It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.
In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.
Astro Zu, also called Ronnie, spent his formative years with his parents, an astrologist and a yoga teacher, in a hippy/New Age commune in Staffordshire, England, but has since moved to East London. Ma Body Sayin’ is on of two songs he recently released as a follow-up to his first EP.
It is both trippy and chill; calming, but possessed of a subtle, otherworldly spark.
His selections for us this evening are a similar mixture of the practical and the fantastical:
Good Read:
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy [by Douglas Adams] is one of the first books I read. It’s got a mad, eccentric energy, weird, very English and drags you into such a fantastical world. I also got the Stephen Fry narrated audio book about a year ago too and is so good. His voice suits so perfectly. I’m not usually a sci-fi book fan, but this is just genius.
Good Listen:
Flying Lotus – Los Angeles – The first Fly Lo album I heard and was instantly obsessed by him. The subtleties are what make it special. The disjointed beats and lush string samples and the beautiful and often simple melodies. Then you get spikes of cosmic darkness from ‘Riot’. Such a perfect album for me. To be honest I could be describing any of his albums, as they’re all amazing and he keeps pushing forward his artistry.
Good Drink:
A Cuba Libre is a classic and it is almost impossible to make a bad one. So the further you go into the night and your measuring skills are failing you badly, you can rest assured. Its all gonna be OK :)