Tag: playlist takeover

Designer Thebe Magugu Reveals the Music That Inspired His ‘Folklorics’ Collection

March 10, 2023

Fashion Forward playlist cover featuring designer Thebe Magugu

South African fashion designer Thebe Magugu built his name through sleek, forward-looking pieces that often intersect with the culture and history of his home country. Since establishing his eponymous fashion label in Johannesburg in 2016, Thebe has gone on to win multiple prestigious awards and collaborate with some of the world’s top fashion labels. 

Just as his vibrant designs recently turned heads at Paris Fashion Week, Thebe’s now out to catch the ears of Spotify listeners with his takeover of Fashion Forward. 

Inspired by his autumn/winter 2023 collection, Thebe’s playlist features music that dances the line between contemporary and timeless, with songs that apply modern touches to familiar motifs. With the first half of the playlist exploring a transcendental strain of dance music that Thebe calls Afro-Trance, the second half features songs that have been stripped down to two of music’s most essential elements: vocals and acoustic instruments.

“Storytelling has always been an immovable facet to African culture,” Thebe told For the Record. “Artists especially have always found the most progressive ways to express our vivid internal landscapes. My playlist features artists who I listened to religiously throughout the development of my new collection, titled ‘Folklorics.’”

For the Record recently sat down with Thebe, who spoke about music, his work, and what inspires him.

You’ve mentioned that this playlist was inspired by your new collection. How did you approach the creation of both?

As the name “Folklorics” suggests, the collection looks at the past through a modern lens, much like the artists in my playlist. They beautifully combine the past and present—while offering slight suggestions for the future—through intelligent, genre-bending, and Afrocentric stories.

What types of music did you grow up listening to?

My uncle converted our garage into a tavern when I was a baby and my room was right next to the garage. So the music would play at full volume until about 4 a.m. every day. In many ways, I grew up around music with no choice! 

On weekdays, the music would be old-school hits from The Manhattans, The Isley Brothers, and Issac Hayes. Thursday onwards would be house and kwaito music like Dj Cleo, Dj Kent, DJ Sbu. Sunday was ladies night, which featured R&B Legends like Brandy, Tamia, and Aaliyah.

How do you infuse music into your creative process?

It’s present from the very beginning. I unfortunately can’t work in silence, so everything I do is kicked off by music, and it’s important to figure out which genre I begin with. If I am dealing with a harrowing subject matter, it helps to listen to artists who are unafraid to really explore dark themes in their work.

What was on your musical mood board for this Paris Fashion Week?

Paris Fashion Week is extremely high-pressure and high stakes, so it helps to listen to music that has the opposite effect. I listen to a lot of Sade and Lana Del Rey during high-stress situations, because their music is often so introspective that it helps isolate you from the craziness of the world. 

What did you showcase in Paris? How do you think the creative community will respond?

Whether carved on stone or retold orally from generation to generation, Africans have always had poignant, urgent stories to tell and preserve. This season, I wanted to take some of those stories I was brought up on—from mermaids steering ships to wreck, to cunning spirits one should never call by name—and translate them into a collection for the everywoman.

You’re a designer, but you’re also an entrepreneur. How do you merge the more creative and the more practical sides of your brain? 

It’s about discipline, and also recognizing that creativity and passion must be supported by firm and stable business practices. At the end of the day, fashion is a business, and one must strike a balance that will allow creativity to thrive through commerce. 

It’s strange when people say something is commercial and make it out to be a bad thing, because that’s what allows your story to reach more people who will be able to see themselves in the universe you’ve created. Ensuring work is desirable will increase sales, which will allow you to create more desirable work, thus forming a great cycle. One thing feeds the other. 

What are your biggest sources of inspiration?

If you look at my work and themes closely, they’ve always been about the human condition: the good, bad, and ugly. In that sense, I don’t think I will ever run out of inspiration, because people will always surprise you. We are boundless. 

Discover the inspiration behind Thebe’s latest collection by listening to his takeover of the Fashion Forward Playlist.

Set the Mood on Valentine’s Day With a Playlist Curated by Michael Bublé, a Blend With Your Soulmate, or the Top-Streamed Love Songs

February 8, 2023

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and chocolates and flowers aren’t the only things that should be top of mind. What music will you have queued up for the drive to dinner? What’s the perfect soundtrack for a little at-home slow dancing? We have some suggestions on how lovebirds can get in on the musical fun together. 

We Blend together

When it comes to music, are you and your significant other “two peas in a pod,” or more “opposites attract”? Spotify’s Blend feature can help you celebrate whatever mix-and-match music style you share.  

Start by heading over to Your Library, tap the “+,” and hit “Blend.” Then you can invite your friend, lover, or crush to join the fun. Once they accept, you’ll unlock a shared playlist and a personalized taste match score to compare your listening preferences. From “Relationship Rising” to “Off the Charts,” you can share your score (and love) loudly and proudly with friends on social media.

If there’s not a special someone in your life right now, you can still get in on the Blend fun by creating a unique playlist with your favorite artist crush, like BTS, Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, The Chainsmokers, Post Malone, and Charli XCX.

Ring in the New Year With Curated Playlists From Kylie Minogue, Olivia Neill, Craig David, and More

December 30, 2021

New Year’s Eve is sure to be a bit different this year, but fear not! There’s a party playlist ready to brighten your night. To help ring in 2022, Spotify worked with artists and creators around the world to curate nearly 20 of our most head-banging, fist-pumping, karaoke-ready playlists. From Kylie Minogue taking over 80s Hits to a brand new playlist from the internet’s bestie, podcaster Olivia Neill, the danceable playlists span themes, genres, and decades to fit every listener’s tastes.

Whether you’re hoping to start the year discovering a new song or remembering a past favorite, here are the tracklists handpicked by your favorite musicians, podcasters, and DJs for the ultimate celebration.

Kick off your NYE soiree with nothing but bangers. Kylie Minogue has selected the top ’80s discs for her takeover of 80s Hits. These nostalgic beats will have you out of your seat in no time—no leg warmers required.

Fans already rely on Olivia Neill, known for her Inner Monologue podcast, for company and conversation. Now, she’s created a brand-new playlist for anyone spending NYE on the go. The peppy playlist called Driving With Olivia Neill features singable hits from Rihanna, Drake, Orlando, Her’s, and Tyler, The Creator.

Push back the sofa, switch on the strobe lights, and turn your living room into the most exclusive club in town with the help of noughties favorite Craig David. To celebrate the 20-year anniversary of his debut album, Born to Do It, the U.K. popstar has brought his signature style to curate Spotify’s old-school anthems playlist Room 2: Classics. There, R&B and U.K. garage come together in the form of more than six hours of throwback tunes.

Katy B, the original queen of dubstep and U.K. funky, played on dance floors across the U.K. in the early 2010s. Now, she’s taken over Spotify’s high-energy UK Funky playlist for NYE as she continues her musical return. The On A Mission star has mixed up her favorite classic dance hits, along with recent funky discoveries, to get the party started at any time of the day.

Dutch DJ and EDM veteran Armin van Buuren, who’s known for his annual end-of-year mixes, has joined forces with Spotify to curate our number one electronic playlist, Trance Classics. Taking inspiration from his latest release, A State Of Trance Year Mix 2021, Armin’s exclusive playlist features his ultimate trance anthems and euphoric beats to bring 2021 to a hypnotic finish.

The British indie trio Foals is back, and they’ve brought dance floor hits with them. Taking over the Sticky Floors playlist, the English rock band has mashed indie classics with dance tracks in a style that reflects their new direction and first release in two years—a synth-filled dance remix of “Wake Me Up” with Gaspard Augé and Victor Le Masne.

Last and loudest is British MC and rapper Bru-C, who has unveiled some of the naughtiest bass bangers on the Proper Naughty playlist. The rising U.K. star has brought the same sound system-jumping energy to the playlist as he did to his recently sold out home-city concert. This cheeky tracklist is made for fans of the British rap music genre grime and the electronic music genre drum and bass.

For even more tunes to fuel your kitchen rave or dining room dance party, check out Bad Boy Chiller Crew’s takeover of Charva Night and Pete Tong’s takeover of Ibiza Classics. Happy New Year!

Composer Hans Zimmer Talks Music’s Starring Role in Movies

April 3, 2019

Do you feel your pulse starting to race as the orchestra picks up in pace and volume during the final sword fight in Pirates of the Caribbean? That’s all Hans Zimmer. Emotion-heightening music is the hallmark of the legendary composer, who curated Spotify’s Film & TV Favorites playlist in honor of National Film Score Day today, April 3.

Zimmer has more than 119 credits across film, TV, and video games, as well as an Academy Award for his score on the classic film The Lion King. Over the last decade, his compositions have elevated a slew of high-profile films, including Interstellar, Hidden Figures, 12 Years a Slave, The Dark Knight Rises, and dozens more.

Zimmer spoke to For the Record about his process for matching music with a scene, what it’s like performing for a live audience, and what he listens to when he’s not working (spoiler alert: he rocks out).

Your scores can be subtle, as with the Christopher Nolan films, or lively and upbeat, as in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. How do you strike the balance so the music doesn’t overpower a character or scene, and instead elevates and enhances the moment?

I suppose if you’ve done roughly a hundred movies, you learn how to balance these things—that’s all part of the learning curve. Certain actors you can push much harder. For instance, I could always be more romantic in my scores to a Jack Nicholson film because Jack himself is so tough that it doesn’t become sentimental. It depends entirely on the character and the actor. I’m sure there are a few times that I’ve goofed and overpowered the character.

How do you decide how little is too little, or how much is too much?

You really look at the whole movie. If you look in the long form that the storytelling of a film really has, you figure out pretty quickly if you’re doing the right thing—if your balance is right or if your balance is off.

What other films and composers inspire you?

To be really honest, any composer who manages to get a film finished and done and released is a hero of mine. It’s so hard to get a film, come up with an original idea, execute the original idea, not get trampled underfoot by the sound effects, and actually have your film released. So, I think anybody who actually makes it through is a hero.

I think Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer wrote the best cue of last year for the TV series Babylon Berlin, which is absolutely amazing stuff.

Talk about the reactions to your music when you perform for live audiences—particularly at Coachella two years ago, when you played music from Inception, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight, Gladiator, and The Lion King.  

Coachella was like a dare. Somebody asked if I wanted to do Coachella and I thought, “Take an orchestra and a choir out into the desert? I don’t think that has been done before.” So, it was exciting to put that sort of music in front of an audience that doesn’t expect it. And we were doing something new, something different. Performing The Lion King meant something because everybody who was there had at one point heard it as part of their life. It was quite emotional for me that night.

What is it about modern scoring, such as your music or that of Ramin Djawdi of Game of Thrones, that is so attractive to live audiences?

It’s because we’re starting to break down the walls. I thought long and hard before we did Coachella about what I didn’t want to do: be boring, dull, not put on a show, have somebody conduct and have my back to the audience. That’s not who I am, and that’s not who Ramin is, either. Yes, he’s conducting, but then he suddenly gets his guitar out. We’re much more rock-and-roll, and we treat the orchestra as a big band, which I think makes a difference. It certainly allows the audience to connect with the orchestra. Suddenly they realize that these musicians are human beings and they are part of us and we are part of them, and it’s not some sort of weird, elitist thing.

When you’re not scoring, what music—or which artists—do you like to listen to for fun?

Always for fun is Manu Chao, and Kraftwerk is always good. Usually I don’t listen to film music (when I’m writing, it’s impossible to listen to other people’s music), but I’m rediscovering things like John Williams’ Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which is just a magnificent piece of music. Oh, and The Clash—“London Calling” just popped back up. And The Damned’s The Black Album, which I had something to do with.

Enjoy the updated Film & TV Favorites playlist curated by Hans Zimmer.