Aska Matsumiya scores a brilliant new campaign fronted by actor and activist Indya Moore for jewellery brand Awe Inspired.
The campaign celebrates Marsha P. Johnson, the trailblazing queer icon who played a pivotal role in the 1969 Stonewall uprising and benefits the Marsha P. Institute in its fight to defend black trans lives.
Talk about inspiring goddesses!
Read Aska’s full bio HERE.
Today’s Arthur Russell-themed Dirty Monday Playlist comes courtesy of Stella Mozgawa.
In between laying down the musical law with her band Warpaint, Stella also lends her incredible talents to artists such Kurt Vile, Adam Green, Cate Le Bon, The XX, Kim Gordon and Regina Spektor.
Stella says - Arthur Russell is a wonderful example of an artist who slid between and scaled over the idea of genre. I've been reading his biography Hold On To Your Dreams and it's massively inspiring - he was truly ahead of his time. I hope you enjoy this fun dive into his rich body of work.
Check out the full playlist below.
Betty Season 2 soundtrack by genius composer Aska Matsumiya is out soon!
‘Writing the music for this show allowed me to get in touch with my raw and spontaneous side,’ Aska told Milan Records.
Directed by Crystal Moselle and streaming on HBO from June 11th - make sure you tune in and listen to Aska’s incredible work.
Dirty Soup’s creative neuroscientist Katherine Templar Lewis looks at the four brain chemicals affecting happiness and recommends music to help ease us back into the real world.
Today’s neurotransmitter of choice is Serotonin - the happy hormone.
Listen to the full playlist and find out more below.
KTL: From Nina Simone’s incredible version of Here Comes The Sun to Good As Hell by Lizzo, today’s playlist is likely to put a smile on your face. It’s all about music that elicits serotonin, the happy hormone.
Studies suggest it’s triggered by music with positive lyrics and medium-tempo melodies in major chords. Serotonin boosts our immune system and stabilises our mood, feelings of well-being and happiness.
A dose of serotonin-raising music is a great stress buster. Serotonin has a positive impact on our whole body, not just on our outlook or how we feel. It supports a healthy nervous system and the body in general whereas stress disrupts this by reducing our serotonin level.
When it comes to major feeling states, studies also show that lyrics appear to have greater power to direct mood change than music alone. That’s why ‘listening with intent’ helps trigger these happy vibes.
Here’s the good bit: the power of listening to uplifting music with positive lyrics can last up to 48 hours.
Dirty Soup’s retro genre-specialist Kristine Barilli's Dirty Monday Playlist is The Sounds of New York Summer.
With a collection of over 10,000 vinyl records at her finger tips, NYC-based music junkie and resident DJ at The Lot Radio in Brooklyn, Barilli loves nothing more than hunting down elusive musical gems - and she’s offered up a sampling of her favourites to play all summer long.
Check out the playlist and read what the tracks mean to her below.
Read Kristine’s full bio HERE.
Close To Perfection by Miquel Brown: This song was played during Jim Burgess’s legendary last set at NYC’s iconic gay club The Saint. It’s one of those precursors to sleaze disco tracks that makes you want to dance until the sun comes up.
Black Magic by Astrud Gilberto: Off of my personal favourite Astrud Gilberto record which is filled with album cuts and hits alike this track is the ultimate summer dance party!
Love Will Set You Free by Carrie Cleveland: Slightly out of key and dizzying, this track gives you all the hot summer night energy of Timmy Thomas’s keyboard playing mixed with a lounge singer in a smokey bar you saunter into late at night and possibly leave with a stranger.
Night People by Allen Toussaint: It’s all about the female vocals on this one. But it also sounds like it belongs in a film during a scene where some crazy party is happening in the Hollywood hills and everyone is up to no good.
Do You Feel It? (Tu Lo Sientes?) by Joe Cuba Sextet: If you want to know what New York looks and feels like in the summertime, close your eyes and listen to the lyrics of this song.
Feeling Good by Nina Simone: There is no song arguably steamier then this masterpiece. It’s also the ultimate summer love story, an ode to the sun and nature coming together in harmony to tantalise the senses.
Samba Saravah by Pierre Barouh: It sounds like an aperol spritz in the sun on the Mediterranean somewhere.
Samari Da Yan Matan by Mamman Sani: A dreamscape of instrumental magic. I want to fall asleep on the beach under the stars while this plays.
In The Courtyard of the Stars by Nirvana: So romantic and simple, it really is evocative of hot summer nights in Italy for some reason to me… in the courtyards… under the stars.
L.A. Nights by Yasuko Agawa: Exactly what the title implies. The warm desert air just hits differently.