in the past week i’ve received two emails telling me about 16 year old New Zealand singer Lorde (thanks Holly and Sarah). this girl is good. and the more i listened to her music the more i thought, damn what was i doing at 16? i was making mixtapes, not music. i wasn’t causing a mini-music revolution in New Zealand. i’m really looking forward to seeing what Lorde will be doing when she’s 21. she also has big lovely hair which i am quite envious of.

enjoy her EP The Love Club below, or at her website or soundcloud, and buy it on iTunes.

okay okay, i give in. here’s a new music mix for you! yesterday was a public holiday in south africa, which means a lot of people round here are taking a bit of a long weekend… so i made use of the down time to catch up on new music and compile a smattering of good songs for you to enjoy. it’s a biggie too, topping in at 20 tracks.

Falling by HAIM is totally my new jam. and you simply have to get your hands on the full albums of Rhye (which i’ve had on repeat) & Laura Mvula. i’m also excited by the news tracks from Kisses, Vampire Weekend and Iron & Wine. but there’s a ton of other rad shit in here though, so just give it a listen will ya?

what have you been listening to? i’m been abusing Songza a lot lately, mostly to revel in classic 90s jamz.

all music is for sampling purposes only – please go out and buy the artists’ records & support them at their shows!

well i promised that i would be sharing more music on this here blog (still contemplating those music mixes…) so let me introduce you to London Grammar, if you haven’t heard of them already. they are a trio from London with the amazing Hannah on vocals. there are only have two tracks out so far, but you can pre-order their debut Metal & Dust which is actually releasing next week. based on these two songs that’s something you’re going to be wanting to do right away.

Aggressively unfancy band from the mother city. We have nice hair and like ugly things. Drawing influence from bands such as Arcade Fire, Ra Ra Riot, Vampire Weekend and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes, the goal was to take an indie band and turn it into an “ice cream of orchestral sounds”

you can listen to and download their debut EP When I Was Tall for free at their Soundcloud and band page.

listen to the rest of the EP at their Soundcloud page.

Rose also has another side project called Studio Music that ‘provides an insight into the creative process of visual practitioners, through the music that they listen to whilst working.’ each person contributes a playlist which you can listen to. what a GREAT idea.

if you’re a reader of design & decor blogs or blogs of any kind really (and i assume you are because, well, you’re here) then you’ll probably be familiar with Skinny Laminx. Heather’s wonderful textile & design work is one of our proudest south african exports – and she’s based right here in Cape Town which makes me doubly proud because our city is rad, huh?

so if you follow Skinny Laminx on twitter or facebook you might have seen that their shop on Bree Street is celebrating its first birthday this week. Heather mailed me a little while ago with a cool idea to make a special music mix for the shop in celebration of their birthday (and to spice up the shop’s playlist, which is currently made up of a lot of songs from my mixes – rad!) and i jumped at the chance because i can’t resist a great mix.

but that’s not all. in the spirit of celebration and giving, the Skinny laMix comes with a bonus GIVEAWAY! Heather is giving one lucky reader an Alexander Sack in Pollen Pebble Print (say that three times fast) as pictured above. all you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling me what your favourite song is at the moment. i’ll be closing the giveaway & drawing a winner at random on Monday 17 December, so get commenting!

as for what inspired the mix itself, Heather gave me a pretty great brief:

I’m a sucker for  beardy, Byrdsy men on a harmony, lanky boys with hair in their eyes doing something jangly, and sunny girls singing about trees. You know the kind of thing.

Skinny laMix. download it here*. playlist:

1. Devendra Banhart – Baby
2. M.Ward – Chinese Translation
3. Deer Tick – Art Isn’t Real (City of Sin)
4. Stornoway – Zorbing
5. Votiv – Upstairs
6. The Tallest Man On Earth – 1904
7. First Aid Kit – Emmylou
8. Wilco – You And I
9. The Velvet Underground – Femme Fatale
10. Kings Of Convenience – Know How
11. Mumford & Sons – The Boxer
12. Laura Marling – Rambling Man
13. Feist – How Come You Never Go There?
14. Levek – Girl In The Fog
15. Blitzen Trapper – Lady On The Water
16. Bowerbirds – Sweet Moment

if you’re after more Skinny Laminx: international readers can shop at etsy, and south africans can order at her local online shop or visit the shop on Bree Street. i have had my eyes on her rough diamond cushion for some time now… oh and i couldn’t end this post without showing you the cute video made to celebrate their birthday:

* click on free download. close the pop up window, if there is one, and wait a few seconds before entering a captcha code to start the download. here’s an alternative download link. same drill: click on free download, close the pop up window if there is one, click the download link again on the next page. you might have to wait a few seconds before it starts downloading.

this music mix is just a mish mash of new music i like – it ranges from upbeat to more downtempo, and includes a rad cover of the Twin Peaks theme song by Field Mouse that i think you’ll enjoy.

usually i pick a song title as the mix name and then put together cover artwork based on that, but this time the process was the other way round. i discovered this 1947 painting called A Storm Is On The Water Now by folk artist Grandma Moses which i really like… and that’s the story behind that.

Storm On The Water. download it here. tracklist:

1. The Little Ones – Argonauts
2. Gold Motel – Brand New Kind of Blue
3. A.C. Newman – Encyclopedia of Classic Takedowns
4. New Navy – Regular Town
5. Guards – Silver Lining
6. The Reflections – Summer Days
7. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper – Rooftop
8. Local Natives – Breakers
9. Santah – Indigo
10. Sheep Man – Elementary
11. Balto – Smokestacks
12. Tiger Waves – Countryside
13. Peace – California Daze
14. Widowspeak – Ballad of the Golden Hour
15. Yo La Tengo – Before We Run
16. alt-J feat. Mountain Man – Buffalo Man
17. Postiljonen - How Will I Know / All That We Had Is Lost
18. Field Mouse – Falling (Twin Peaks theme)

all music is for sampling purposes only – please buy the artists’ records & support them at their shows!

the only thing i have to say about this music mix is that the first track by Bat For Lashes is AMAZING – it’s from her new album The Haunted Man which is exquisite. you should order it right now. other than that i’m about to step out of the door to enjoy a weekend getaway. have a good one!

Knot In My Heart. download it here*. tracklist:

01 – Bat for lashes – Lilies
02 – Mean Lady – Bop Bop
03 – El Perro Del Mar – Walk on By
04 – Girls – Alex
05 – Suburban Living – I Don’t Fit In
06 – The Zolas – Knot in my heart
07 – Bear Colony – Flask Retort
08 – Sean Bones – United
09 – Ducktails – The Flower Lane
10 – Yellow Ostrich – Ghost
11 – Tennis – Guiding Light (Television Cover)
12 – Teen Daze – Divided Loyalties
13 – SURES – The Sun
14 – Young Dreams – Fog Of War
15 – Cut Copy – Fantastic Voyages

* alternative download link here. DO NOT CLICK ON THE GIANT ORANGE DOWNLOAD BUTTON AT THE TOP. scroll down, and select “slow speed”. all music is for sampling purposes only – please buy the artists’ records & support them at their shows!

a new music mix that features tracks from some of my favourite albums of the year so far, including hot chip/ in our heads, the tallest man on earth / there’s no leaving now, and twin shadow / confess – all of which are exceptional, i urge you to go out and buy them right now (if you haven’t had them on repeat already). other notables are new-to-me band the eastern sea and a few other lovely randoms like the stand alone single from little dragon (who i’m seeing live at the end of the month, yay!) and a single from veteran canadian band stars whose new album the north is coming out next month (and who i still  have a massive soft spot for). enjoy.

ps: the mix name & cover art are, obviously, inspired by the Olympics. which i’m sure you’re loving as much as i am.

we are all winners. download it here. tracklist:

1. the tallest man on earth – to just grow away
2. the eastern sea – the match
3. trails and ways – mtn tune
4. the sea and cake – harps
5. saint motel – benny goodman
6. mystery jets – greatest hits
7. sun airway – close
8. twin shadow – the one
9. stars – hold on when you get love and let go when you give it
10. beat connection – the palace garden, 4am
11. hot chip – these chains
12. little dragon – sunshine

here’s an alternative download link. cover image courtesy of history.com. all music is for sampling purposes only – please go out and buy the artists’ records & support them at their shows!

simply LOVE the music video for Devil Fool by Be Brave Benjamin directed by Pablo Maestres. so beautifully shot, and an awesome concept… it’s strangely fun to watch people teetering on the precipice of disaster.

above: behind the scenes photos by Lúa Ocaña

video credits: Direction: Pablo Maestres / Production Manager: Blanca Esteller & Laia Barot / DOP: Marc Miró / Production Designer: Anna Colomer / Director Assistant: Marc Pujolar / Wardrobe: Agnés Costa / Drawings: Genís Argol