Fatiha El-Ghorri is in Heavn
Heavn by Jamila Woods fuses R&B, Jazz and various other genres including classic indie. Surely it must appeal to Cure-loving Fatiha!
May 27, 2022•27 min
James Acaster's Perfect Sounds
For James Acaster 2016 is the greatest year for music of all time. Following a breakup James set out to rekindle his love for music by buying hundreds of new and niche releases from 2016. Now he's sharing his obsession with fellow comedians, exploring his favourite albums: from Beyoncé's internet-breaking Lemonade, to Colombian math rock fusion, and everything in between.
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Episodes
Aparna Nancherla & Freetown Sound
Freetown Sound by Blood Orange is such an "immaculate" album that James worries he might burst into tears just talking about it. Here's hoping Aparna feels the same, otherwise trouble could be afoot.
May 20, 2022•29 min
Jen Ives & An Escape Into Space
Splendor & Misery is a sci-fi concept album by experimental rap trio Clipping. Lyrics and soundscapes combine to tell an Afrofuturist story of an escape from oppression into the void of space. Jen Ives prepares to be transported.
May 13, 2022•27 min
Stuart Laws & ScHoolboy Q
James confesses to being in love with ScHoolboy Q's Blank Face LP. With a Gangsta rap core but with psychedelic overtones and great production, is there enough to seduce Stuart Laws too?
May 06, 2022•29 min
Toussaint Douglass & The Life Of Pablo
The ever-polarising Kanye West can be controversial at times but James can't help but like the music. After all, his 2016 album The Life of Pablo has a vein of weirdness running through it that is right up James' street. However, is it a path Toussaint Douglass is willing to tread?
Apr 29, 2022•29 min
Fern Brady & The Punk Beyoncé
Black Terry Cat by Xenia Rubinos is a magical album drawing on many influences and described by the artist herself as "a punk Beyoncé". However, is it enough to impress one of Scotland's finest, Fern Brady?
Apr 22, 2022•26 min
Sadia Azmat & Black Girl Blues
Fetish Bones by Moor Mother delivers a powerful message via a sonically abrasive backdrop. Labelled by the artist herself as Black Girl Blues, Project Housing Bop or Slaveship Punk, it's an album that demands the listener's full attention. However, was it enough to hold Sadia Asmat's attention?
Apr 15, 2022•24 min
Sara Barron & Emily's D+Evolution
Emily's D+Evolution, a brilliant Jazz-Rock-Funk fusion album by Grammy Award winning Esperanza Spalding, is usually the last thing Sara Barron would listen to. However, some finely crafted lyrics start to reel her in.
Apr 08, 2022•30 min
Nathan Caton & an OST to Nothing
Wes Borland you may remember as the guitarist in '90s rock/rap outfit Limp Bizkit. In 2016 he released Crystal Machete, a soundtrack to an imagined film. James and Nathan try to imagine what that film would look like.
Apr 01, 2022•28 min
Thanyia Moore, Illusion & Destruction
Mahoroboshiya by Japanese folk singer Ichiko Aoba is an album with such a delicate and intimate feel that James can't help but relax to it. However, is it enough to chill '90s R'n'B-loving Thanyia Moore?
Mar 25, 2022•29 min
Jayde Adams & Hard Pop Opera
Rien by Perrine en Morceaux has a sound so big, it envelopes James and (in his words) makes him feel like a little boy. But is it too big for Jayde Adams to handle?
Mar 18, 2022•29 min
Rhys Nicholson & That '70s Funk Thang
Awaken My Love was a massive left turn for Childish Gambino and produced one of the best songs of 2016 in the form of Redbone. Influenced by George Clinton's '70s band Funkadelic but with modern techniques, it made Rhys Nicholson "Horny... but not for sex".
Mar 11, 2022•26 min
Charlie George, Vampires and Periods
Jenny Hval’s 2016 concept album, on the theme of blood, is a collection of light and beautiful melodies interspersed with dark and haunting soundscapes. James tasks Charlie George to have a listen and report back.
Mar 04, 2022•28 min
Fatiha El-Ghorri & Cohen's Final Bow
Fatihah El Ghorri, by her own admission, loves Cliff Richard and Shrek. So will the mournful, gravelly tones of Leonard Cohen appeal to her?
Feb 25, 2022•28 min
Sikisa Bostwick-Barnes & Bollywave
Ami Dang, a classically trained sitar player, fuses ancient Sikh hymns and poems of Gurus with a modern dance feel and calls it "Bollywave". Will it be enough to sweep Sikisa Bostwick-Barnes off her feet?
Feb 18, 2022•28 min
Aaron Chen & ОЭЩ МАГЗИУ
ОЭЩ МАГЗИУ (or Oesch Magziu to you and me) by ГШ (or Glintshake to you and me) is an album inspired by the Russian avant-garde, a creative movement popular in Russia in the early 20th Century and worked into a more modern sound. However, will it translate across the globe? Australia's finest, Aaron Chen, is here to tell us.
Feb 11, 2022•27 min
Jen Ives & A Journey Into Darkness
The Caretaker's Everywhere At The End of Time is a 6-hour project exploring the descent into dementia. It had a profound effect on James, but what effect will it have on Jen Ives?
Feb 04, 2022•30 min
Kiri Pritchard-McLean & Portuguese Fusion Pop Jazz
James and Kiri discuss Portuguese maestro Bruno Pernadas's 2016 album, Those Who Throw Objects at the Crocodiles Will Be Asked to Retrieve Them.
Jan 28, 2022•28 min
Dai Henwood & Pop Royalty
Carly Rae Jepsen's 2016 album Emotion: Side B is 110% pure pop, with enough sweetness to thaw James' cold heart towards the genre. However, is there too much sugar for Dai Henwood to digest?
Jan 21, 2022•28 min
Isy Suttie & International Prog Folk
With music inspired by improvisational Jazz, Persian and African folk and vocals in myriad languages, it's hard to tie Léonore Boulanger to a specific genre. Will Isy Suttie, with her background in jazz and prog rock bands, be won over?
Jan 14, 2022•29 min
Chloe Petts On The Quest...
We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service. Hip hop legends A Tribe Called Quest released their final album in 2016 and surely reinforces James' claim that this was indeed, the greatest year in music - of all time! But will Chloe Petts agree?
Jan 07, 2022•28 min
Ahir Shah & Baroque Classic Pop
Inspired by classic art, sculpture and a year in Rome, Meilyr Jones' album 2013 is quite simply beautiful. James is hoping that Ahir will agree.
Dec 17, 2021•28 min
Rosie Jones and Isolation Indie Rap
The Impossible Kid is a charming and personal album written by Aesop Rock whilst isolating in a cabin in the woods. Full of fables and colourful characters, surely Rosie Jones will be charmed..? James has his fingers crossed.
Dec 10, 2021•29 min
Sikisa Takes A Seat At The Table
Sikisa thought R'n'B was dead... Then came Solange's 2016 album, A Seat At The Table. A masterpiece that brought Solange out of the shadow of sister, Beyoncé.
Dec 03, 2021•27 min
Aparna Nancherla & A Rich, Heavy Ethereal Blanket
Mirror Breathing by Shield Patterns is an electronic album of inventive melodies, set in atmospheric and sometimes haunting soundscapes. But will Aparna Nancherla be scared or (like James) seduced?
Nov 26, 2021•29 min
Bonus Sounds: Zach Phillips of OSR Tapes
Whilst trawling for music from 2016, James noticed a common thread through some of his favourite records - OSR Tapes. A label founded by Zach Phillips. James gets to speak to Zach about what inspired him to start a label, why he closed it and everything in between.
Nov 19, 2021•35 min
Harriet Kemsley and 'Absolute Chaos!'
Hello New York by Maher Shalal Hash Baz is an album described by founder Tori Kudo as "a revolving cast of players from varying backgrounds and varying experience". Described by Harriet Kemsley as "chaos". However, the more she listens...
Nov 19, 2021•28 min
Stuart Laws & Angela Sawyer
Ukulele strumming, high-pitched yodelling and dissonant keyboards - Angela Sawyer’s On The Pedestrian Side is an album “not designed to make you feel comfortable”. No wonder Stuart Laws feels he is being pranked!
Nov 12, 2021•28 min
Maisie Adam & Who-Pa-Zoo-Tic Sounds
James and Maisie discuss Hartley C White's album Something Better and his attempt at creating a whole new genre. Maisie loved the last album James sent her, so James is hoping she'll be equally impressed with this one.
Nov 05, 2021•29 min
Fern Brady & Emo R&B
James Acaster talks about one of the many albums he collected from the year 2016 with one of his comedy friends. This week Fern Brady states from the outset that Half of My Love by Fauxe is not for her… oops. Even though the title comes from one of her favourite albums. Can James change her mind?
Oct 29, 2021•27 min
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