Mikkel Holm Silkjær, frontman of the Danish group Yung, brings us a playlist full of songs he found on the road: music he discovered in a basement in Bavaria in 2014, hardcore bands from his hometown and bands he’s booked. Add in overlooked folk rock from the ’60s and some classic kraut rock, and you have a great, eclectic playlist to get your weekend started. Yung’s latest album, A Youthful Dream, is out today via Fat Possum Records.
C.C.T.V — “Practice Tape”
All I really know about this band is that some of the members are also in Coneheads, which is another very great band. When we toured the US a few months back our driver put on C.C.T.V. in the van and I was intrigued the second the first tune started. I haven’t heard anything like this in a very long time. Super fast, super catchy and very danceable.
Viper — “You’ll Cowards Don’t Even Smoke Crack”
You can say whatever you want about the lyrics but you can’t argue with the beat in this one. In a way, I also feel like you have to be a bit of a genius to come up with a song lyric that goes “What’s up with that – Ya’ll cowards don’t even smoke crack.” – I’ve often wondered what sort of social situation that line transpired from.
Several Things — “Have You Met Me?”
This might just be one of the greatest songs ever written and therefore it should be mandatory to listen to this song. There’s so much feeling and so many emotions packed into a bit more than two minutes here. Several Things is Marco Repenning and he’s just as amazing as his music.
Emenkaya — “Menneske Frygt Dig”
Emenkaya was a very great hardcore band from my hometown. They played six shows, recorded one full-length album and split up. They’re still to this day one of the most intense live bands I’ve ever seen and as a young teenager that had a huge influence on my view on song writing and live shows. Frederik (drummer in Yung) was the guitarist in Emenkaya and the first time I ever saw Frederik was at Emekaya’s debut shows which got shut down by security guards four minutes into the set.
Cold Pumas — “Fugue States”
A few years back I booked Cold Pumas for this festival I organized with a couple of mates. They played at our festival a couple of months after the release of their debut album, Persistent Malais, which they gave me after the show. I’ve been listening to that album like a mad man so when they announced the release of their sophomore album I was more than excited. So far I’ve head a couple of songs from the new album and can’t wait to hear the whole thing. I love their kraut rock take post-punk.
The Motels — “Total Control”
“Total Control” is such a simple song and I love that. It keeps on building up but it never reaches ecstasy which, I think, would have ruined the beauty in this song. “Lovers touch – It’s pure delight.”
Haxxan — “Juliette”
We played with these lovely boys in a basement somewhere in Bavaria in September 2014 and I’ve seen them live a bunch of times since. It’s one of the most consistent bands out there and they’re great people too. They’re based in Israel and fly out to Europe a couple of times a year to tour. “Juliette” is from their new EP which came out in late May. Good stuff.
Faux Fur — “Rosemary”
Another band I don’t know too much about. “Rosemary” is the opening track on their self-titled debut album. They uploaded the album on bandcamp a couple of year’s back and split up a short while after that. Later the lovely Faux Disc (record label) released the album on cassette tape and that was how I found out about these guys. They’re quite inspired by Women but still managed to find their own sound on this record. I really love the way this record sounds. It sounds like they’ve recorded it in a practice space (I mean that in the best way possible).
Kraftwerk — “Tour De France”
I grew up listening to Kraftwerk so they have always been super important to me. I’d totally forgotten about this song and then the other day I was flipping through my 7″ records and found it. It’s been on my turntable since. Suuuuuch a good tune.
Jake Holmes — “Lonely”
I feel like this guy is underrated. The Above Ground Sound of Jake Holmes is, in my opinion, a masterpiece. It wasn’t well received when it came out in the late sixties. The lyrics in this song are great too: “I’ve got a friend his name is lonely, he’s always by my side. He borrows all my confidence and steals all my pride.”
