The wind blows wildly outside. The windows rattle in their casings as condensation droplets roll down their panes like tears of loss for the fallen summer that has passed.
It’s the first week of October and well and truly autumn here in the UK. Faded and jaded worn greens are on the turn. The vista dappled with tints of yellow and gold, like an oil painting with new colours being layered on daily. The steady sameness of the summer view has been replaced with an ever changing journey towards winter, because autumn arguably feels like more of a transitional tween, rather than a season in it’s own right.
I am inherently a summer lover. I make no secret of that, but October and autumn with it’s ever damp days offers up a freedom denied throughout the often tinder dry (except for this year) summer months. Fire. The nice controlled kind, constrained to a pit, rather than the wildly out of control destructive type the moors in these parts are so prone to.
I have many childhood memories of fire and the smell of woodsmoke speaks always of the arrival of autumn to me. So, when I thought about putting together this month’s playlist, it was the first thing I thought of.
Whether you’re gathered around it, dancing next to it, cooking over it, or staring into it, this playlist is for you.
For those who love a list or don’t have Spotify -
Walk the Walk - Gaz Coombes
Cold Little Heart - Michael Kiwanuka
King and Cross - Ásegir
Boa Sorte / Good Luck (feat Ben Harper) - Vanessa Da Mata, Ben Harper
Californian Soil - London Grammar
Vertigo - Shey Baba
Bad Bad News - Leon Bridges
Steal - Maribou State, Holly Walker
Wildfires - SAULT
Teardrops - NEIL FRANCES
One Evening - Feist
Sick & Tired - Lime Garden
Spooky - Recorded at Rak Studios, London - Maribou State, Holly Walker
A Trick of the Light - Villagers
Home - Caribou
Daymarks - Catching Flies
Summer Sun - Cari Cari
Seabird - Babeheaven
Dominoes - Jungle
Brother - Delv!s
Running Red Lights (feat. Rivers Cuomo & Pink Siifu) - The Avalanches, Rivers Cuomo, Pink Siifu
All I need (feat. Beth Hirsch) - Air, Beth Hirsch
Destiny - Zero 7, Sia, Sophie Barker
Hands of Time - Groove Armada
The Monthly Mix is a love letter to the mix tapes of my youth. Carefully curated and crafted, just for you. You can find more playlist joy right here. To make sure you don’t miss the next one…
If you want to bring a friend to the party / kitchen table / lounge floor / train carriage / daily walk or wherever you’ve enjoyed this playlist, share it using the handy button below.
This month’s mix. Love it? Hate it? Recommendations? I’m here for all of it, please do share your thoughts in the comments below.
Oh there is nothing at all like the smell of woodsmoke on a crisp autumn day!
Autumn is my favourite season, but it does feel like a tween 😃 The smell of damp leaves is my smell of Autumn and the smell of woodsmoke sends me back to my youth.
I'll take a listen to the playlist as I work later - looking forward to it.