Heavy Rotation is a monthly recap of the songs I’ve been obsessed with for one reason or another. Sometimes, the selections are a reflection of the DJ sets I’ve either played recently or preparing for and other times just records I love listening to at home.
These playlists are always going to a wide-ranging selection of emotions, genres, tempos (I suffer from Music Attention Deficit Disorder). So think of them purely a discovery selection rather than a functional one based on a specific activity or mood. While the focus tends to be on newer releases, there are always a couple of older treasures mixed in, too. So basically, expect the unexpected.
Merci!
— Lexis
↓ you can find the playlist below the selection notes.
Available on Spotify, Apple Music and Youtube↓
SELECTION NOTES
Lena Douglas — Why is it that I love receiving voice notes, but hate sending them?
Tom Skinner & Meshell Ndegeocello — A lovely and delicate soulful track to start the day instead of checking your phone.
Sampha — Brand new from a master of contemporary soul. Two intimate and stripped-down soul tunes for the price of one.
Monte Booker — Irresistibly catchy. I love the juxtaposition of crisp vocals and crunchy beats.
Salimata — My first time coming across this up and coming MC from NYC. Sunny, bumpin’ boom bap bridging the gap between the old and new school.
The COD’s — Absolute lo-fi soul gold. Slightly off-key singing, terribly mic’d band, yet it’s just undeniable.
COIO3 — Jazz collective from Belarus tapping into the European jazz fusion legacy like Cortex and Placebo. Another great morning tune. Will most definitely add this to my spring mix next year.
Brigitte Fontaine — An ode to gloomy days. Long lost 1969 version from everyone’s favorite French freak-folk singer. Brigitte isn’t crazy, it’s the world that’s crazy sometimes.
Cate Le Bon — I’m late to the party. Why did I wait all this time to listen to Cate Le Bon’s music?
Musical Youth — An absolute sleeper gem of a 25-cent record. Killer vibey ’80s dub that almost sounds like it could be a The Police or UB40 B-side.
Jalen Ngonda — All the best soul jams start with a spoken word intro. A really cool blend of classic soul meets lovers rock.
Big L — Taken from Harlem’s finest new/last posthumous album. Those strings!
Mike Shabb — Soon to no longer be the best kept secret on the world rap stage. Montreal’s own is one of the best producers and rappers out there.
Jay Electronica — A riddle wrapped in an enigma, Jay Electronica always leaves us asking so many questions. Such as, why the hell is the track 1m30s long?
Pete Wingfield— I don’t know why I had the opening doo-wop melody of this song in my head last week, so I thought I’d place it in your head now.
Beastie Boys — I revisited the Hello Nasty record this week and was absolutely blown away by how diverse it is and how well it has aged.
People’s People — Did not know about this one at all. 15+min track journey between spiritual but dancefloor jazz, then into jazz-rock fusion. It’s a trip!
Fire — An oldie but a goodie! This soul track is absolutely perfect for any dancefloor; I wouldn’t change anything about it.
Nubiyan Soul — A really perfect blend of old and new: the Contemporary Jazz / Broken Beat scene with heavy influences from Fela.
Patrick Cowley — Synthetic drums, wind noises, shimmery keys, moody vocals. It’s ICY HOT!
Mohinder Kaur Bhamra — It’s happy hour on the dance floor. An absolute gem from this Punjabi disco artist given a recent reissue treatment.
Mohinder Kaur Bhamra remixed by Peaking Lights — The happy hour continues. But this one gets the acid house treatment.
Angela — My favorite recent Shazam. Feels like a track I should have heard a million times. Maybe I have? Absolute sweaty perfection.
Rah Band — It sounds just like “Messages from the stars,” but it’s not. Rah Band can’t be accused for copying themselves, can they? Either way, I love the track.
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith x Ela Minus — I love pretty much anything Ela Minus puts her hands on. So yeah, I love this one too.
Shinedoe — Played this one at Halloween with my friend Destiny. The crowd went wild, I think. I can’t be sure, I was wearing a shark costume.
Aaron Carl — I wanted to play this one at the Halloween gig, but I forgot. I got home and was upset.
Karizma — One of the many tracks I love from Karizma’s incredible new album. Peak time, hands-in-the-air, close-your-eyes material.
DJ Bone — Tribal, sweaty, hypnotic. No parking on the dance floor.
Josi Devil — A masterful blend of UK Garage and Techno. Six minutes of relentless full-body work.
Herbert — Always daring and conceptual, artist Herbert has a new record out, and it’s pretty damn great.
Rat Heart — Hazy, dark, but soulful. An album for the cold months ahead.
Helado Negro — Always a big fan of Helado’s voice and production.
Emer — I really love this dubby leftfield album from Lithuanian artist Emer. Another one for the dark months ahead.
Oklou — Futuristic. Nostalgic.
Heidy Tamme — Hard to describe what makes this unusual Estonian track from the late ’70s so addictive. Taken from the new Groove of ESSR compilation.
Greg Foat — This whole record has been my morning ritual for an entire week. Having visited beautiful Leysin, Switzerland twice also helped me picture and connect with it.
Barbara Dane — I slipped down a rabbit hole of the discography of this underappreciated hero of American folk, jazz, and soul music. She has many lovely tracks, but this one absolutely made me cry.
D’Angelo — Speaking of crying: Thank you for the music, D’Angelo.
SPOTIFY
APPLE MUSIC
YOUTUBE PLAYLIST
Please please: If you make some nice discoveries go out there and buy yourself a copy (digital or physical) or go see their show when these artists roll through your town. Support artists, labels, record stores, venues.
If you’re looking for the archive of the previous monthly selections, head on over here