ILT - 27.03.25

I’m Listening To…

Indie Folk // Art Pop // Afro-electronica // Trip Hop

Every so often I update this playlist with a handful of my current favourite tracks I’ve had on repeat over the previous month, and share my thoughts on my Instagram story.

If you missed it, or aren’t on Instagram, keep scrolling for my opinions and recommendations…

1. Glory Box - Portishead

In no particular order, but starting off strong (and onbrand), with this classic trip hop/90s electronica track.

Swaying, skulking and sultry, the track samples Ike’s Rap II from Isaac Hayes, and details the frustrations of a woman wanting to feel equal and respected in a relationship, feeling fed up and despairing of men in general.

I love the crunchiness of this song, the distorted guitar solo & transcendent and psychedelic breakdown later in the song. Not to mention Beth Gibbons’ vocals. Faaaabulous.

2. CAOINE - RÓIS

Neo-folk, experimental electronica and re-invention of ancient Irish traditions and hymns - I’m so onboard.

The vocals, manipulated vocal textures and the pulsing synths are hypnotic throughout the song, with a moment of pause and haunting church bells before the denouement.

Ambient, melancholy and gorgeous.

3. I Don’t Know How to Die - AK Patterson

Before I talk about this song, I’m obsessed with her Bandcamp description of ‘Buckley with boobs’. Incredible. As a huge Jeff Buckley fan, I’m the target audience for sure.

This song enchanted me from the start. There’s no percussion or ‘beat’ throughout this piece, and with the haunting vocal quality up in the heights, nestled on top of dreamy harmonies, this almost feels like like hymnal plainsong.

It’s beautiful and devastating. Frisson.

4. Artists Dreamers - Essy Sparrow

This song feels like a goodbye, tinged with melancholy but full of peaceful reminiscence.

This indie-folk track has a delicate lofi production, also reflected in the vocals and the subtle stacked harmonies. (*Always* my favourite).

From Essy Sparrow’s debut EP ‘Still Upset About It Actually’, released at the end of last year, this is a song about past friendships and bittersweet nostalgia, and moving on with your life.

I’ve been finding myself in cycles of nostalgia recently, so naturally this song has been on repeat. It’s helped me make peace with the swift movement of time and paths of life taken and untaken.

5. Analogue - Folk Bitch Trio

Sticking with the indie-folk with this track from Melbourne-based band Folk Bitch Trio, described as “Boygenius if it was from the 40s or something” by Phoebe Bridgers.

This is a gorgeous song about wanting control in your life in your youth, your dreams of adulthood ahead of you, and the inevitability of getting it wrong.

And I have to mention the three-part vocal harmonies throughout (there’s clearly a theme here this month). Stunnin’.

6. Stay - Esme Emerson

A song about loss, grief and wishing for more time with your loved ones.

It’s an ethereal, drifting piece that glides over a perpetual electronic beat and repeated piano notes that ticks along underneath, as if time is running away from you.

It’s nostalgic and heart-wrenching, though there’s an air of comfort and familiarity throughout, like the feeling of falling asleep in the car as a child and being carried back to the house.

(The video is a bit dark, but if you can overlook it, it’s a beautiful song!)

7. Headlock - Imogen Heap

Throwback to 2005 with this *banging* track from Imogen Heap.

It’s been doing the rounds on TikTok as a trending song but she’s been an all-time inspiration for myself and my songwriting/production.

It’s super unique but still holds that early 2000s indie electro-pop feel.

In just a few months, Headlock turns 20, having been released on Heap’s second studio album ‘Speak for Yourself’, and re-entered the UK Top 50 back in January this year.

(Speaking of which, her new TikTok page is just full of delightful musical whimsy)

8. Stoney Street - Amon Tobin

Jazz Trip Hop electronica, yes please and thank you.

Sampling ‘Softly As In a Morning Sunrise’ from Sonny Rollins and ‘April in Paris’ by Charlie Parker, this track is a patchwork design of samples and sounds, reimagining jazz in an electronic setting.

For my science-y sound design inclined friends, there’s a great article from Music Tech with an interview with Amon Tobin about his approach to music design & creation, from 2021. Would recommend a read.

9. Cornflake Girl - Tori Amos

YOU BET YOUR LIFE, IT IS.

Plenty of mornings this month have entailed annoying the neighbours with blasting this chorus at the top of my lungs. (Or any time of the day really). Another inspiration for my piano-based composition within songwriting - the piano break in this song is such an earworm, I love it.

The underlying theme of this song is the betrayal of female friendships, which feels like quite a universal experience for any girl growing up and well into adulthood.

‘Cornflake girl’ is the name given to a friend who betrays you despite the closeness of the friendship. It feels relevant in a world where it feels like we’re constantly having to fight against the idea of women being pitted against each other, and internalised misogyny.

10. In The Flood Light - WILDES, St Francis Hotel

A collaboration between WILDES and St Francis Hotel, and describing the tumultuous transition from adolescence into adulthood, and constant reinvention of the self, this song is a driving piece, with a thumping synth bass + drumbeat, reverberating synth layers and dreamy artpop vocals that soar over the top in the choruses.

“Each verse represents a different period in my twenties, as I grew and fought against who I wanted to be, and who I was told I should be. Despite all of the experiences that change our outlook and values in life, there always remains a little seed of who we were in our youth, before life’s complexities appear, and for me that is deeply reassuring.” - WILDES

11. Know How It Hurts - IDER

Anthemic and feminist, this is another belter and I’ve been singing (chanting?) it over and over again this month.

It’s a song about knowing there’s still so much work to do to fight for equal rights and equity for all, but recognising the pain and frustration that it can still bring us, particularly as we face disempowerment across the board.

It’s poignant and relevant, especially with the unsettling political climate we’re seeing across the globe. In a world where emotional softness and empathy is rejected and seen as a ‘weakness’, it’s so important that we engage with the vulnerability of pain and use it to motivate and practise our love, kindness and strength for and on behalf of others.

12. Run With It - KILIMANJARO

And last but absolutely not least…

Afropop/electronica for your listening pleasure and to finish up my playlist for this month, from KILIMANJARO’s recent EP ‘Makelolo (Origins)’, released at the beginning of this month.

It’s an EP about new beginnings and evolution of a new sonic style for Scottish-Zambian producer KILIMANJARO - The word ‘Makelolo’ from the Zambian Lozi meaning ‘beginnings’ - blending Afro rhythm and British club beats.

I genuinely cannot stop dancing to this one, I’ve been listening to it every day and it’s the biggest hype song for this month, I know I’ll be playing it all summer.

And there we have it!

If you’d like to listen to all of the songs in the curated order, you can check it out via the link below, and make sure to follow to stay up to date with a set of new songs for next month!