“These are tracks with specific memories attached to relationships, songs that have been gifted to me by friends, lovers, creative partners, conspirators, confidantes and comrades. It is these songs that paint a pictures of my life more fully than the songs I find myself as each has a special memory, or several, embedded in them, attached to a human life I have been lucky enough to trudge alongside with through this earthly plane.”
I-F – I Do Because I Couldn’t Care Less
My ex boyfriend Eddie, who remains incredibly dear to me, introduced me to this track in his apartment on Wilshire when we were both living in Los Angeles, before we ever dated.
DMX Krew – You Can’t Hide Your Love (Aphex Twin Hidden Love Mix)
This track is in the reference folder of every collaboration I work on, and is a staple for ending b2b sets with Maelstrom; one of my favorite things about collaborating with Mael is that though we have super different musical backgrounds, we have arrived in this perfect ven diagram that expresses us both beautifully, and this song is a great example of that.
Lou Reed – Perfect Day
When I first started seeing my present partner, Sebastien, I think I sang this to him, or sent it to him as a text message or something cheesy like that. It’s a perfect love song, super mundane and intimate without being saccharine.
Songs Ohia – Lioness
When I was a wild youth I used to cry over this song while longing for a snake-hipped on-again and off-again coke dealing bar tender I was totally love-sick for. He has since cleaned up his act, but the song still crushes me.
DJ QU – Party People Clap (Levon Vincent Remix)
Juan Maclean played me this song on vinyl in Dover, Massachusetts a long time ago, and it made me understand why analog is superior and how levon vincent summons the devil sonically.
Ladytron – International Dateline
There was one winter during which I was doing a lot of drugs that my then boyfriend, Justin, and I spent a lot of time driving back and forth from upstate New York in blizzards, listening to this record. It still reminds me of winter car rides and being totally numb.
Dan Deacon USA-1 – Is A Monster
Vice Cooler, who is producing my forthcoming album, played me this song a few weeks ago and I think it is really incredible; I’d never really listened to Dan Deacon before but this track alone is spectacular.
Mars Volta – Televators
My first boyfriend, Mike, learned about the Mars Volta from me, then got a Mars Volta TATTOO which was both impressive and totally insane. We listened to this first EP together endlessly.
Iggy Pop – Sixteen
I had a massive, painful crush on someone who made me a mix tape with this song on it after many years of pining for him. The crush has been requited and we remain close friends – he was actually instrumental in my recovery from drugs and alcohol. This song still reminds me of him.
Executive Slacks – The Bus
Right when Dave Clarke and I were becoming friends, in the same recording session as the vocals for ‘IVT’, we also recorded a cover of this because it’s both badass, ridiculous and relatable. I doubt it’ll ever move beyond the stage of demo vocal, but you never know. Dave is definitely a source of inspiration and a fountain of musical knowledge, I get a lot of sonic ideas and references from him.
Beatles – Blackbird
I used to sing this song to my horse when we’d be cooling down from training, I can’t listen to it without welling up these days (I miss him terribly), but it’s a pretty perfect song.
Adicts – Viva La Revolucion
When still wilding in NYC I dated a crust punk who introduced me to the Adicts, GG Allin and Gwar; while the relationship kind of exploded, my affection for the music remains.
Berurier Noir – Elsa Je T’aime
My present partner is a big fan of the Berurier Noir. If we ever have a baby girl together, we will name her Elsa so we can sing her this and leave out the last verse about the singer killing Elsa so he can keep her forever.
“IVT?” is NOW AVAILABLE on SKINT
