It’s summertime, which means the best way to beat the heat is to find your local pool, natural spring, or beach. This summer also marked Elder Island’s second album, Swimming Static, released May 28. To kick off the season and celebrate the new album, the band compiled this water-themed playlist. Enjoy.
—Keenan Kush, Talkhouse Director of Operations
Hello there, Talkhouse! We made a watery-themed playlist with some of our favorite H2O related tracks, a sort of homage to the title of our new LP. Water as a theme and sound often spills its way into our music unintentionally. Here are a variety of tracks that share the same predisposition.
—Elder Island
Khruangbin — “Summer Madness”
Luke Thornton: Whenever I mentally teleport myself to a desert island, where I can feel the sand between my toes and the gentle water crashing over my feet, I put on Khruangbin. Generally speaking, many of their songs will suffice but this is a recent favorite of mine.
Ahmed Jamal — “Wave”
Luke: After discovering this song a few years back, it has grown to be one of my most favorite jazz tracks. There is a bass line that drives the song on and on, but the skill truly lies within the piano ebbing and flowing up and down the scales of the instrument. It’s something that I believe is a true masterpiece.
Dave Van Ronk — “River Come Down”
Luke: A very old folk favorite that I haven’t listened to in quite a while, but once the theme of water was suggested I surely couldn’t resist. The song is slightly bonkers and very simple, but his voice is absolutely spectacular.
Fela Kuti — “Water No Get Enemy”
Luke: Not much I can say about this track — just dance to it.
Brian Eno — “Backwater”
Katy Sargent: I’ve been listening to a lot of Eno’s ambient music of late, but these older tracks were my in and will always be classics to my ears. Good pace and lyrical content. Ooh what to do, in a tiny canoe.
Loudon Wainwright III — “The Swimming Song”
Katy: The best song about swimming ever written.
Ed Askew — “Blue Eyed Baby”
Katy: I feel this song is wholly awash in the joy of things. An appreciation for landscapes, nature, and people. Musically it rolls like the ocean.
Electrelane — “At Sea/ Gone Under Sea?”
David Havard: One of our “shared passion” bands. When we all met at uni, we listened to a lot of Electrelane and were all musically nourished by it.
Smoke City — “Underwater Love”
David: Pure Sex.
John Barry, John Barry Orchestra, Michael McDonald — “Switching the Body”
David: Beautiful-sounding xylophone and Marxophone combination create lovely watery tones. From the Thunderball soundtrack, with an epic underwater fight scene!
(Feature Image Photo Credit: Nic Kane.)
