All playlists

Built on the heritage of Japanese music’s Golden Age (the 60's to the late 80's), the current Tokyo music scene is vast, hosting many genres, subcultures and niches, and making the city one of the most exciting local music scenes in the world.

An international selection of the best new dancehall and reggae-influenced music from Jamaica in 2021.

A soundtrack and accompanying story for a lazy afternoon spent in a bar by the beach.

Spotlight on London-based producer Juls, creator of modern Afrobeats, whose unique sound bridges the gap between 20th century highlife, and the digital Afropop that has clubs all over the continent dancing today.

Developed in the US during the 2010s, this subgenre of rap uses lo-fi electro production to create hazy atmospheres of slow rhythms, and mostly sombre lyrics.

Baroque passion, star castrati, vocal pyrotechnics, theatrical storms and strong emotions from Venice to Rome, and from paradise to hell.

Songs written for some, production done for others, rare tracks and star duos. Here we discover the (more or less) hidden side to the career of the former Beatle.

A selection of the best new sounds from Jamaica from acoustic reggae to digital dancehall, 2020 to 2021.

In terms of music, he is Our Father. No need for a calling card, his immense works, even more than that of Mozart, speaks to everyone. Whether you want to meditate or dance amongst the stars, Bach is there, the master of rhythm and enchantment. The proof comes in the number of musical genres that continue to pay tribute to him.

There are two ways to hear the summer. One is with the light music of Bach, Beethoven, Haydn and Debussy. The other is with what emerged from the summers of love between 1968 to 1988 where house music and raves emerged. We will see that these two styles are far from being incompatible.

When modern and postmodern artists venture into the realms of Orpheus and break down musical boundaries.

A chronological exploration for one of the most influential bands of the last century.

 Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was Kendrick Lamar. Dive into the sounds of those who shaped the rapper from Compton.

Praising the value of demo tapes and original recordings from bands, exploring how they provide an insight into the creative process behind legendary songs.

Music for the bedroom – for lovers, poets and kings. Featuring Purcell, Verdi, Léo Ferré, Depeche Mode, Monteverdi, Charles Trenet, Mel Bonis, Gérard Manset and Prokofiev.

Tracing the porous lines separating Bowie, Miles Davis and Stravinsky from leading figures in the world of modern art like Picasso, Warhol and Dali.

In Brazil a new generation of artists are fusing rhythms and shaking up established musical codes. 

Dive into one of the best year for disco music.

Corridos tumbados (or trap corridos as it’s sometimes referred to – translator's note) forms a musical bridge between the borders of Mexico and the United States, bringing together families separated by exile.

Jimi Hendrix, a Room Full Of Covers, a selection inviting you to rediscover the great composer behind the famous guitarist.

In addition to the beginnings of rap with the Last Poets and gangsta rap with Hustler's Convention, to some of the great classics of what is called Jazz, we also owe Alan Douglas for having allowed several generations of music lovers born after 1970 to listen to Jimi Hendrix without moderation.

Midnight in the semi-darkness of a nightclub. You’re sitting on a stool, effortlessly leaning against the bar.

The birth of a new sub-genre of Latin urban music, from its humble beginnings to its conquest of the international charts.

No, the guitar is not dead and buried under the exhausting pyrotechnics of Guitar Hero. Other geniuses with a six string are developing subtle, intimate and meditative approaches to the instrument, opening up new paths.

Our latest night time journey will take you far from the realms of human existence and is best listened to somewhere between midnight and 5am.

Before hitting the top of the charts, Kid Creole and his faithful Coati Mundi were the champions of an exciting underground, creating the soundtrack to an era somewhere between the vertigo of swing and the surge of disco.

A tour of the different ways in which the sub-Saharan thumb piano has been employed, from reimagined versions of “All Blues” to “Love Supreme”.

Charting the formation and history of the yacht rock genre. Including some of its best and lesser known tracks. 

Someone once said that blues is "the melody of a wounded heart looking for a way to heal". With no limits on where the music comes from, this playlist is a series of sad songs, intended to exorcise our pain.

A cult figure for generations of samplers weaned on his sounds and celebrated by lovers of the cinemascope format, producer and arranger David Axelrod is still a name that too few have heard.

It’s where reggaeton meets sensual pop, MC’s scathing flows describe blatant social inequalities and soaring electronica tries to soothe a violent populous. Welcome to the new sounds from Medellín.

The fourth and final installment, in which we take a chronological look at the career of one of the most influential artists of pop (and avant-garde) music.

Part three, in which we take a chronological look at the career of one of the most influential artists of pop (and avant-garde) music.  

Part two. Dive into the work of one of the most influential artists of pop (and avant-garde). 

Part one. Dive into the work of one of the most influential artists of pop (and avant-garde).

A cross between synthetic and industrial music, the Venezuelan producer’s work can feel like being at a contemporary art exhibition where anything can happen and things might get shaken up. From Björk to Kanye West, Arca is called upon to make music innovative and weird.

A selection of UK rap, trap, drill, grime and garage spanning January 2020 to April 2021.

In just 10 years High Focus Records has become a cult label in the UK both as guardians of boom bap and as trailblazers for new sounds.

A look at how Theo Parrish's reputation as a DJ and producer over the past three decades has placed him as a cult figure in dance music

Bespectacled punk geek has proved over four decades that he is one of the all-time great songwriters. 

As its popularity in America began to decline, disco-fever raged in 1980s India largely thanks to Bollywood’s infatuation with the genre. 

Henri Salvador sounds like no one else. Here we celebrate the first years of the most beautiful voice to ever sing in French, from crooner to entertainer, cool to upbeat.

Rich in European, Latin American and Caribbean influences, Buenos Aires is an open-air musical laboratory, where you can find anything from the most danceable cumbia-reggaeton, to soaring organic electro.
 

During the 1960s, when the accordion still held a prominent place in French chanson, bossa nova sparked interest for music from the tropics, similar to how Baudelaire and Gauguin did with the colonial exoticisms of distant islands, fantasized through biased and colored filters

A genius producer, Moroder introduced the synth to film scores and revolutionised disco and electro pop with an impressive roster of hits.

Gregory Edward Jacobs, known as Shock G, the frontman for Digital Underground, was found dead on Thursday 22th april in Tampa. He will always be remembered as one of most unique talents in hip-hop history. The world of beats & rhymes owes him a funkin’ lot: reviving P-Funk spirit in the 90s, introducing his friend 2Pac to da world, elevating sampling to an art form. 

Mixing drums with the sound of waves and shells, Brazilian folk music celebrates Iemanjá, the mother of all African deities

One might feel guilty at enjoying Prince covers, as he openly despised the idea of it and having no say to prevent them. Defying any eternal damnation, here’s a carefully selected bunch of guilty pleasures. 

Prince penned, gave or/and contributed, openly, incognito or under a moniker, songs to an impressive and eclectic list of fellow artists. Here’s a joyful playlist to reveal the tip of that iceberg. 

Psychedelic music doesn’t only exist under a clear, benevolent sky. It also invokes the dark night of the soul, where our deepest anguish is revealed.

A fragment of the American hip-hop scene is populated by trailblazers willing to dive deeper than ever into discussions of human suffering, violence, drugs, isolation and racism.

Are you ready for this selection that makes sex even better?

An expression of social and political life, the Carnival is also a liminal space of transgression, offering a celebratory freedom of expression synonymous with challenging the powers that be.
 

The Portugese composer and guitarist crafts creamy dreamy pop, mixed in with some rather surprising inspirations!
 

DMX’s music and legacy as the ultimate transmitter of energy and pain

One of the most influential labels in jazz, known as “the house that Trane built”.

Zappa wasn’t only a genius composer, he was also one of the most incredible guitarists. So, to paraphrase one of his albums, ‘shut up and listen to his guitar’!

Lully’s trumpets, Rameau’s musical revolution, Couperin’s and Poulenc’s melancholy... join us on a journey behind the scenes of this founding century of French aesthetics.
 

1966 is a watershed year in music history. A huge amount of songs were big sellers on both sides of the Atlantic and somehow still seep into our bones.
 

A major figure of the French Touch movement as part of the duos Motorbass and Cassius, Philippe Zdar was also a much sought-after producer in the 2000s for his ability to mix dance, rock, pop and soul.
 

Thanks to a flow that’s as fast and elusive as the wind, Myka 9 has rubbed shoulders with and inspired everyone from Busta Rhymes to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. 
 

Discover the ‘bluesologist’ who paved the way for a generation of hip-hop artists.

In London and all over the UK at the beginning of the ‘80s, ex-punks with eccentric looks were getting the party started again, inventing synthetic pop inspired by glam rock and cabaret.
 

A living legend on the US rap scene, Tech N9ne has built up an independent empire thanks to his originality and an eclectic taste that stretches from gangsta rap to metal. 
 

After twenty years under the sign of the hybrid groove, the London label has found its second wind. It never forgot where it came from and continues to shine a light on the best developments in the alternative music scene.
 

It started with turntables and steadily grew to include a huge range of production methods. The first two decades of Ninja Tune were spent ahead of the curve, laying the groundwork for the future of music.

Through his various bands, the mixed metal singer Max Cavalera has never stopped moving in and out of his native Brazil. 
 

Ecstasy and pollen, feverish funk, electro sunrises, songs of change and seasonal dances from Vienna to Manaus.
 

As a rule, semi-precious energy stones are used for meditation and healing. Of course, each one also represents love... either for oneself or for others.

Away from major labels and the flavours of the month that rule over them, Chicago’s Numero Group are flying the flag for unsung artists and musical oddities. 

A vast metropolis at the crossroads of Africa and the Middle East, Cairo is once again home to a music scene whose stylistic diversity bears witness to its creativity. It’s a panorama that ranges from club hits to post-punk bangers.

The eargasm: a feeling of euphoria brought about by listening to sensual music...
 

Ever since the cultural revival brought about by the Jasmine Revolution, the electro and rap scenes in Tunis have been blooming.

Surrounded by ice and fire, a geyser of gorgeous music.

Her enigmatic 40-year career has proved that anyone who thought she was a genius at 19 was right.

The iconic indie label Stiff Records was home to some of the great music of the 70s and 80s. It gave us Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Madness, and others.
 

Out with the truckers and the kickers and the cowboy angels. Hear the story of the infamous Gram Parsons from his tangy fingerprint on music’s biggest icons to his fiery desert burial in the sands of Joshua Tree.

Russian winters, icy impressions by Debussy and Joël Grare, northern lights with Sibelius and Saarihao, revisited baroque tremors in electro.

March, the month of flowers budding, of returning light. For the Romans it was the month of war, and of a mysterious world little known to us humans.
 

It was the soul singers who spoke up for those who’d been condemned to silence under segregation. And it was in his denunciation of segregation that Curtis Mayfield sent a message as open and visionary as his music.

By becoming the most recognisable name in electronic music, the French duo has acquired universal pop star fame and become a major influence for both French producers and international artists.

Part two of our tribute to the anonymous musicians behind almost every US pop hit of the era. 
 

We salute the anonymous musicians behind almost every US pop hit of the era. Part one.
 

From spiritual jazz to deep improvisations, a trippy evocation of the creator who had a masterplan.
 

The perfect playlist to get your kids dancing, open them up to the world, and help them develop the same impeccable taste in electronic music as you.

As he’s the one who taught me to listen to jazz, Wes Montgomery is my ‘Proust’s madeleine’ – something that immediately provokes reminiscences of time’s past.

The third and final part of ‘krautrock’ – a jokey name given to one of the most fantastic pop music movements of the end of the 20th century.

The second part of ‘krautrock’ – a jokey name given to one of the most fantastic pop music movements of the end of the 20th century.

The first part of ‘krautrock’ – a jokey name given to one of the most fantastic pop music movements of the end of the 20th century. 

Entwined in the history of hardcore, the group Sick Of It All (or SOIA to their friends) is a beacon, the cornerstone of the scene. On the circuit for 34 years the Koller brothers, Craig Ahead and Armand Majidi continue to run the effortless marathon that is hardcore in New York.

Cast your minds back to one of the bands who delighted us the 1990s by forging their own unique path of slacker rock in the wake of the grunge movement. Embark on a road trip in the heart of Americana which kicked off in California but soon spread all over the world.

He could have become a footballer, but a twist of fate led him to make his mark on an altogether different terrain – the sound machine. With just a handful of records, Darren Cunningham has become the go to for fans of a slightly skewed electro beat [or sound].

In terms of production, the Scottish artist has achieved the unthinkable: mixing radical experimental works with more recognisable dance and pop, both under the name Sophie (stylised as SOPHIE) and through rich collaborations with Charli XCX, Madonna and Vince Staples.

From 1978 to 1983, Italian new wave was undoubtedly influenced by the likes of Bowie, Gary Numan, Japan, Ultravox and Kraftwerk, but filtered all these through a Mediterranean pop vein.

By the dawn of the 70s, the explosion of dancefloor music transformed the Italian pop scene.

In the late 60s, Italian Beat morphed into Psichedelica. Although very short-lived, Italian psychedelia is still distinctively unique.

The story of the 1960s Italian music and cultural beat revolution, when teenagers grew their hair long, hitchhiked like Kerouac’s characters, set up hundreds of guitar bands and Rome Piper Club became the Mecca of a generation of beatniks.

Take a nighttime voyage through various styles of electronic music (dubstep, IDM, vaporwave, micro-house, techno, ambient). To be listened to between the hours of midnight and 5am.

Let’s bring to light all the tracks that have languished in the shadows of The English Riviera, the album that brought Metronomy to fame. 

Under a cryptic pseudonym, the New York producer Daniel Lopatin has invented a certain style of contemporary electronic music that feeds on the past without ever becoming overly nostalgic.