Listen Here.

Track List Here.

I don’t know much about Christophe Laurent, but I do know that “Oublier Son Visage”, from 1986, captures an imaginary nostalgia I have for European beaches and clubs of the 1980s. The studio-slick Latin percussion and Flamenco guitar somehow suit the mood better than authentic sounds would.

Maxwell hasn’t released any new music since 2018. I’ve enjoyed all of his albums, so I hope he has more music in him. His second, “Embrya” from 1998, is a pinnacle of lush, expensive, immersive production in the neo-soul movement of the time. The satiny sheen is always accompanied by rock-solid grooves, as you’ll hear on “You Are Me and We Are You”. You’ll also hear some of his occasional Spanish lyrics, a connection to his Puerto Rican father.

I’ve been on one of my periodic big band kicks lately, and once again Oliver Nelson emerges as a favorite. I revisited his 1967 album “Sound Pieces” and found this gem with a silly name, “Flute Salad”. For you other big band nerds – no, I’m not expecting to have a large readership in that category – the trumpet solo is by Conte Candoli, a star of Stan Kenton’s band in the 1950s. And here’s a fact that will be even less interesting to most of you: I just learned that Conte’s brother Pete was also a big-band trumpeter. I always thought there was only one Candoli trumpeter. I can hear the gasps of surprise at this stunning revelation.

Sometimes I hear a singer, even for a minute or two, and immediately want to hear more. That’s what happened when I heard Eric Bachmann singing with Neko Case on her album “Hell-On”. He’s an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Athens, Georgia. I learned from a Pitchfork review that he is considered to be an indie version of Neil Diamond, a comparison that is fine with me. I guess I like a raspy, somewhat dramatic baritone.

Eric releases music as Crooked Fingers and under his own name. “Sleep All Summer”, on the 2005 Crooked Fingers album “Dignity and Shame”, immediately caught my attention as a possible Summer mix song due to the rolling, rhythmic guitar line and the use of the word Summer in the title. As I’ve listened more I’ve come to find the song sweet, sad, and catchy all at once. Eric and his duet partner Sarah Shannon play the roles of a couple that can’t quite stay together but can’t quite break up. “Ain’t no way we’re gonna find another, the way we sleep all Summer.”

One final note on this song: while writing this I looked up the 2018 Neko Case album where I first heard Eric. It turns out that the song he appears on is another version of “Sleep All Summer”. I’m a confirmed Neko fan, but her duet with Eric isn’t nearly as compelling for me as the original.

I’m familiar with Nate Smith from his drumming in jazz groups led by Dave Holland and Chris Potter. In 2025 he released a solo album called Live-Action which has jazz elements but also takes in pop, soul, and electronics. “Cough Drop” is, on the surface, a groovy R&B instrumental. But listen closely and you’ll hear the power and the finesse in his drumming, as well as his interaction with electric piano player Kiefer and bassist Carrtoons.

In May the music world lost Dexter Wansel, not the biggest name in the world of Philadelphia soul but a key player the evolution of the Philly sound in the late 70s and early 80s. As you’ll hear on “Theme from The Planets” (space was recurring subject for him), he combined the foundational string sound with synthesizers and other modern touches.

In 2021 I heard a brief excerpt from a song by Scorpion Kings. Similar to my reaction to hearing Eric Bachmann, I needed to know and hear more. Little did I realize that I was diving into a contemporary South African style called Amapiano. I played a Scorpion Kings track in my Summer 2022 mix; I played a track by another Amapiano artist, Kelvin Momo, in Summer 2024. For this mix I’ve chosen a track from the 2025 album Kings Will Rise, released under the names of the two Scorpion Kings, Kabza De Small & DJ Maphorisa. What I love about the style is the combination of a steady groove with complex percussion, jazzy chords, and memorable melodies.

Another artist I will miss is Englishman Chris Rea, who passed away in December. He had a distinctive voice, maybe a little like Eric Bachmann (or even Neil Diamond). He was known as an accomplished, bluesy guitarist; the singer of a catchy holiday song “Driving Home for Christmas”; and an improbably dark hit single “The Road to Hell”. On top of that eclectic discography, he was known for his relationship to Summer and beaches: a single called “On the Beach”, an album called “King of the Beach”, and the song I’ve chosen for the mix.

According to Wikipedia, there are 8 versions of “Josephine”. One of them became a European club favorite in 1987. It’s called the “Version Française”, but not because it’s in French, and not because it was recorded in France. Apparently the idea for how the song could be restructured as a club track came to a drunken Chris during a very late night at a Paris disco.

This version of “Josephine” was successful in the nightclubs of Ibiza, so it’s without doubt another Summery, European, 80s trigger for my imaginary nostalgia.

Finally, a contemporary artist who I suspect shares that nostalgia is the German singer / songwriter Roosevelt. In my case, the nostalgia is imaginary because I didn’t actually live in Europe; for him it’s imaginary because he was born in 1990. He’s a master of maximalist pop that evokes the 80s, so “Closer to My Heart” provides a fitting finale to the mix.

---

1. Christophe Laurent – Oublier Son Visage
2. Maxwell – You Are Me and We Are You
3. Cal Tjader – Bonita
4. Saint Etienne – After Hebden
5. Meli’sa Morgan – Fool’s Paradise
6. Lindstrøm – Limitations
7. Caetano Veloso – Queixa
8. Oliver Nelson – Flute Salad
9. D.K. – Journey to the Sun
10. Crooked Fingers with Sarah Shannon – Sleep All Summer
11. Nate Smith – Cough Drop
12. Erykah Badu – Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long
13. Ralph Myerz and The Jack Herren Band with Rebekka Karijord – My Private Night
14. Dexter Wansel – Theme From The Planets
15. Mongo Santamaría – Summertime
16. Kabza De Small & DJ Maphorisa with Daliwonga – Dakwa Njalo
17. Chris Rea – Josephine (Version Française)
18. Roosevelt – Closer to My Heart