsupial carvinore, also known as a Tazmanian Tiger, but is sadly now extinct) released his EP “Exil” this week, something to definitely get your hands on

Thanks (comme d’hab!) to Le Coup du Lapin for slipping it into our streams this week!

Collective Soul: Playlist of Reference

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Another week, another installment in our new series delivering you trendy subgenre Playlist of References curated with love and attention from our community of music lovers. But it’s not enough just to accept the music, we also want the story behind the curation. This week it’s Collective Soul curated by the creator of Underground Playlist, Sal Cannata.  

When did you start listening to Collective Soul?

Collective Soul is a recent addition to my playlist catalogue on Whyd. Soul music has always been one of my favorite genres and I have seen a big change in how it has been implemented in music the past several years. Generally when one thinks of Soul they tie it in with R&B but with all the cross-genre experimenting going on, a lot of Soul-based music has translated into a unique style of Indie music that touches the boundaries of other genres. Despite the different genre influences of these particular songs they all sound so right when placed next to each other. I thought it would be great to put together a sample of this kind of music that we feature on Underground Playlist and showcase a new wave of Soul music to the Whyd community.

Did you ever have a moment when you felt like Collective Soul started speaking to you?

Totally. I live for this kind of music. Soul singers bring a lot of passion to each lyric. The artists in these songs have a great way of conveying emotion and I connect with that a lot. It seems like whether these particular songs contain certain elements of Pop, Rock, R&B, or Electronic, the aspect of Soul brings everything together and connects with me in a big way.

What are some example situations when you would listen to this playlist yourself?

I find that the overall tone of this playlist centers around relaxation. That could be useful in pretty much any situation except for maybe the dance club. For me, I’ve found this playlist to be a great listen towards the end of the day as things wind down. Everyone listens to music differently so this playlist can be used for all sorts of things like during work, cooking dinner, lounging with your friends, the list goes on!

If you had to choose just one track from this playlist, which one would be your favorite?

It’s hard to choose just one track out of the 80+ in the playlist. From a Whyd experience the Robin Schulz remix of “Waves” is one of my favorite finds on Whyd. I remember just browsing around and clicking on the song to see what it was about and instantly became a fan. I love how a bootleg can turn into a mainstream hit a year or so later. It’s rare and awesome that I was able to witness that journey early in the game. When I would hear the song on the radio in front of my friends I’d make sure to let them know how long ago I first heard this song and where I found it. Thanks for the bragging rights Whyd! :)

From a more musical standpoint, Ben Howard’s cover of Keisza’s song “Hideaway” blows me away every time. I love how an artist can flip a song and give it a brand new feel. A few others that never get old to me are Jordan Bratton - “The Grey,” Harper - “Animal,” Shy Girls - “Renegade,” Ari Lennox - “Bound,” The Prince Fox remix of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me,” and the newly added Kevin Garrett - “Coloring.” There are so many that I love but those are some standouts in this playlist. Stay tuned as I plan to update Collective Soul with new additions as time goes on!   

Thanks Underground Playlist! Check out the personal account of the creator of Underground Playlist, Sal Cannata for more Indie Soul and extra tracks! 

Track of the Weekend #119: Ibeyi - “Ghosts”

There were snowflakes in the air this morning as dawn broke over the city of light. For a moment, it looked like everything was frozen calm. Civilization at peace. But the heartbeat of life pulsed anew. For a city cannot have two identities. 

That double moment is best captured by this week’s Track of the Weekend by the Franco-Cuban twins know as Ibeyi. “Ghosts" is as delicate as a snowflake, and as unique too. The twin voices combine in jerking refrains that pull you in and out of time, not sure who is who, what is what. Their debut album is due out mid-February, so expect a lot more to come from these talented women. 

Thanks to RDCC for getting it to Whyd

Electro Swing: Playlist of Reference

Continuing with our latest initiative of delivering high quality playlists meticulously curated by our top music lovers, today we bring you a subgenre that combines old and new, and is rapidly pushing its way into the mainstream. It’s Electro Swing curated by Louis de Sentenac. Let’s get the story behind the playlist with this quick interview: 

When did you start listening to Electro Swing?

When one of my friends told me about Parov Stelar, who was releasing their album “That Swing” in 2009 with tracks like “Wanna Get” or “Kiss Kiss” that are big references in Electro Swing for me. You’ll see a lot of Parov Stelar in this playlist!

Did you ever have a moment when you felt like Electro Swing talked to you? 

I immediately attached myself to Electro Swing, I loved the vintage jazz and swing influences mixed with contemporary electronic that made it very danceable and excellent to listen to. 

What are some examples of situations when you listen to Electro Swing?

Most often it’s during aperos with friends, before heading out or to a concert, listening to Electro Swing gets me ready to go! 

If you had to choose just one track on this playlist, which one would be your favorite?

Man that’s not easy. Being a big fan of jazz I would lean towards a jazzier track: Dimaa - “Andrew” 

Thanks Louis! Here’s his Electro Swing Playlist in all of its glory. Please share with your friends who are in to Electro Swing! 

Your Weekly High Five: 5 Quality Tracks Per Week [Donnemencinq Interview]

Bonjour! When did you create Donnemencinq (Give me five)? Where did the concept come from? Do you give a lot of high fives? 

Hello! Donnemencinq was born in October of last year. I had wanted to launch a cultural project for a long time and instead of launching something too complicated, I prefered to start off with a simple and attractive start: each Monday one playlist with quality musical discoveries. 

The idea comes from two big motivations: my desire to share and my love for music and new sounds. 

Have you ever noticed that you always feel better after a high five? For me, every Monday I give myself a big high five and that guarantees me a successful week! 

You suggest playlist with five tracks each week. Where do you find these tracks? Why only five? 

I follow a lot of artists and labels on Soundcloud and on other social networks. Since I started to use Whyd I also discover more and more tracks thanks to other users’ playlists. 

Only five tracks for a question of quality. If we succeed in publishing five tracks that really make an impression on our visitors then we are already really happy. At the beginning it was a question of selecting one track per work day (from Monday to Friday) and finally we said that it would be even nicer to have a full list from the first day of work. 

Who should listen to your playlists? Tell us about your style of music, is it the same overall or does it change from week to week? 

Our playlists are made for the widest audience possible. Our goal is to make people discover tracks that haven’t been listened to a lot but deserve to be. We also like to bring back a few classics that have been forgotten. It’s important to remain accessible, it has to be a moment of pleasure! 

On the style side, even if we like electro, we pay attention to bringing diversity in our selections. We can go from one style to another very rapidly but we try to keep a certain progression to the flow of the playlist. 

We can we look forward to you in 2015? Do you have plans for world domination?

The project is still very young but we already have a lot of ideas. The next steps are: 

- Go to meet artists that have impressed us and interview them

- Create artwork for each playlist from talented photographers and graphic designers

- Present the latest news from artists that we really appreciate

With that, we might not dominate the world, but I’m sure that the simplicity and quality of our site will have a nice place in it! 

So Whyd, give me five! 

Follow Georges from Donnemencinq on Whyd, Like them on Facebook, and check back weekly for their latest playlists!

Deep House: Playlist of Reference

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We’re continuing our mission of providing you with incredible music to listen to, and we have tapped our top music lovers who are experts in certain subgenres of music to feature their playlists in our Playlist of Reference series. To fully appreciate the selection, here is the story behind the playlist, as told by the curator. 

Today we’re featuring the Deep playlist curated by Tis.

When did you start listening to Deep?

Most of my playlists are genre-related and I created Deep in April 2013, mostly to share deep house/deep techno tracks at the beginning by then it evolved to sharing also ambient, peaceful, and mental tracks without “musical genre barriers.”

Did you ever have a moment when you felt like Deep started speaking to you?

I guess that when you want to have a musical background that’s peaceful for the mind, it’s noticeable that after a few tracks you begin to really pay attention to the music and appreciate it.

What are some example situations when you would listen to this playlist yourself?

I mostly listen to this playlist at work, most of the songs don’t have lyrics and are relaxing, so it’s easier to focus.

If you had to choose just one track from this playlist, which one would be your favorite?

One song is hard to choose… let me give you 3!

FCL - “It’s you” (San Soda’s Panorama Bar Acca Version): a great cover of the classic Chicago house track from ESP (1989) and a big souvenir from Berlin afterclubbing.

Visonia - “Lunar Garden” an oniric techno track that I discovered this year, deeply mental. A great voyage for the mind.

Brian Eno: “An Ending (ascent)” because, Brian Eno.  

Track of the Weekend #116: Mark Ronson - “Uptown Funk” feat. Bruno Mars

The first track of the weekend of 2015, and it’s a marker of how we’ve come. When Whyd first began, we feared the day that Bruno Mars - known for his incredibly commercialized mainstream pop songs that included “Grenade,” a low point for the human race; “Marry Me” the song which says very clearly and repeatedly “We’re looking for something dumb to do, hey baby, I think I wanna marry you.” (people actually use this song to propose to their significant others…); followed by “Lighters” which furthered lowered the bar so low that it had no choice but to start coming back up again - would trend on Whyd. For that to happen, it would mean that the mainstream was beginning to adopt Whyd in large numbers. As you can probably imagine by this point, that’s where we are today. Let’s just call this moment bittersweet. 

Mark Ronson has been working with Bruno Mars for a long time, and if you look at his production credits, he’s worked with basically everyone else too. “Uptown Funk" is exactly what you would expect: energetic, some funky dance moves, all taking place above Central Park. The man deserves our respect, and this track will definitely add an extra step to your weekend festivities. 

Thanks to Vietman for getting it to us!