ESSENTIAL OIL DIMENSION: AN OLFACTORY FANTASY is a playlist based on a thought that came to me after seeing the band Destroyer. I couldn’t believe how tight the band was despite playing in these weird, spaced out grooves. The singer Dan Bejar exists in some sort of smoky soup: blindly, yet poetically navigating through this schmaltzy landscape of golden hour sun, neon lights, humid fog and drinks thrown in people’s faces. It inspired me to try and find music with similar qualities and expand from there, resulting in a project that’s taken me over four months to create. Other main artists that I tried to build upon were Mr Twin Sister and Mega Bog, two bands that at times channel the misty atmosphere of Destroyer. The finished product is a peculiar blend of smoky grooves, sophisti-pop, yacht rock, R&B, smarmy love songs, pseudo-jazz, folk, slow jams, ambient and more.
I also realized near the end that it might be kind of an “Los Angeles fantasy” playlist. I’ve never been to L.A., but I feel like golden hour in that city might sound a bit like this. Big ups to Joel Atkinson and Jesse Wiza for helping me build this playlist.
REMINDER – this is an ordered playlist, so please listen to it in the order listed in the playlist! I spent all that time organizing it for a reason. It’s close to four hours, but it’s worth just putting on and getting lost in. It SHOULD work well together, fitting together like a puzzle to make the scene. The full description is below.
Here’s my vision for the Essential Oil Dimension. Fragrances of jasmine, palo santo, sandalwood, lavender and more drift slowly through a flowery, muted landscape of glowing street corners and faraway purple foothills. The moon and the stars are starting to filter into a dark blue sky, but the sun hasn’t completely gone away yet. The sunset bleeds through the light-colored curtains and lay an intricate pattern of shadows and light upon the floral print wall you’re resting your body on as you watch the beginning of the night crowd flow into the streets. Ancient neon flickers alive, casting a hospitable warmth to drifting strangers. A man gets a drink thrown in his face outside of a bar and leaves without saying anything. There are a couple of people sitting and conversing quietly on a bench. As you leave your apartment, an unreturned letter burns a hole in your pocket. Sustained eye contact with someone from the alleyway across the street. The sounds and sights of clubs mix together from the street, but all that you can focus on are the flowers, which seem to pour out of every nook and cranny that cracks in the foundation will allow. Things seem to move in slow motion. Pulsating, nocturnal, unrelenting feeling, eternal romance. Heat without humidity. The sound of running water nearby. The smells of everything put you at ease. For some reason, a phone booth. You go inside.
ESSENTIAL OIL DIMENSION – THE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
- Mr Twin Sister – “Sensitive”
- Destroyer – “Kaputt”
- The Style Council – “My Ever Changing Moods”
- Mega Bog – “T.V. M.A.C.”
- Atlas Sound – “River Card”
- Jaakko Eino Kalevi – “Double Talk”
- Jerry Paper – “Stargazers”
- Virginia Wing – “The Second Shift”
- Drugdealer – “Suddenly (feat. Weyes Blood)”
- Stereolab – “The Spiracles”
- Joni Mitchell – “Blue Hotel Room”
- Caroline Says – “I Tried”
- Stan Getz & João Gilberto – “Para Machuchar Meu Coracao”
- Julia Holter – “Hello Stranger”
- Charlie Hilton – “The Young”
- Panda Bear – “I’m Not”
- Weyes Blood – “Generation Why”
- Sean Nicholas Savage – “Inner Natural World”
- Prefab Sprout – “When Love Breaks Down”
- U.S. Girls – “Rosebud”
- Solange – “Losing You”
- Poolside – “Harvest Moon”
- The Blue Nile – “Headlights On The Parade”
- Sam Evian – “Dark Love”
- Khruangbin – “Shades Of Man”
- The Flamingos – “I Only Have Eyes For You”
- Mount Kimbie – “Marilyn (feat. Micachu)
- Bernice – “Glue”
- Ava Luna – “Steve Polyester”
- Les Halles – “First Mirage”
- Nite Jewel – “Autograph”
- Mr Twin Sister – “Rude Boy”
- Carole King – “It’s Too Late”
- Destroyer – “Sky’s Grey”
- Al Stewart – “Year Of The Cat”
- Amen Dunes – “Miki Dora”
- TOPS – “Outside”
- Cuushe – “Sort Of Light”
- Everything But The Girl – “Before Today”
- Kelela – “S.O.S.
- Broadcast – “Echo’s Answer”
- Ice Choir – “Everything Is Spoilt By Use”
- Lewis Baloue – “Things Just Happen That Way”
- Arthur Russell – “Love Comes Back”
- Nicholas Krgovich – “City Of Night”
- Roxy Music – “Avalon”
- Faith Healer – “Sterling Silver”
- Connan Mockasin – “I’m The Man, That Will Find You”
- Vesuvio Solo – “Mirror Held To The Flower”
- Donnie & Joe Emerson – “Baby”
- Kamasi Washington – “Desire”
- Destroyer – “European Oils”
- Blood Orange – “On The Line”
- Toro Y Moi – “Go With You”
- Rudy Norman – “Back To The Streets”
Warm Visions 