Listening Notes
Listening Notes is a quiet exchange between musicians, DJs and listeners. A collection of records in rotation, shared without urgency, documenting what people return to over time.
Issue — 1
Rotation
Rotation
A first issue.
Listening Notes started as a way to slow things down — to move away from constant releases, algorithms, and the pressure to keep up, and instead focus on what people actually return to over time.
For this first issue, I reached out to a small group of artists and friends I admire, asking them to share a few records they've been listening to and playing recently.
— Eugene
Alex Intas
Melt — MS Ray [Scenic Route]
"Beautiful synth dream pop / alt-r&b. Touches of balearic. Post-Sade"
Shy One — Mali [Touching Bass]
"Early contender for my best of 2026. Masterfully crafted club long player - threading all the influences of London's scene-not-scene into something both nostalgic yet genuinely forward."
Zena — Temesgen [Brownswood]
"Ethio-Jazz made for 2026. London to Addis - Ethiopian modal scales over a bed of modern dub/groove with compelling effect."
Yasmina Sadiki
White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter — Lana Del Rey
"I love the writing and the way she performs it. She adds so much character to each word in this song. It feels so personal and intimate"
4 Raws — Esdeekid
"My current hype up track"
Group Four — Massive Attack
"Each couple of months I have a new flavour of the month when it comes to this album. Recently this has been the track"
Hugh B.
Paul St Hilaire & Cousin — Back Inna Business
"Dream collab between a good friend of mine and a certified don of dub techno"
Xylitol — Blumenfantasie
"Gives me Black Secret Technology vibes, which is about as good as jungle gets imo"
Shawn Kemp — External Files
"Long Live Lil Ugly Mane"
Kurt Lam
Nala Sinephro — The Smashing Machine (OST)
"My favourite artist and my biggest inspiration. I haven't seen the movie, but Nala's film score is a truly darker and more intense development of her sound."
Rhymes Like Dimes — MF Doom
"Been listening to this MF DOOM track heaps transcribing the instrumental for the high school band I'm teaching. MF DOOM is for the kids."
Muôn Hòi Tai Sao — Connie Kim
"In preparation for DJing at Sōm Space, a Việt Kiều collective event, this is a track I found in search for Vietnamese funk and soul."
River Langford
Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury — Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
"This record is a deep dive into the political climate and ultra-capitalist grind that struck America in the 90s, speaking on unjustified violence in the Middle East and Africa, inner struggles for the "outsiders" within America and how mass media has ruined communities. This album is fucking deep, it's insane how much this time capsule of an album reflects American politics today. I still remember my mum buying a diskman when I was 6 and putting this album in, even at 6 I understood that there was some magic in this one and I've never taken it out to this day."
Hi This Is Flume — Flume
"Hi This Is Flume is a delicately woven tapestry of an album, every sound in this epic album demanding your full attention, there hasn't been a single week since its release in 2019 where I haven't played at least 1 of its 17 masterpieces. Flume's music has been incredibly influential to my music, Bindarray simply wouldn't have existed without it. As cringy and as mainstream as some flume tracks can be, this album is for the nerds and I fucking love it."
Tuff Times Never Last — Kokoroko
"Tuff Times Never Last is a London Afro-jazz book of standards!!! I've made so many fond memories with this album as the soundtrack. Last year I had the pleasure of supporting Kokoroko for their AUS tour with the homie Setwun! I remember the excitement of getting the confirmation that we were playing with them. The tour was a dream, big stages with captivated audiences hungry for good music. Biggest ups Koko x"
Pookie
Baduizm — Erykah Badu
"Baduizm is on rotation at least once a year and this is that time!"
Officially Missing You — Tamia
"The Tamia joint has been catering to the soft girl in me"
Eiago — TLC
"… but T.L.C allows me to whip my hair in the cuntiest way 💕"
Andrew Congues
Maps — Billy Woods & Kenny Segal
"Keep going back to this record. Love Kenny Segal's production and Billy's rapping. Perfect blend of boom bap production & tasteful jazz samples"
Vidhaata — Soundtrack (Indian Bollywood Thriller)
"Picked this up in India when we were touring there. Couple of absolute heaters on there."
Marcberg — Roc Marciano
"Been listening to lots of electronic & rap music last couple of months. I can't believe I slept on this heater. Amazing Hip Hop Record. Samples just get me!"
Allan McConnell
Союз — Krok
"So smooth - and beautiful!"
Raw Humps — Church Service (Live! Bootleg)
"Incredible spiritual EP, and with an amazing video"
Air — Air
"Incredible 70s record, not to be confused with the French project also called AIR from the mid 2000s"
Madebyitself
Cocoa Sugar / Heavy Heavy — Young Fathers
"Two of the greatest pieces of all time recorded by amazing vocalists for those seeking for purest feelings"
Beaucoup Fish — Underworld
"Electronic mantras and inventive rhythmical repetitions full of love and anxiety, mirroring its time but forever current."
Dear Science — TV On The Radio
"Iconic but always a little under the radar. Just the way we love it"
Annalisa Fernandez
Pure Fantasy — Brent Faiyaz
"Makes me feel like I'm floating, especially when that chorus hits - I imagine driving with all the windows down, wind flowing through my hair, just weightless"
Duality & Devotion — Iamnobodi
"This whole album is just so easy to listen to, it has such a smooth & sultry vibe with lots of tasty bits"
When The City Sleeps — Alex Isley
"Her soft tone and vocal melodies on this whole album are just *chef's kiss*, I'm obsessed with anything she puts out"
In4d
Chasing Shadows — Nubiyan Twist
"From records, if we're talking new ones — last week saw a release from my favourites, Nubiyan Twist."
Moonlight — One Self
"DJ Vadim aka One Self dropped a fire track. Already tested it — destroyed the dancefloor"
Butterfly — Daphni
"A new album just dropped from Daphni, also known as Caribou…"
Ellie Horan, Faux Purr
A Sky Without Stars — Eliza
"I've been rinsing this album start to finish since its release, it's hypnotic, hits you in the chest in a subtle and sexy way"
I See Red — Daniela Andrade
"Daniela Andrade's debut release EP, the first track 'I See Red' is some of the best songwriting I've encountered. Just mesmerising"
Where Would You Be — Yaw
"And my favourite song of all time, it's seen me through falling in love and falling out of love, this song feels like one of the hardest and most beautiful roads of my life"
Many thanks to all the people that made this possible
Alex Intas@alexintas
Yasmina Sadiki@yasmina_sadiki
Hugh B.@h.u.g.h.b
Kurt Lam@kurtminhlam
River Langford@bindarray_
Pookie@thereal_pookie
Andrew Congues@con9ues
Allan McConnell@allan__mc
Madebyitself@madebyitself
Annalisa Fernandez@annalisa__fernandez
In4d@denisin4.d
Ellie Horan, Faux Purr@ellielhoran
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Free, periodic, and unhurried. I would be glad to have you listening.