MUSIC EXPLAINED
THE KITCHEN. A PAN ON. SOMETHING ON THE FIRE.
IMAGE CREDIT: SJELF. — original AI illustration for THE COLLECTIONS.
Something is on the stove that isn’t ready yet. The cutting board is full, someone is tasting the sauce, and a bassline drifts in from the other room. Soon everyone will sit down at the table. For now, there is that pleasant interval in which an evening takes shape. A record can fit perfectly into that moment.
Why do cooking and vinyl go so well together? Perhaps because both invite you to choose something and then give it time. A flavor develops. A song gets going. Whoever pushes everything straight to the next moment misses what happens along the way. In THE KITCHEN, we have curated records for the entire evening: from the first pan to the final conversation.
FIRST, CHOOSE A RECORD.
When cooking, you make choices before you begin. What is on the menu, how many people are coming, and what can you prepare in advance? Choosing an LP is a smaller version of the same thing. You pick one album and give a series of songs room to breathe together. There is no need for a new decision after every chorus.
That is the beauty of an album side. There is an order to it: an opening, a shift in tempo, perhaps a song that only becomes apparent after a few rotations. You do not need to sit by the speakers to follow that movement. Sometimes, while doing something ordinary, you hear something that had previously gone unnoticed.
On Jack Johnson’s In Between Dreams, the acoustic guitars seem to be in no hurry. With Bill Withers, the recurring movement of Use Me gives the kitchen momentum instead. These are different ways to fill a space. The choice depends on the evening you want to create.
GROOVE IS MOVING TOGETHER.
Groove emerges from the way rhythm, accents, and timing come together. Bass and drums can repeat the same pattern and still make every bar feel alive. The guitar does not need to play over the top of it constantly. A short phrase, a silence, or a shifted accent can be enough.
With Khruangbin, you can clearly hear that interplay. The Texas trio consists of bassist Laura Lee, guitarist Mark Speer, and drummer Donald ‘DJ’ Johnson. On Con Todo El Mundo, released in 2018, their parts move around one another. The bass carries its own melody, the drums hold the movement together, and the guitar draws lines over it.
Put on Maria También and follow only the bass for once. Listen to the guitar on the next rotation. The song does not change, but your attention does. That makes such a record worth returning to again and again: you get to know the details as the whole becomes familiar.
PULL UP ANOTHER CHAIR.
When the first guests arrive, the sound in the house changes. There are more voices and more movement. An album with a clear pulse can hold the moment together. The basslines of Paul Simon’s Graceland or the horns in Stevie Wonder’s Sir Duke give shape to it in their own way.
The self-titled album by Buena Vista Social Club is also largely about interplay. The recordings took place in Havana in 1996; the album was released in 1997. You hear musicians who complement each other with voices, guitars, piano, and percussion. Their different characters remain recognizable within a single collective sound.
That suits a table where people bring their own stories. No one needs to tell the same story to have a good evening. Whoever wants to know more about that meeting in the studio can read on in our album story about Buena Vista Social Club.
THE SPACE BETWEEN TWO VOICES.
A conversation often becomes pleasant when people let each other finish speaking. In music, listening to one another is at least as audible. On Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s 1956 Ella and Louis, they do not need similar voices to form a whole. Her clear lines and his grainy singing both retain their character.
With Getz/Gilberto from 1964, the meeting takes on different sounds. The tenor saxophone of Stan Getz stands alongside the guitar and vocals of João Gilberto. Astrud Gilberto can also be heard on the album. Her soft delivery allows small rhythmic accents to emerge. The record does not need to be loud for that.
That is a useful starting point at the table: let voices remain intelligible in the room. Some evenings may end with everyone singing along loudly; others call for space for a story. Carole King’s Tapestry and Sade’s Diamond Life both offer melodies that can stay close, even at a modest volume.
A FAMILIAR TASTE, PLAYED DIFFERENTLY.
A recipe can change cooks and still remain recognizable. The same thing happens with songs. A different voice, a different rhythm, or a different arrangement shifts the emphasis. Listen to Day Tripper on Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 for once. A familiar melody takes on a different movement there.
Sérgio Mendes combined his piano and Brazilian rhythms with the group vocals of Brasil ’66. The 1966 album offers a variety of songs and soundscapes without losing its own character. That makes it a beautiful record for the moment when everything is still happening at once.
Closer to home, Solomon Burke and De Dijk come together on Hold On Tight from 2010. The meeting takes on a broad soul sound in which Burke’s voice takes up all the space. In our album story, you can read more about this collaborative record.
WHEN THE MEAL IS OVER.
The final part of the evening may take a different direction. On AIR’s Moon Safari, soft keys and rounded basslines move to the fore. Norah Jones leaves plenty of space around her voice on Come Away With Me. Both albums suit the moment when the plates are gone and no one gets up right away.
A warm sound can also carry an urgent story. Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On asks questions about war, poverty, and our relationship with the world. On Curtis Mayfield’s Curtis, beauty and social unrest stand close together. That music deserves to be listened to with attention paid to the words as well.
That is why Nina Simone’s Pastel Blues stands at the end of our journey. With Strange Fruit and Sinnerman among them, it is an intense album that can bring the conversation to a hush. Sometimes the best way to end an evening at the table is to listen together to one song for a while.
TWENTY RECORDS FOR THE KITCHEN.
These twenty albums were selected by SJELF. Four moments give the selection direction; you can jump in at any point. On the collection page, you will find a short explanation, a listening link, and the corresponding artists for each album. The years listed below refer to the original albums.
BEHIND THE STOVE.
-
In Between Dreams (2005)
Jack Johnson -
Still Bill (1972)
Bill Withers -
Con Todo El Mundo (2018)
Khruangbin -
Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 (1966)
Sérgio Mendes -
Home Again (2012)
Michael Kiwanuka
THE FIRST GUESTS.
-
Buena Vista Social Club (1997)
Buena Vista Social Club -
Graceland (1986)
Paul Simon -
Let’s Stay Together (1972)
Al Green -
Fleetwood Mac (1975)
Fleetwood Mac -
Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
Stevie Wonder
AT THE TABLE.
-
Tapestry (1971)
Carole King -
Diamond Life (1984)
Sade -
Getz/Gilberto (1964)
Stan Getz & João Gilberto -
Ella and Louis (1956)
Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong -
Hold On Tight (2010)
Solomon Burke & De Dijk
STAY FOR A LITTLE LONGER.
-
Come Away With Me (2002)
Norah Jones -
Moon Safari (1998)
AIR -
What’s Going On (1971)
Marvin Gaye -
Curtis (1970)
Curtis Mayfield -
Pastel Blues (1965)
Nina Simone
ONE THING TO LISTEN FOR.
Listen on your next rotation to what happens when the singing stops for a moment. Does the bass take over the melody? Does a guitar answer? Does only the rhythm remain? It is precisely those small transitions that make it audible how a band carries a song together.
A good evening does not need to be complicated. Something on the stove, people around you, and a record you would like to play again. The dishes can wait. First, listen to this side through.
