Music

I have a very ecclectic and general interest in music, from jazz to rap metal and from synthwave to cuban folk music. 

Personal Stats

Whilst I still scrobble to Last.FM, I also maintain my own maloja instance 

Recommendations

 

Pop/Rock

The Last Dinner Party  - 2020s, Modern Rock

an all female rock band who made big waves in  2023. I first encountered their breakout hit Nothing Matters via spotify's AI dj and I'm glad I did, they are probably the most exciting modern band that I've encountered in about 10 years (the last being Haim whose debut album was the sound of my 2013). Every song they've released so far (at the time of writing - Dec 2023) has been absolute gold. I think My Lady of Mercy and Sinner are in tight contention for second and third favourite.

Jazz and Jazz Fusion

 

Synthwave

Carpenter Brut - Synthwave, 80s Horror Aesthetic

One of the more mainstream Synthwave acts but one of the first acts that really lured me into the genre. I remember listening to Roller Mobster off the EPII album and being captivated by the wall of sound that hit me. It was like someone took the backing tracks to films from my childhood and turned them up to 11. I think it is the unique blend of 80s style with modern sound engineering techniques that gives it that effect. (NB: EPI, EPII and EPIII have since been re-released as "The Trilogy"). CB's subsequent albums have also been pretty solid offerings. I'm a big fan of Beware The Beast with Mat McNerney's vocals adding a certain je nais se quois to the whole track.

Jonny Fallout - Synthwave, Cyberpunk

I found Jonny Fallout by chance on Mastodon - he was giving away free downloads for one of his albums on bandcamp. He tends to mix his sound up - managing to land somewhere between between gentle chilled music "Night Drive" music and more aggressive fast-paced melodies that you could run or jog to. The titular track on "Awake in a Garden of Stars" is a great example of this kind of fusion.