This list has been going for so long that I sometimes can’t remember who’s on it. Well, I guess it has as much to do with the age of my brain as the age of the list, but still.
This supervibe song came up for me recently on an algorithm-curated Soundcloud playlist while I was getting some groceries. My phone was in my pocket so I couldn’t see who the artist was, but by the time it was over, my head was nodding so hard I could hardly read the best before date on the milk I was reaching for.
I pulled the phone out of my pocket, hoping that the artist wasn’t someone I’d already featured, because I have this self-imposed rule that I can’t post the same artist twice. I was happy to see that the artist was Beatchild – not on the list! – but the name was vaguely familiar.
It turns out that I had in fact featured Beatchild (aka Byram Joseph) although it was a different project of his with a couple of collaborators, way back when this blog was barely 100 weeks old.
I checked the non-existent rulebook to see if the same person under a different musical project or name could still qualify for the list. I ended up deciding that adding Beatchild was okay because a precedent has been set; I’ve already featured a song by The Beatles as well as songs by each individual Beatle (well, not Ringo, but his solo career peaked with Thomas the Tank Engine).
So in the end, I came home with a fresh batch of groceries and a new beautiful song to share.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. It’s mostly an instrumental, but it opens with those half-sung, half-whispered vocals, sung as if nobody’s listening.
2. Beatchild always leans towards jazzy chord progressions, and this one leans heavily.
3. The percussion, from the deep kick to the jangling tambourine, layers on top of itself across every part of the sonic spectrum.
Recommended listening activity:
Buying a different brand of the same food you normally buy at the grocery store.