March Tunes

Hello friends.

It’s been difficult times for a lot of us. The music industry has been one of the industries to take a huge hit as a lot of industries are. Concerts are off the table indefinitely, no more festivals, no live performances and social distancing means it’s harder and harder for your favourite artists to attend writing sessions and collaborate with producers, writers and singers, which is how some of your favourite music gets created.

However, the solitude and the isolation also means time to work on music and just focus on getting better, getting inspired and getting it all out. I mean, if you wanna listen to what I came up with, you can check that out HERE.

As hard as it’s been, March has been so rewarding for me musically, whether it’s old music or new releases.

Here’s what I listened to in March.

N.Y. State of Mind – Nas: I couldn’t begin to tell you why I added this to my playlist but I did and I’m not taking it back. Illmatic is arguably one of my favourite rap albums of all time, so just having this added to the playlist I listen to on a daily basis was just elite. I don’t know man, Nas does it differently.

big fat mouth – Arlie: I have my good friend Tessa to thank for this addition. Late in February, Tess and I took a road-trip to Healesville to watch a friend of mine play with his band at a small farm-side music festival, and it was definitely the highlight of the month for me. It was just a couple of hours in the car listening to Tessa talk because she is amazing at it, having a grand old chat, DnM-ing, sharing music and queuing up the best road-trip playlist ever. It was such a wholesome day, and this song is a suggestion of hers that was promptly added to my 365//2020 playlist. Just wait for some of the film photos in my next photo dump! Super cute.

Better Not – Louis The Child, Wafia: This is one of those songs that I’d heard, but didn’t know any of the details about, so when a few Instagram mutuals shared a song of theirs in the works that was inspired by this song, everything just clicked into place. Such a good pairing. Louis The Child, Wafia; what more could you want?

C’mon – Mario: Mario’s just becoming a staple every month to be honest. I can’t remember the last time I shared a playlist that didn’t feature a little Mario. My good friend Daniel showed me this song, and I was slapped in the face with a hit of nostalgia. Such a good song. It definitely features on my necessities playlist, which you should definitely check out.

Alladat – Church & AP: More Church & AP? Did you ever question that this would come up this month again? This is one of their older songs, but I love it all the same. It’s a spin on Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani, but so tastefully, just casually sprinkled in there. Other than a hint here and there, it’s just the two of them spitting for the entirety of the song. I genuinely think these guys are becoming two of my favourite lyricists at the moment. So smart and cheeky with their lyrics, it takes you a couple of listens to hear the hints and clues and little features they drop in their verses.

Bloom – Paige: Another one of New Zealand’s finest exports in my opinion. I’ve done a few features on Paige, including an interview with her, one of my favourite interviews on the blog to be honest. Again, her lyrics just do it for me, plus her voice is insane. Add in the vote of confidence from Billie Eilish and opening for Six60 (we love) and Ruel on tour, and I cannot wait for this chick to get even bigger than she already is.

Friends – Jai Waetford: If you’re not familiar with Jai, he was a lil bean who rocked up for the Australian X-Factor in 2013 and ended up coming 5th with his Bieber-style charm and looks, but genuinely outstanding vocals. I’ve been keeping tabs on him here and there, but I was shooketh to my core when Daniel played this song in the car and let me know who it was. Definitely worth a listen if you’re a Bieber or Will Singe fan, missing a bit of the old school type of stuff.

nursery – bbno$, Lentra: Ahhh, it was surely about to come up, but here we are. The first song on the list brought to you by TikTok. Not mad. Not ashamed. The absolute flavour present on TikTok is the reason I keep going back, this song being example numero uno. So good. So understated until it kicks into the next gear around 1:40. You’ll know what I mean, just give it a listen.

Dandelion – Church & AP, deadforest: This is from their album TEETH which they released in 2019, but I don’t know what else there is to say really. It’s Church & AP. I’m destined to love it by default. Hopefully you can get around it too.

Glimmer – Mako Road: More Mako Road this month. This is from their 2018 album The Green Superintendent. I’ve come to love the guitar and bass lines in MR songs, this being no different. It’s like they’ve taken my favourite parts of Ocean Alley guitar riffs and surf rock bass, just mixed it through all of their music and made it their own. They also always pull through with a cheeky lil switch up around the chorus. Again, just have a listen and you’ll see what I mean.

Blueberry Faygo – Lil Mosey: Proudly brought to you by TikTok. That’s it.

In The Air – L.A.B: One of the best deliveries I’ve ever received from TikTok has been this song. I’ve only seen one TikTok using this song, but straight away I was running to find the song and add it to my playlists. So right up my alley. So good. Just that good New Zealand slow rock, island vibe with a bit of reggae. Think Six60, with a sprinkling of Ocean Alley and some old school rock. That’s L.A.B. I’m loving most of the songs on their profile, but this one still sticks as the favourite. Definitely check them out if you’re looking for something chill for your Sunday mornings.

Jorja – Planet Vegeta: Spotify really knows what’s up. For some reason it just knows. This song was in my recommended and I could not be happier it showed up when it did. Obviously named after my gal Jorja Smith who love around here, this tune by Planet Vegeta who only recently dropped onto my radar is a whole vibe. A whole meal. Just would also like to subtly flex that the boys also shared my Instagram story on their account cos I was sharing their song to all of my followers who never asked. Subtle. But this song is it. It’s the only song PV have on Spotify at the moment, but their YouTube is a treasure trove, so be sure to hit that up.

Issues/Hold On – Teyana Taylor: Teyana Taylor, musically, is so under appreciated, especially the entire K.T.S.E album. This song is my latest obsession from it. Her vocals, the guitar, the harmonies, the chorus – it kills me, all of it kills me.

Tombstone – Ocean Alley: Another one from Ocean Alley. I never realise how much I genuinely love this band until I sit down to write a blog post and have to remind myself not to overload this blog with their music. This came out in December last year, but I somehow only listened to it recently. So good. Super psychedelic and surf-rock of them, which is obviously what I’ve come to love whenever listening to their music.

Paint Me Silver – Pond: This is Courtesy Of my good friend Tessa. If you missed the latest Courtesy Of post on the blog, you can find it HERE. If you vibe with this song, you’ll love the other songs that Tessa shared with me.

Misunderstood – Youngn Lipz: Dudes. This has been such a random add for me. Youngn Lipz is a rapper and singer from Sydney who I had genuinely never heard of before, until I randomly saw a video of him singing the start of this song acoustically on TikTok, and fell in love with his voice. He’s got such a good singing voice, but then I heard the original and his rapping is just as hard. I’ve been obsessed with this song since I first heard it.

Barking – Ramz: I feel like I should probably stop mentioning whenever I find a song on TikTok because it’s a bit of a ‘if you know, you know’ type situation and I should stop exposing myself. But, I’ll happily explain why I vibe with songs like this outside of TikTok. This is just right up my alley in terms of rhythm, vibe, perfect for putting on for a chill car ride, or having a little jam to while getting ready with friends.

Mad At Me – Kiana Lede: Ahhh, Kiana. So nice. Kiana’s come so far since she started posting her videos on YouTube and songs like these really highlight just how talented she is for me personally. I love the chorus of this song and how hard it hits. It’s hard to show off your vocals with songs that bounce as much as this one but she pulls it off so effortlessly. I could only wish.

Toxic – Kehlani: My main gal. I’ve been loving having Kehlani drop music here and there over the last few months, and this one is such a great addition. Don’t have a lot to say about this to be honest. It’s everything I love about Kehlani and more.

Triggered (freestyle) – Jhene Aiko: Holy moly. I like Jhene Aiko. Am I a mad fan? Not in the slightest. But I have so much respect for her and how effortlessly talented she is. This being a great example of that. This freestyle goes harder than some of the biggest rapper’s I’ve seen freestyle, and she does so little with it to make it complicated and over the top which I think is why it works so well.

What were you listening to in March? Let me know in the comments!

x

Priya

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