weekly digest 001 :)

this week's favourite tracks by tikiman & stereotyp, olivia rodrigo, laima adelaide and mary gehnyei

welcome to the weekly digest! my new round-up to showcase four of my favourite tracks of the week. whether that’s new discoveries, tied to a special memory, the rabbit holes i’ve been down or a reflection of the mood that i’ve been in, this new column will allow me to delve deeper into the music i’ve been obsessing over each week as a form of writing and listening exercise :)

tikiman, stereotyp - jahman

setting the scene: it’s a bright sunny monday morning, i was on the way to the nail salon listening to kruder & dorfmeister’s dub sessions usa 2001 which was graciously served to me by youtube’s algorithm. bopping away on my walk, the last track to come on in this mix is jahman - a track i have heard countless of times over the years but never actually search for the id so this was a lovely surprise. a little gift to start the week. i feel like i’ve heard this track the most in festival sets so it’s a timely appearance as we head into may which is the beginning of festival season in europe. this track is collaboration between austrain producer stereotyp and tikiman for k&f’s g-stone recordings, originally released in 2001 and then re-released as part of stereotyp’s my sound album in 2002. a crunchy stepper.

laima adelaide - city of ants

on tuesday evening i attend my first ever qigong class hosted by the brilliant bones at the new south london studio a space between. still deep in the recovery process from burnout, i’m always curious about new tools and practices i can add to my life to help reconnect with myself and ease my nervous system. unsure of what i was signing up for, the first 20 mins of qigong was difficult as the practice asked us to slow down with a series of deeply meditative moments (something i struggle with) but by the end of the class, i found my mind has quietened and i could feel the energy pulsating through my body. fyi robyn curated the playlist for this session which swirled through beautiful ambient soundscapes that were filled with organic textures, tingling instrumentals and psychedelic rhythms that you could melt into. they accompanied the movements perfectly and helped clear the mind as we parted the clouds and reconnected with the moon and sea, the natural environments around us. robyn kindly gifted me one of my favourite tracks she played which is this beautiful track by laima adelaide which i mis-identified as a voices from the lake cut - it has similar qualities with its deep muddy melodies and twinkling synths, transporting you to a night time jungle adventure under the full moon.

olivia rodrigo - drop dead

i’m obsessed with olivia rodrigo. i wish she was around when i was a teenager, i would’ve been the ultimate fan girl. i have rinsed her previous albums so i’m very excited for 'you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love' to be released next month. ‘drop dead’ is a great first teaser of what to expect as olivia explains she’s trying to make something more joyful with this album, a step away from the teenage angst found on her previous two albums. what i enjoy the most about this single release is the music video directed by another of my one faves, petra collins. i think it perfectly encapsulates the moment where you’re just falling in love or have a deep crush on someone, you’re giddy and smitten dancing around your bedroom, yearning for the next time you see or speak to them. you are kind of blinded by the butterflies, everything feels sweet, and is moving by like a blur and olivia is showcasing this in one of the most enchanting locations - the palace of versailles. what’s not to love?

mary gehnyei - dirty sand

i looooooooove the afterhouse series on spazio disponbilie <3 this is the third release in the series and the first in two years (the first two editions were by donato dozzy himself). here we have roman club icon mary gehnyei take to the stage and whilst i love all four tracks on the release, ‘dirty stand’ takes the cake for me. a groovy, minimal, driving drum-heavy roller that catches you in its web from the get go with no chance of leaving due to its very earworm-y nature - it’s the epitome of spiralling tech house and anything this loopy always has my attention. a new staple in my sets.