What I Have Been Listening To: March

Zelda and Chill - Mikel and GameChops (2018)

This album is pure, dripping nostalgia. Pulling from multiple games from the Legend of Zelda series, these classic tunes are reworked into low-fi hip-hop tracks. Sitting in the train listening to this pulls me back 18 years playing An Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64 with my Brother. There is midi versions of piano, flute and organs pulled into slow and light trip-hop style beats. Then layers of tape hiss and vinyl crackle are layered to add not only genre callouts, but more nostalgic cues. A wonderful listen for those with these memories. Made modern, and somehow cleaned up and dirtied at the same time. All of these tracks have similar instrumentation and style so not much more to be said other than top tracks:

• Song of Storms

• Kakariko Village

• Ocarina of Time

• Lost Woods

Small Black (2023 rework) - Small Black (2023)

Who doesn’t love the original Small Black Record? Taking it, cleaning it up and adding some more modern mastering to it was an even better move. Having a few new tracks thrown in is just gravy. This album invokes nostalgia and thoughts of love. The digital drums, the panned vocals that are pulled and set back in the mix. What isn’t to love? The Korg synths and drum machines are sounding strong in this album. Percussion variety is strong here, even with looping patterns. This was before the more luscious guitars of their later works, but I’m still so into the infancy of this project. The layers all weave in and out of your consciousness providing a great passive and active listening experience. Wonderful. This is a time in music where reissues and remasters are a plenty, but I’m so here for whatever they do.

• Despicable Dogs

• Pleasant Experience

• Desert of the Heart

Other albums I have relistened to recently:

• Parachutes - Coldplay

• Cruel Intentions Soundtrack

• Led Zeppelin IV

• Khaza - Kevin Gates

• Loveless - My Bloody Valentine

• Yourself Or Something Like You - Matchbox 20