CMU Playlists

Playlist: Asobi Seksu

By | Published on Saturday 16 April 2011

Asobi Seksu

Formed in 2001 under the name Sportfuck, dream-pop duo Yuki Chikudate and James Hanna became Asobi Seksu (almost a Japanese translation of their original name – it comes out as ‘playful sex’) after the release of their first EP. Their eponymous debut album was released in 2004, though it was with the follow-up, ‘Citrus’, that they really began to receive critical acclaim, a trend that was continued with third album, ‘Hush’, in 2009.

Their latest album, ‘Flourescent’, was released in February this year, preceded by the single ‘Trails‘, which was coincidentally remixed by last week’s playlisters Deerhoof.

Ahead of a tour with …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, which kicks off in London tonight and is followed by headline show in London and Brighton on 19 and 21 Apr, we asked Yuki to put together a Powers Of Ten playlist for us. Handing over her carefully thought out choices, she said: “This selection of songs is what makes me happy right now. And would make me happy any time, any day. Speaking of which, I’m feeling a little down at the moment so maybe I’ll listen to these songs right now. Instant happiness playlist!”

ASOBI SEKSU’S TEN
Click here to listen to Yuki’s playlist in Spotify, and then read on to find out more about her selections.

01 Horace Andy – Take My Hand
One of the most oddly compelling male singers. I love his voice. This song makes me feel so good. The chord changes in the chorus make me gooey. Makes me feel so lucky I get to make music.

02 Patty Duke – All Through The Day
Written by some of the best songwriters – I think Hammerstein was one of them. This Patty Duke version has an awesome mariachi brass section. We loved covering this song.

03 Broken Social Scene – Cause = Time
Exuberant, energetic, rockin. I love this song. I was sold when I saw them live at the Sundance Festival in 2005 or 2006. Seriously fun show. Two drummers!

04 Camera Obscura – Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken
Possibly the catchiest, most perfect song ever. It’s a staple in our pre-show mix. The line, “I can’t see further than my own nose at this moment” is perfection. What a way to start an album.

05 Cocteau Twins – Evangeline
Off their album, ‘Four Calendar Café’. While not my favourite album of theirs, this song is so so beautiful. I love how relatively simple it is and you can really hear Liz Frazer’s voice. I would love to see her sing live. Her voice is unreal.

06 The Cramps – New Kind Of Kick
“Life is short, filled with stuff”. Couldn’t have said it better. Lux Interior was a genius and the best frontperson. The last time I saw them they played this Polish venue in Greenpoint called The Warsaw. He climbed up the PA speakers and took down the American flag and started rubbing his ass with it before the security there got mad. If you haven’t seen the footage of them live at the Napa Mental Hospital, you should! RIP Lux, we miss you.

07 Minnie Riperton – It’s So Nice (To See Old Friends)
The title says it all. Isn’t it though, Minnie? Thanks for singing it for us. What a sweet chorus – her harmonies make you all smooshy.

08 Donovan – Celeste
I die for this song. Period. There’s a video of him playing it acoustic sitting by a picturesque cliff and he clearly burps while singing it. So cute.

09 Ike & Tina Turner – Wake Up
OMG – need we say more? Tina Turner is a beast. She put all the boys to shame. What a God. When I heard her live performances I just said WTF. I bow down to her.

10 Otis Redding – Nothing Can Change This Love
He is the OG. The one and only. If someone said that all other music was gone except for Otis, I’d just nod and say: ‘OK, no problem’. So hard to just choose one song – right now I’m listening to ‘Nothing Can Change This Love’.



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