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CMU Playlists
Playlist: Sky Larkin
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 12 September 2013
Sky Larkin are due to release their third album, ‘Motto’, through Wichita on 17 Sep. Recorded in Seattle with producer John Goodmanson, the record was largely written by frontwoman Katie Harkin while touring the world as part of Wild Beasts’ live line-up – the almost two year trip around 28 countries giving her plenty of time to hone the songs. And you can check out the results of that by streaming the album here.
Now back in the UK and preparing for the album release and tour dates to coincide with it, kicking off with an album launch party at The Lexington in London on 17 Sep, we asked Katie to put together a playlist for us. She selected tracks which, she tells, us were on “heavy rotation’ during the writing of ‘Motto’.
KATIE HARKIN’S ON REPEAT PLAYLIST
Subscribe to this playlist on Spotify, and then read on to find out more about Katie’s selections.
01 Delta 5 – Open Life
Leeds is modest to a fault about many things, why didn’t I know that Delta 5, contemporaries of Gang Of Four, were from my hometown until my late teens?! They deserve cardboard cut outs in every record shop. I’d really love to track down the women in this band one day, they seem to have disappeared without trace and they need a blue plaque. “Drift into a marriage” is a devastating line.
02 Life Without Buildings – Juno
A tight and precise Scottish groove dressed with Sue Tompkins’ lightning in a jar vocals. Untouchable and sadly defunct.
03 Latin Playboys – Crayon Sun
My favourite guitarist Andrew Whiteman (Broken Social Scene, Apostle Of Hustle) led me to the eponymous album from which this comes, and it is a record that came up a lot in discussions with our producer John during the recording process. Much of it is made from demos that ended up becoming a record. A great blueprint for stitching sounds together. And such cool sounds!
04 Fugazi – Full Disclosure
This song blooms.
05 Robyn – Call Your Girlfriend
Just when you think every universal pop song has been written, the Swedish pop mines yield another flawless gem.
06 Bobby – Sore Spores
This band opened up for Wild Beasts in the US when I was playing with them, the whole record is wonderful but this is a great place to start. North Eastern leafy tunes that could be from the best Welsh psych-pop bands on holiday.
07 The Replacements – Favorite Thing
FOR EVER AND EVER AMEN
08 Laurie Spiegel – Patchwork
It seems like just the right amount of time has now passed so that synth pioneers are getting fetishised, just like rock n roll deified bluesmen, BUT I’m grateful as Laurie Speigel’s reissues meant that I got to hear this wonderful piece of spun electricity for the first time. Her life story is amazing, she was given free reign at IBM for art’s sake. Just imagine.
09 …And You Will Know Us By Trail Of Dead – Relative Ways
I missed my guitar in a very teenage way on tour and found myself revisiting a lot of records that reeled me in in the first place. …Trail Of Dead can do ferocious and fragile, that’s really hard.
10 Cloud Nothings – Separation
Our label and tourmates, the breakdown refrain that you first hear at 0.45 still makes my eyes widen. A flighty juggernaught.
