If Drake can make a playlist then so can I. My first monthly playlist!

When I started this blog, one thing I wanted to post about was music. I love music, as I’ve talked about previously, and so one of my New Years resolutions was to share a monthly playlist of music I’ve been enjoying recently.

Like most things around this blog, I’ve failed up till this point, but starting in March I forced myself to start, as it’s something I genuinely wanted to do. It isn’t an obligation!

So here’s my first playlist, inspired by my travels (to Mexico City and Los Angeles) as well as some new stuff I’ve been jamming to on repeat, and some older favourites I just want to share. 

Here’s my terribly titled “March Madness” playlist. Until Apple Music content becomes embeddable on Squarespace, a hyperlink will have to do.

However, I will elaborate a touch on some of the songs, just to share a little more.

— I’ve been in love with Anderson Paak since I watched his Tiny Desk concert on NPR a month or so ago. The live intro to Heart Don’t Stand a Chance is one of the sexiest things I’ve ever watched. I also found an NPR Front Row recording of a concert he performed at South by Southwest this time last year. His second album, Malibu, are and grew on me, and was the perfect music for driving around Los Angeles last month.

— I thought Ed Sheeran’s new album was extremely underwhelming, but I still really admire him as a musician. I couldn’t bring myself to put much of it on this list — as to be honest, I’ve hardly listened to it as it was so disappointing the first time around — but the Shape of You remix with Stormzy included some grime influences that I’ve been enjoying since listening to Drake’s new “playlist…”

— Which I’ve also included some tracks from! I think I enjoyed More Life more than most people, especially after reading this GQ review. It showcases other artists he, as a professional musician, is really enjoying, and I think that’s such an awesome concept. He gets to have fun jamming with some awesome musicians, and we get some awesome tunes. It’s just not a Drake album.

— One of those awesome musicians is Sampha. He’s already riding a wave towards becoming well known, having picked up even more steam since collaborating with Drake a few albums ago, and writing and featuring on Kanye and Solange albums last year. He’s like a black, soulful James Blake — and I love James Blake.

— A little more of a curveball, but another that I’ve been loving recently is Benjamin Clementine. It’s a dispatch from the kind of music I listen to, but his soul and mastery of his instrument is so so impressive to me. He’s like a cross between Nina Simone and King Krule, in my opinion. He’s got the soul and musicianship of Nina, but the weird edge of King Krule. It’s difficult to describe, so just take a listen.

— Another artist with a Tiny Desk concert (hers was a brilliant surprise just last week), but I love Noname’s bubbly, upbeat, cheery rap. Another rapper out of Chicago like Chance, she’s featured on a couple of his records, including his amazing Christmas album. She just brings such a joyful feel to music that often discusses sad topics, and is a real ray of sunshine in my music library. She’s another one who’ll be getting much bigger over the next year, I’m sure. 

— Lastly, there’s a David Bowie track on there. I’ve never been a particularly big Bowie fan. I just missed the memo, I guess. But a friend shared The Last Shadow Puppets covering Moonage Daydream at Glastonbury, and I loved it. After I hit refresh on Youtube an uncountable amount of times, I listened to the original, and loved that too. I listened to the whole Ziggy Stardust album as I was taking off for LA, and felt like I was in a space shuttle as I left the earth.

I’ll do another for April at the end of next month!