A while back I remixed Mildlife for Heavenly and got chatting about their influences. Then it just seemed a logical next step to do a piece on who and what inspires them as they are a strange mix of messed up electronics, jazz and many points in between. We spoke to Jim and Tom from the band and asked them to give us a few of their favourite pieces of music. As ever we hope that this will open some doors to new things you may have never heard before.
Jim Selects...
Modal Soul – Uyama Hiroto
I heard this track in ’06 and it made me want to play jazz and learn about sampling. This was long before his music was hijacked, rinsed and reduced to ‘chill beats to study to’. He used a 2000xl (an Akai MPC sampler - Ed) which is why I bought one...
Herbie Hancock – Hornets (from the genius masterpiece 'Sextant' album)
Billy Hart absolutely pulverises on this track. Even today it sounds so modern. Very underrated amongst the jazz drumming greats.
Pharoah Saunders – Greeting To Saud
I got into Pharoah Saunders when I first moved to Melbourne to do music and it was the first time I’d heard jazz with a heavy spiritual dimension.
Miles Davis – Nefertiti
Tony Williams (ace drummer) reinventing the wheel with Miles. I think the complexity of his playing would sustain me in a cast away type situation.
Tom Selects...
Alice Coltrane Ft. Pharoah Sanders – Journey In Satchidanada
A bass line so hypnotic it could be my daily mantra. I'd lick the back of a colourful frog, stare up at the underside of some swaying palms and let Alice captain my inevitable spiral in to desert madness.
Canned Heat – Poor Moon
This has the momentum I need to soundtrack the build of my first island dwelling. It will remind me of my youth when I'd sit next to my dad's floor-standing technics while he blues blasted me in to next week.
Herbie Hancock – Watermelon Man
Gotta take some Herbie with me and this couldn't be tighter. As one of his more commercial pieces it has a very even mathematical structure to keep my mind balanced and focused under the heat of the tropical sun.
Can – Spoon
A fine example of harmony between drum machine and live drums to create a kooky groove that cooks. I believe it was Can's first shot at this approach. Great track.
Ok even though we have issues with Spotify (use Bandcamp as and where you can folks - more money for the artists) and the way they do business, especially after Daniel Ek's speech this week) we used Spotify to embed all the tracks above as it's the easiest way to enjoy this music on a mobile etc. I've also created a playlist of the tracks below which you can enjoy.
