My Monthly Soundtrack 2.0: April

Best of 2015: Albums

There have been so many fantastic albums this year, it's genuinely been a good year for music. Here are my top 15 albums of 2015, along with a notable song from the album.

My July Soundtrack

Hello! Happy August! This post is a monthly feature on this blog, where I list 10 songs (and a few honorary ones) that I've been obsessed with the past month. Now that it's August, and the summer is here, I feel like this month is going to be good, I'm seeing a bunch of my friends this month for the last time before they all head off to University and I start my gap year (which so far has consisted of binge watching Arrow, Shrek, Harry Potter and Modern Family). Anyway, let's get started, July was a fairly 'chill' month, with a few parties in between including MY 18TH which was a tonne of fun. The music for July is fairly similar, with a relative 'summer' feel, but a bit more subdued, especially towards the end of July where it's just been raining non-stop.

1.Weathered - Jack Garratt

2. Gold Dust - Galantis

3. Glitterball - Sigma feat. Ella Henderson

4. Delilah - Florence + The Machine

5. Gold - Years & Years

6. Body Talk - Foxes

7. Revolution - Catey Shaw

8. Papercut - Zedd feat. Troye Sivan

9. Hideaway - KYKO

10. Tonight - Chasing Grace

Honorary Mentions

Running Wild - Prides

I Want To Love - Years & Years

Wings (Acoustic) - Birdy

The Hills - The Weeknd

These songs are great, they're either feel good or thought provoking, yet they're both fulfilling at the same time.

See you next time for a Doctor Who post!

BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

TotallyCulture

My June Soundtrack

Hello! I haven't written a soundtrack blog post since 'My March Soundtrack' as I've been a bit too busy with exams. Now that I've finished my exams, I'm back blogging again. June was a fairly hectic month for me, my exams began and ended within 2 weeks, and I had to prepare for Going Down Ball, which was my Year 13 leavers ball, where a tonne of year 12's, year 13's and teachers danced through the night in stupidly warm weather in a fancy posh hotel, which was indeed fun. Prior to June, May was also hectic with exam prep and leaving sixth form. However, it's time to return to my monthly soundtrack posts, in which I list a few of my favourite songs I've been listening to that month, either newly released or something I've just 'got back into'. 

Here are some June highlights:

 Florence headlining at Glastonbury

Rigsy's back in Doctor Who!

Humans on Channel 4, a creepy show about Synths, with the fourth episode airing 5th July.

The Syndicate on BBC One, WHERE IS AMY?!? Final episode airing 7th July.

So, let's get started:

1. Peanut Butter Jelly - Galantis

2. Laura Palmer (RAC Mix) - Bastille

3. HAPPY WITH ME - HolyChild

4. Famous - Charli XCX

5. Headlights - KYKO

6. West Coast (The GRADES Icon Mix) - Lana Del Rey

7. I Want You Back - Jackson 5

8. Heroes (1999 Remastered Version) - David Bowie

9. Digging Holes - Raglans

10. Future Stars - Cheerleader

 Honourable Mentions

Delilah - Florence + the Machine

Lean On (feat. MØ & DJ Snake) - Major Lazer

Cruel City - Augustines

All Those Friendly People - Funeral Suits

Moaning Lisa Smile - Wolf Alice

That's all! See you soon!

TotallyCulture

GIG WISH LIST

HELLO

How are you all? Good? Fab, that's great news. Bad? Oh, that's unfortunate, I'm sure everything will get better soon :)

Anyway, I'm here to talk about my 'Gig Wish List'. 10 artists/bands that I'm relatively desperate to see live, plus some honourable mentions afterwards (who I'm also kind of desperate to see live). Let's get straight into it:

1. Years & Years 

One of my new favourite bands, Years & Years have become huge this past year. Mainly hitting with their number 1 single King, they're set to release their debut album Communion in the next two weeks. I love the 'vibe' of Years & Years' music, as I would perhaps explain, they're very 'tumblr'. I love their new single Shine, and I think seeing them live would be a fantastic experience, with everyone singing and dancing along, as well as Olly's notable sassy dance moves. The stripped down version of Eyes Shut is fantastic, I simply cannot get enough of this group.

2. Florence + The Machine

Florence's new album is out and it's better than ever, a more 'rock' feel to it than Lungs and Ceremonials, I'd love to see songs from How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful performed live, especially Delilah and Ship To Wreck. I'm a huge fan of Florence, and her headlining Glastonbury set replacing The Foo Fighters was one of the best I've seen, the same can't be said for Kanye's headline set (greatest living rock star I think not, although I'd love to have that confidence in myself). Florence really gets into the music, and creates a fantastic show where she really becomes one with the 'sound' and interacts with the audience in such a way that makes them feel as if they themselves are part of the show.

3. Galantis

Desperate to see Galantis live, so desperate. They create songs that are simply entertaining and make you want to get up and dance, now imagine that with a few other peoplle (hundreds/thousands) and you have a Galantis concert. Imagine the atmosphere when the drop hits, everyone jumping around and just having a good time. Besides, judging from that clip, they look like they're having the time of their lives as well.

4. Tove Styrke

 

I'm relatively new to Tove Styrke's music, but I've instantly fallen in love. I discovered Borderline first, and just went further into her music and started to watch some live footage. Tove comes from Sweden, a country with some really fantastic artists emerging into the mainstream, and I predict big things for Tove Styrke, with her debut album reaching no. 10 in the charts, and her second, and most recent, hitting no. 14. Live footage show an intimate concert experience, one that I'd very much love to be a part of.

5. Jessie Ware

Jessie Ware's voice is soulful and personal, and her performance style is unique. I imagine her concerts are a really fulfilling experience, because you really get what you ask for. I'm astonished by Jessie's fantastic songs, and her success is so well-deserved, at the time of writing this, I'm watching Jessie Ware's Glastonbury 2015 set, and it's simply brilliant. A real credit to the music industry right now, in what seems to be a rather generic time of artistry.

6. Clean Bandit

Clean Bandit are one of my favourite groups, I love Extraordinary, and I also have a love for Stronger. Watching their set at Coachella was brilliant, and then bamn. Marina came on and performed their collaboration Disconnect, which I'm SUPER pumped for. Clean Bandit bring something unique to the pop scene, combining classical and mainstream to create a really fresh sound. I find myself watching clips of their live shows in awe of their stage presence and supreme talent.

7. James Bay

James Bay is a fantastic artist, ridiculously talented and it's admirable just how well he's taken all this sudden success. His live performances are perfectly intimate and entertaining, and his songs are so wonderfully flowing that you feel like you've known them all of your life, and you feel like you can just sing along because of this. His album is one of, perhaps is, one of my favourite albums of 2015 so far. I feel like James Bay is going to be one of my favourite artists of all time, and in the future I will most definitely remember him and his music, because it's had such a positive, and reflective, impact on my life so far. James is the type of artist that sounds amazing in studio versions of songs, but just as good, perhaps even better, live. James creates emotional music, which is something we really need in our society where music can be seen as just an emotionless sound.

8. The Wombats

I love The Wombats, ever since their first album I've been a huge fan. I have a few friends that have seen The Wombats live, and they've absolutely loved it. Myself, watching clips of The Wombats live, like the one above, the whole 'gig' experience really comes to life with The Wombats. The lighting, set, and general feel-good music across all of The Wombat's music with songs such as Techno Fan, Give Me A Try and more, all lend to a fun and energetic experience, one that I would love to experience. The Wombats have long been part of my music taste, and I predict they will be for many years to come, especially with the release of their brilliant new album Glitterbug.

9. Lorde

If you've come across my blog before, you may have read an appreciation post I did for Lorde. Lorde's debut album is fantastic, and I could really connect with it. Myself and Lorde are about the same age, and probably would have been in the same class together at school if, you know, my life were that exciting. Lorde's stage presence is one that I truly admire, and her live performances really emulate her passion for music, and the 'show' itself appears to be highly entertaining and perhaps intense, in a good way. Thus, Lorde simply HAS to appear on my gig wish list.

10. HAIM

HAIM are my faves. They are cool. Just cool. Not swag cool, ultimate cool. V. cool. Their live sets are filled with energy and atmosphere, and I'm particularly fond of their performances of Let Me Go, because of that ending (see above). Such drums, much intense, many fun. Anyway, as you can probably tell, I'm a huge fan of HAIM, Danielle, Este, and Alana are my heroes. Their music is fun and energetic, but they can also tell a story in a soulful and delicate way. HAIM's debut album is my favourite from 2013, and I really am looking forward to what Danielle, Este, Alana and Dash create in the future. 

Honorable mentions

Marina & the Diamonds

Foxes

Fall Out Boy

Panic at the Disco

Hozier

Amber Run

Bastille

KYKO

Circa Waves

Anyway...

That's all for now.

See you soon!

TotallyCulture

Curtis  

 

LEAD UP TO SUMMER PLAYLIST

It's that time of year, April, when everybody starts to prepare for summer. It's getting warmer outside, and everybody's making the awkward transition from jeans and jumpers to shorts and t-shirts. The lead up to summer is great, and summer itself is even better. One thing I love about the lead up to summer is the transition from relatively mellow (yet still brilliant) music to upbeat and lively music. Here are 10 songs to get you in the mood for summer, which are also great songs to listen to in summer. If you liked this blog post feel free to follow me on Twitter, like my Facebook page, follow me on Google+, or follow me on bloglovin', it'd be really helpful. 

 I'll post a Summer Playlist after I finish my exams and leave sixth form in June, be sure to come back and check it out!

1. Radioactive - Marina and the Diamonds

2. Not Alone - Kid Arkade feat. Josh Franceschi

3. We Got The World - Icona Pop

4. The Days - Avicii

5. Hold My Hand - Jess Glynne

6. The Best Of Us - Kid Astray

7. I'm Alive (Life Sounds Like) - Michael Franti & Spearhead

8. Desire - Years & Years

9. Runaway - Galantis

10. Lifted Up (1985) - Passion Pit

(Warning: This video may cause viewers with photo sensitive epilepsy to potentially experience seizures)

That's all

Bye for now

Geek Culture and Me

Curtis

"but we're just living life and we never stop, we got the world"