Playlist Highlights: housey house

In honor of the 4th D.R.O.P. birthday celebration this week, I’m sharing my housey house playlist which has been lovingly filled with some of my favorite house tracks to help me get in the right space for this magical party. 

I discovered the D.R.O.P. 4 years ago thanks to a dear friend with excellent taste in music. After my first D.R.O.P., I was hooked. It’s hard to explain but they have truly created something uniquely magical in their spaces. According to their website, they “believe the key to creating unforgettable dance floor experiences is a sense of community, freedom and respect amongst partygoers” and they’ve successfully built a community that is aligned with this vision and the result is pure magic. The people that come to the D.R.O.P. are a special breed who understand that in life and on the dance floor we are all equal. 

I could easily write about each song in this playlist (house music is life) but I’ll spare you the novel and highlight my favorites.  

The first song on this playlist to recognize the magic that is created in the sacred halls of the D.R.O.P. is Something About This by D.R.O.P family member, Tete de la Course. It’s a little disco house trip with a nice piano riff opening the song and a sexy sax explosion that comes in at 4:10 but it’s the lyrics at the beginning that do an excellent job capturing the sentiment and magic of house music. 

Let me tell you something about house music 
It’s not just a groove
House is a feeling
And when you feel it
You will understand
That house music is freedom
Freedom to be who you want to be
It doesn’t matter who you are
It doesn’t matter where you come from
For in my house we are all free

Another Tete de la Course song with highlighting is True Devotion. I’m a sucker for a good piano riff and the piano solo that begins at 1:03 is a triumph that makes my body explode into movement. 

I’ll never forget discovering Do you feel Like I do by Another Chemical Love Story at the D.R.O.P. I desperately whipped out my shazam to find the name of the track with no luck. When I stumbled upon the song months later on Spotify, I could barely contain my delight and stuck it on repeat for two straight days. 

Ask Me by Duck Sauce, A-Trak, and Amrand Van Helden is a soulful house tune that’s guaranteed to get your body moving but the vocals give it a nice sultry spin.

Finally, one of my favorite recent discoveries is Fiesta Magica by Tensnake. The cowbell makes it FUN but once again it’s the lyrics that drive the song home for me. 

Cierra tus ojos 
Abre tu mente
Somo uno con la música
Y con el espacio

Playlist Highlights: otoño 2022

It’s been quite a while since I’ve taken pen to paper about my musical obsessions but I’ve been leaning into joy these past few weeks and feel compelled to write about my favorite tracks again. 

I’ve spent the past 4 years lovingly crafting various playlists on Spotify so rather than just share my favorite individual tracks, I’ve decided to also write about my playlists, their vibes, and some highlighted tunes within them. 

To kick off the series, I’d like to share with you all my “otoño 2022” playlist. 

I started creating seasonal playlists when I was stilling using iTunes. The songs I put in these playlists are either recent discoveries I stick on loop or treasured favorites that are particularly resonant at the moment. They tend to serve as a fun way to bring me back to a previous chapter of my life. 

This playlist is bound to be one that will always bring a smile to my face in the future. I started building it in early September not realizing that it would become the soundtrack to my first proper solo vacation through the mountains of northern Italy. 

As with all of my seasonal playlists, it’s quite varied and meant to be enjoyed on shuffle as it moves from one random genre to the next. Some highlighted genres include: 

Afropop: As the air started to turn crisp for a brief day or two in early September, I noticed myself in a constant afropop mood inspired by my recent musical discovery, TRESOR, a Congolese musician and producer. After discovering the enchanting harmonies in his track, Sondela, I immediately went to devour the spotify radio based on the song and came across other sexy afrobeats tracks like Jomijo by Lamii and Sway by T.D.B Elere. 

Indie Rock: During Barcelona’s one week of fall temperatures, I moved to a more chill indie rock phase, inspired primarily by Blue Coloured Mountain by Szymon and landed at Santa Cruz Tomorrow by the French Casettes.

House: The housey tunes that made it into the playlist are thanks to all of the at home dancing that I was doing while psyching myself up for another DROP party. The favorite  of all being the Stripped and Salty Vocal Edit of “Misunderstood” by Miguel Migs and Coco Bonne (gosh and You Must be the Girl by Risk Assessment is the disco fave). 

The two artists that get special mentions in otoño 2022 are:

Two Another: I swear to god, their show with Flight Facilities in Chicago was one of the best I’ve been to in years. Feeling Free has been a particular jam as I move into this next phase of my life where I actually pay attention and listen to what my heart’s asking for. 

KASSEO: KASSEO is a real ethereal vibe that has been the best company for those moments of introspection that become much more regular as the seasons shift. 

The final two songs that require a special highlight in this playlist are:

Maybe by Kettenkarussell has long been a favorite of mine but only made its way to Spotify in the past few weeks and I’m so happy to be able to listen to it within a Spotify playlist.

Paradis Bleu - Dim Sum Remix by Revers Gagnant & Matild - If I had to choose my single favorite track of this playlist, without hesitation it would be this track. I listened to this song on repeat for about a week straight when I first heard it. I just couldn’t get enough. I kept listening and paying attention to every little detail and each sound. Every single noise was placed into the song with immaculate care and it just makes the entire track an absolute triumph when you zoom out and listen to the complete tapestry.

That’s just a little taste of what you can expect to hear if you give it a whirl!