STEPHEN TO ANNE MARIE:

SB: What is your favorite song?

AM: Alright, Harry Nathan

SB: Have you heard any of these tracks before?

AM: Dillon Francis

SB: Congratulations, you just completed your first album and now it's time to pick out the cover art. What is it?

AM: I'm starting to get scared of your questions... I've always been partial to non-photo graphics for movie posters and album covers. Don't get me wrong, I love it when a professional can execute them well and they end up being timeless! That definitely happens. Most of the time, though, I feel like fashion and style date things so quickly, that I can't take them seriously after a few years. So, I guess mine would be a totally different graphic someone dreamed up. Not even with the album name on it. If I could hijack this, I would: https://www.folchstudio.com/o/ -- my favorite branding of all time!

ANNE MARIE TO STEPHEN:

AM: What is your favorite song?

SB: Playing with Fire by Breakup Shoes. First, what an awesome band name, but secondly this song just screams, “It’s time for summer, even if it’s a weird one.”

AM: Have you heard any of these tracks before?

SB: Kacy Hill and that’s it.

AM: Music that feels alluring or sexy or sets that kind of sneaky, ‘disarm you’ mood is both obvious and elusive to me. The classically overplayed and mocked options like Boyz II Men and 112 or even Frank Ocean (swoon) can blow up in your face because the second you hit PLAY your intended target might laugh uncontrollably. Or, if you’re the target, you might laugh uncontrollably. My personal opinion is that the perfect tracks in this category hit you once they’ve already been on for a while. They’re not as well known. You’re already in a great conversational moment when you realize the perfect song is on, too. It’s all organic. For me, Jessie Ware is someone who fits this bill. Her music is never something that makes a statement at first blush, then minutes or hours later, you realize it’s the perfect mood. Give me some names of (yep, keeping it interesting) European bands or artists that also succeed at this.

PS: We can assume Daft Punk is on your list already.

SB: Wow, you like to throw the curveballs with that European band twist. Well first name that comes to mind is Parcels. They have a lot of slow burn songs that start off nicely and then a crazy-smooth groove comes out of nowhere. Definitely one of those groups/songs you might not pay attention to and then you find yourself stopping the conversation you’re in to ask the barista who is playing. Jungle is another that definitely has some right-out-of-the-gate jams, but then has some subtle ones that you didn’t see coming. Rationale is one of my favorite in this category. Lot of songs like that and great vocals to accompany them. And I’ll round it out with LEISURE, another group that reminds me of a Jungle or Parcels.